Disappointed Hand takes Kilcormac-Killoughey defeat on the chin

SATURDAY'S defeat by O'Loughlin Gaels in the Leinster Club Senior Hurling Championship semi-final was a bitter pill for Kilcormac-Killoughey to swallow but the disappointment was nowhere near as severe, the fallout not as cataclysmic as what would have erupted had they lost to Shinrone for a second successive year in the Offaly decider.

Kilcormac-Killoughey were of course upset at their 0-17 to 0-12 defeat to the Kilkenny kingpins. With Dubliners Na Fianna in the Leinster final and an All-Ireland semi-final against the Ulster champions, there was a clear pathway to the All-Ireland final, an opportunity there to be grasped.

As things transpired on the day and as losses go, however, Kilcormac-Killoughey's defeat was in the acceptable category. They were only two points down going into injury time, there was only three in it with four minutes of added time played and anything could have happened. O'Loughlin Gaels got the final two points for a deserved if somewhat flattering win but K-K were not that far away and the big take from this game is that they now know they can compete at this level.

Manager Shane Hand summed up the general mood among their supporters when he said afterwards:

“Look any day you lose you're disappointed, and we came here to win the game, but looking back at the game we probably left ourselves too much to do in the second half. We’re probably a bit disappointed with the first half performance, just intensity wise we probably just stood off a bit too much, but look now we're dead proud of the way the lads dug in in the second half but overall a great year, county champions, and we didn't let anyone down in Leinster either.”

It was a strange sort of game for Kilcormac-Killoughey. They hit the ground running with a ferocious work rate, tackling and tracking with a great intensity but it only lasted for ten to fifteen minutes in the first half. K-K were only a point behind, 0-3 to 0-2 after twelve minutes but by half time, it was 0-10 to 0-3 and the Offaly champions were lucky to be that close.

In that fifteen minutes coming up to half time, K-K did not seem to work as hard as normal, standing off their man and O'Loughlin Gaels could have been out of sight at half time.

Hand did not flinch when asked was that a fair comment.

“Yeah, no, that's a fair assessment. I think after 10 minutes it was two points a piece and then for 15 minutes we went out of it, we probably just got outworked, and we weren't taking them on, and they're running hard at us. We weren't running hard at them, and look we probably gave them too much respect in that 20 minutes, because you see the first 20 minutes of the second half, even though they have class hurlers all over the field, when you actually put the big squeeze on them they look human, but we are just disappointed with that work rate for 15 or 20 minutes, and look that’s what beat us in the end.”

Kilcormac-Killoughey showed terrific character to get back into it in the second half. They threw the kitchen sink at the Kilkenny side, got it back to two points on two different occasions and a goal could have won it for them.

Hand was delighted with the way they played, mentioning late balls that fell in around the square and could have ended up in the net very easily.

“Look we were two points down and two balls went in around the square to Conor Mahon and Charlie Mitchell, but look good defending, but like two points down with a few minutes to go that game was there in the melting pot, but you might as well lose by four or five as by two. You have to push on, and we pushed Cillian (Kiely) on a small bit, and we probably left one or two gaps, and they picked off one or two points in injury time, but look proud of the lads for the whole year overall.”

At the start of the year, regaining the Offaly Senior Hurling Championship was the only focus and Leinster never entered their thinking. The manager was happy that they acquitted themselves well, providing a great day out for their supporters as they beat Wexford champions Naomh Eanna comprehensively in Wexford Park.

“We never looked anywhere near a Leinster campaign. It was all about winning Offaly, which we did, we had a good day out in Wexford, and look when we sit back and look at it we were obviously disappointed by today but overall the year has been very successful.”

His future as manager will now come onto the radar. Hand has earned the right to make his own decision but his only plan for the moment is a few weeks off and a chance to relax and breathe after an energy sapping year.

“A few weeks off. We've been training since January 8th, in fairness some of the boys now are going back in with Offaly minors and 20s so I’m hoping the managers will give the boys a week or two, but no for myself a few weeks off, Christmas is only around the corner. I may spend a few days at home. I haven't been home since January the 8th and we'll sit down in the New Year and discuss that.”

Crucially, Kilcormac-Killoughey have begun to integrate some of their outstanding young talent. Brecon Kavanagh and Adam Screeney were automatic starters throughout the campaign and Brecon's twin Leigh joined them on the starting lineup for the Leinster club games – after an injury to Cathal Kiely created a vacancy in the starting team. James Mahon and Ter Guinan came on in Wexford with Guinan introduced in injury time last Saturday and others are chomping at the bit, waiting for their chance.

O'Loughlin Gaels also showed the physical development work that needs to be done by those younger players to compete at senior level and Hand commented:

“A lot of the younger lads now, hopefully the under 20s they'll get hopefully a long season with the Offaly 20s and a few going in with the seniors, and look you saw there on the pitch today the young lads have a lot of conditioning, and a lot of work to do and it'll take them a few years. But look they held their own out there today, but like O'Loughlin Gaels probably had a better age profile today. We’ve a lot of big men, but our next batch coming onto the field is 18, 19, 20, so it'll take a bit for them to get up to speed, but we've young lads looking to the future and looking to come in today. We've an eye on the future and them lads will get bigger and stronger over the next few years which will be a great help.”

He felt the ground conditions, more so than physicality, was a factor in Adam Screeney only getting on limited ball.

“Look Adam needs fast ball out into space and when the ball landed today it was sticking, so a lot of the play was in rucks today, which does not suit Adam plus he's (Mikey Butler) an all star corner back marking him. Adam’s 18 years of age and I thought his attitude was top class, just today's conditions didn't suit him.”