Relieved Kilcormac-Killoughey fall into final as excellent Birr endure agonising defeat

BIRR were within a hair's breath of pulling off a huge shock as a very relieved Kilcormac-Killoughey sort of fell into the final, snatching a dramatic win in a thrilling Senior Hurling Championship semi-final at an enraptured O'Connor Park on Saturday afternoon.

Molloy Precast and Environmental Systems Senior Hurling Championship semi-final

Kilcormac-Killoughey 0-24

Birr 1-20

In a magnificently entertaining, fiercely fought encounter that provided terrific value for money, a super Charlie Mitchell point with the four minutes of injury time almost up saw Kilcormac-Killoughey survive and keep their three in a row dream on track.

It was such a close run thing though as an excellent, fired up Birr produced the game of their lives, unsettled the warm favourites with a ferocious work rate and just refused to go away when the odds seemed stacked against them in the second half.

It would have taken very little more for Birr to have won and Kilcormac-Killoughey could not have complained one bit if they exited stage left. A handful of their players were below their best on the day, collectively, they didn't match the work rate displayed by Birr and they were sitting ducks throughout the second half.

K-K also won because a handful of their players were at their optimum level and three of these were in attack where Adam Screeney, Charlie Mitchell and Jack Screeney were brilliant. They registered 17 of K-K's 24 points, 13 of them came from play and that was an absolutely sensational contribution on a day where everything was hard earned. Jordan Quinn was immense throughout in defence while Cillian Kiely turned in a serious second half display after a mixed bag in the first half when he also got into card trouble – picking up a yellow after flirting with an earlier one for kicking the ball away and we were wondering if K-K would error on the side of caution by replacing him at half time. They didn't, probably issuing a stern warning to Kiely not to commit a silly foul, put in too heavy of a hit or react to provocation and it paid off as he cut out a lot of ball.

It was a very hard defeat on Birr, who played with such heart warming character and spirit. It was their best performance in years as they played well enough to win and at the very least, they deserved an extra twenty minutes. It didn't happen as they just ran out of road late on but they can be so proud of the way they played and put the champions on the ropes.

It is not that K-K didn't deserve to win either. It took two to tangle in such a thrilling game and K-K were every bit as good as Birr. Their work rate levels were a bit off in sectors and for periods but they also knuckled down when the gun was to their head. It is a very good sign of a team that can win a game when they are not at their best, to get out of jail and they showed they are made of the right stuff, even if dancing with a disastrous defeat.

It was just one of those ding dong shootouts that went right down to the wire and no result would have been larceny or unjust. It was a game decided on the finest of margins and it could have swung anyway – there was that little separating them.

K-K put in a serious shift against the wind in the first half, Birr trumped that in many ways in the second half but ultimately Birr lost because they didn't do enough with the wind on their backs.

They rattled into K-K from the start with midfielder Colm Mulrooney on fire early on, registering three points as they stormed into a 0-5 to 0-2 lead after six minutes.

From here to the break, K-K did really well, controlling things in an understated way and ensuring that Birr did not open any decent gap by half time. Taking some quality scores, they were level at 0-7 each when Birr broke through for a 20^th minute goal, Ailbe Watkins finishing very well.

K-K responded with four in a row from Adam Screeney (free), Jack Screeney, Daniel Hand and Enda Grogan to lead by 0-11 to 1-7 after 27 minutes. Birr grabbed a half time lead 1-9 to 0-11 lead with points from Luke Nolan and Eoghan Cahill ('65') but also did themselves real harm late on,.

They had eight first half wides, six of them in the last ten minutes while Eoghan Cahill missed a great goal chance just before the break – it was in a position he is normally deadly in but Conor Slevin pulled off a fantastic save with his boot, deflecting it out for a '65' that Cahill floated over.

A point lead looked nowhere near enough with that wind but Birr read from a different script. Their work rate went higher as the half wore on, giving K-K no room to settle and forcing a high volume of turnovers. K-K's error count crept higher and higher, not all of them forced by Birr, and as the half wore on, the potential for an upset grew larger and larger.

Every time K-K got scores, Birr were able to respond and keep coming back. It was level at 0-14 to 1-11 after 35 minutes, Birr got it back to 1-14 to 0-14 and K-K then produced some of their best hurling. They got three points in a minute in the 44th-45^th minute from Daniel Hand, Adam Screeney and Charlie Mitchell and the Screeney brothers Adam and Jack added fine scores as they grabbed a 0-19 to 1-14 lead with eleven minutes up.

It was here that Birr really stood up. Ailbe Watkins got a very important point but Adam Screeney cancelled that out, tapping over a free after being chopped down in full flight by Jimmy Irwin.

In a breathtaking finale, the superb Luke Nolan pointed and Eoghan Cahill got a free to level it up, 1-17 to 0-20, four minutes left. Adam Screeney put K-K back in front with a super point, Luke Nolan responded with an equaliser into the wind from out on the right wing that was positively “Screeney-esque”.

Jack Screeney and Charlie Mitchell put K-K two up as it went into injury time but Birr responded again, Morgan Watkins pointing from play and Cahill converting another free to make it 1-20 to 0-23 with 62 minutes gone.

The champions were staring the abyss in the face but won it at the death. Birr could and perhaps should have had a free out around their own 40 metre line but once again referee Matthew Farrell waved play on, Charlie Mitchell picked the ball from just outside a host of bodies and angled over a sensational winner with Birr players racing at him. That was that and Birr couldn't manage one last attack as K-K returned to another final.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Adam Screeney (Kilcormac-Killoughey): It is a sign of how good the game was that there was no shortage of candidates on both sides and you could stand over a number of selections.

My choice is Adam Screeney. He was targeted for special attention by Birr and was so tightly marked as Birr worked so hard to ensure he got no space. He was magnificent in this environment, displaying some sensational skill, winning ball he shouldn't have, getting four of his eight points from play and having a handful of other assists. He had a serious game for them.

Charlie Mitchell and Jack Screeney were also leading contenders for K-K while Jordan Quinn, Cillian Kiely, Enda Grogan and the very hard working Daniel Hand also performed at a high level for them.

Colm Mulrooney and Luke Nolan staked serious claims for Birr. Mulrooney's first half tour de force was crucial at a stage when they were struggling to build momentum while he also got a second half point. Luke Nolan got better and better as the game wore on, having some great touches in the Birr attack, showing for everything and asking the most serious of questions of the K-K defence. Morgan Watkins also went very well in the second half while the Birr defence deserve a special mention for their all round tenacity, honesty, work rate, turnovers and diligence – even if 24 points was a fairly big score to concede.

THE SCORERS

Kilcormac-Killoughey: Adam Screeney 0-8 (4f), Charlie Mitchell 0-5, Jack Screeney 0-4, Enda Grogan, James Gorman and Daniel Hand 0-2 each, Conor Slevin 0-1 (f).

Birr: Eoghan Cahill 0-8 (6f and 1 '65'), Colm Mulrooney 0-4, Ailbe Watkins 1-1, Luke Nolan 0-3, Morgan Watkins 0-2, Joe Ryan and Lochlann Quinn 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

KILCORMAC-KILLOUGHEY: Conor Slevin; Tom Spain, Jordan Quinn James Mahon; Brecon Kavanagh., Cillian Kiely, Enda Grogan; Damien Kilmartin, Colin Spain; Jack Screeney, Conor Mahon, Daniel Hand, ; Charlie Mitchell, James Gorman, Adam Screeney. Subs – Alex Kavanagh for Gorman (49m), Leigh Kavanagh for Hand (62m), Peter Geraghty for Grogan (63m),

BIRR: Adam Fitzgerald; Campbell Boyd, Jimmy Irwin, Cormac Kenny; Sean Ryan, Brendan Murphy, Ben Miller; Colm Mulrooney, Joe Ryan; Barry Harding, Luke Nolan, Ailbe Watkins; Lochlann Quinn, Morgan Watkins, Eoghan Cahill. Subs – Niall Lyons for Harding (40m), Eoin Hayes for Quinn (50m), fPauric Watkins for Kenny (61m),

Referee – Matthew Farrell, Tullamore.

REFEREE WATCH

A generally very efficient referee, Matthew Farrell had a reasonable game but not without things to discuss – he did let a bit too much go at times and while this swung both ways, it could have led to trouble. There were plenty of frees not given on both sides and one of those was a talking point as Birr looked entitled to a free out just before Charlie Mitchell's winning point.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Charlie Mitchell's last point was a score worthy of winning a game and separated the sides in the wind up. The goal chance Eoghan Cahill missed before half time was also a key moment.

VENUE WATCH

This was the third of three fixtures in O'Connor Park on Saturday but the pitch held up very well. There had been stormy weather but it was far more wind than rain which was a help. As usual, incessant announcements asking supporters to stay off the pitch after the U14 hurling final in the morning were ignored by a good few but in fairness to them, they didn't stay long out there and didn't do much damage – the problem with spectators on the pitch is that it tends to be concentrated in the one area near the front middle of the damage and it can cut it up very quickly there.

It is not a huge deal but Birr made three changes from the team listed in the programme. They started the exact same team that had lined out in their last game against Ballinamere and were always going to go with the same fifteen again. You'd wonder why they didn't just submit the right team.

We also knew that Kilcormac-Killoughey were almost certain to start the same team that beat Ballinamere in the quarter-final and they listed that team.

WHAT'S NEXT

K-K got into another county final, meeting Shinrone or Belmont.

STATISTICS

Wides: Kilcormac-Killoughey - 8 (2 in first half); Birr – 10 (8 in first half).

Yellow cards: K-K – 2 (Cillian Kiely, Jack Screeney); Birr – 2 (Eoghan Cahill, Jimmy Irwin).

Red cards: 0