Coolderry shock champions to get championship campaign off to the perfect start
Kilcormac-Killoughey's wastefulness costs them dearly in surprise defeat
Molloy Environmental Systems Senior Hurling Championship Group 1 Round 1
COOLDERRY 4-14
KILCORMAC-KILLOUGHEY 2-17
KILCORMAC-KILLOUGHEY'S aspirations of going four-in-a-row haven’t been extinguished just yet, but any talk of such things was put firmly on the back burner by a resolute and determined Coolderry display in Kilcormac on Sunday evening that fully merited their three-point win over the county champions.
Both of these teams came into this game with key players absent and on paper, K-K’s strength in depth should have made it easier for them to overcome the loss of Charlie Mitchell, Adam Screeney, Cillian Kiely and the Geraghty brothers than for Coolderry to compensate for the loss of Kevin Connolly, Daniel Miller and David King.
Yet while Coolderry found a way to compensate for the industry and quality that they lost, the absence of the relentless scoring power of Screeney and Mitchell in particular was sorely missed on a night when Kilcormac-Killoughey couldn’t get to grips with the diagonal breeze that blew from the west, towards the stand and road side corner of the pitch. 14 out of 18 K-K wides were on the stand side of the posts, and while Coolderry were far from flawless in the same regard, their efficiency was good enough to compensate for the fact that K-K were still that bit better at creating chances.
Tactically too, this was a win for Paul Cuddy and his selectors. Coolderry used the long ball in such a way as to prevent Brecon Kavanagh from doing his usual thing of sweeping up breaks, and they created mismatches that in turn led to goal chances. Eoin Burke flashed one early effort over the bar and Shane Ryan also butchered one opportunity when he went for a strike and was denied by a brilliant Jordan Quinn hook, even though a handpass to his right to Burke was the clear right option.
The other four opportunities all led to goals, while Kilcormac-Killoughey didn’t get anything like the same change out of a solid Coolderry defence, with Ajay Cleary and Will Malone very dependable along the spine.
K-K were the first to rattle twine through Alex Kavanagh, assisted by Conor Mahon, and they could easily have added a second when Ter Guinan rattled the crossbar.
Alex Kavanagh and Jack Screeney hit excellent early points as the champions moved 1-4 to 0-3 clear anyway, but a route one long ball from Stephen Corcoran ended with Burke finding the net, and it was suddenly apparent that any lingering hangover from Coolderry’s league final defeat to Seir Kieran a fortnight previously was dissipating.
Even with the wide count mounting, Colin Spain turned what looked like a simple point chance into their second goal through his pace and killer instinct, and they briefly led by five, only to be reeled in again, this time Shane Ryan getting the goal for Coolderry. Cian and Eoin Burke pointed to draw Coolderry level, Jack Screeney and Daniel Hand put two in it at half-time and even if it was clearly a competitive game, there was no cause for panic.
A less-than-perfect combination play between Hand and Alex Kavanagh shut down another potential goal chance for K-K after half-time but a simple and clinical Hand point pushed the gap to three afterwards.
What moved Coolderry from ‘hanging in’ to really opening the window of opportunity was the introduction of Andy Connolly, and a couple of other positional changes. Andrew Hogan grew into the game from outfield while Eoin Burke largely moved back to midfield to good effect, and then there was the introduction of Andy Connolly, who five minutes after half-time, swept a one-handed shot past Conor Slevin while holding off Oisín Mahon.
The chances kept coming for K-K, and so did the wides. Daniel Hand was unlucky with one effort that was a marginal call at best but was given wide, but five more second half efforts were put up into the breeze and drifted left of the posts, with Hand, Conor Mahon and Lochlainn Kavanagh all off target at various key moments.
Still it was K-K’s game to lose, until the closing minutes. Gearóid McCormack punished Oisín Mahon’s failure to deal with another long ball by rifling the sliotar into the top left corner to nudge Coolderry into a 4-11 to 2-15 lead, and then a tangle between Conor Mahon and Will Malone turned into a traditional-style schemozzle, out of which Daniel Hand was singled out for a red card by referee Shane Guinan.
One up going into stoppage time, still Coolderry needed to ice the game and they did that when Eoin Burke won a free and split the posts from 70 metres with the chance, forcing the home side to chase a goal. That led to a turnover and a final clinching score from Shane Ryan, confirming a result that really blows an already fascinating championship wide open.
MATCH ANALYSIS
MAN OF THE MATCH
Eoin Burke (Coolderry): Freetakers might win these accolades a bit too often but in this instance Burke was exceptional, adding 1-3 from play and generally leading by example in the middle third. Add in the pressure to find the target with a couple of crucial late scores, and he narrowly edges out the half-back pairing of Conor Molloy and Will Malone, who won any amount of crucial contests for possession.
Jordan Quinn, Colin Spain and James Mahon were best for Kilcormac-Killoughey, while Jack Screeney and Alex Kavanagh were on fire at the start, only to fade slightly after the first quarter.
THE SCORERS
Coolderry: Eoin Burke 1-9 (0-5f, 0-1 65), Shane Ryan 1-1, Andy Connolly 1-1, Gearóid McCormack 1-0, Cian Burke 0-1, Eoghan Parlon 0-1, Eoin Ryan 0-1.
Kilcormac-Killoughey: Daniel Hand 0-8 (0-6f), Colin Spain 1-2, Alex Kavanagh 1-1, Ter Guinan 0-2, Jack Screeney 0-1, Conor Mahon 0-1, Lochlainn Kavanagh 0-1, Damien Kilmartin 0-1.
THE TEAMS
COOLDERRY: Stephen Corcoran; Joey McLoughney, Ajay Cleary, Stephen Burke; Conor Molloy, Will Malone, Marc Ryan; Shane Ryan, Shane Connolly; Cian Burke, Eoghan Parlon, Andrew Hogan; Eoin Burke, Gearóid McCormack, Eoin Ryan. Subs: Andy Connolly for Parlon, 33mins; Stephen Connolly for Malone, 43-48mins, temp; Declan Parlon for Shane Connolly, 47mins.
KILCORMAC-KILLOUGHEY: Conor Slevin; Tom Spain, Oisín Mahon, James Mahon; Jordan Quinn, Brecon Kavanagh, Enda Grogan; Colin Spain, Damien Kilmartin; Jack Screeney, Daniel Hand, Ter Guinan; Alex Kavanagh, Conor Mahon, Leigh Kavanagh. Sub: Lochlainn Kavanagh for Alex Kavanagh, 56mins.
Referee – Shane Guinan (Drumcullen).
REFEREE WATCH
The contest got spiky towards the end and it became a challenge for Shane Guinan, who kept his calm and tried to keep things on the straight and narrow. It was hard to tell what Daniel Hand did to be singled out for a red card in the skirmish late on, but Guinan checked in with all his officials and acted on those conversations.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
It’s never nice to single out mistakes and on a day when Kilcormac-Killoughey struck 18 wides, there was plenty of blame at the top end of the pitch – but in terms of changing the game, Oisín Mahon’s failure to control the bouncing ball that led to Gearóid McCormack scoring the game’s final goal was definitive.
VENUE WATCH
Kilcormac is an ideal club ground and with warm sunshine bathing the country, a decent crowd came out to take in the game, which was managed with the usual diligence and efficiency by the home club. There’s no denying that the surface was incredibly firm and while it would be unfair to blame the club for that, it did affect the game in that the ball bounced and rolled in an almost un-natural way, if it wasn’t controlled at the first attempt.
WHAT'S NEXT
On Thursday week, July 23rd, Kilcormac-Killoughey make the short trip down to Kinnitty with no small amount of pressure on their shoulders. It’ll be a different story in Coolderry two days later when a buoyant home side will play host to an equally energised St. Rynagh’s team.
STATISTICS
Wides: Kilcormac-Killoughey – 18 (12 in first half); Coolderry – 11 (7 in first half).
Yellow cards: Coolderry – 2 (Eoghan Parlon 12mins, Eoin Burke 50mins); Kilcormac-Killoughey – 1 (Conor Mahon 55mins).
Red cards: Coolderry – 0; Kilcormac-Killoughey – 1 (Daniel Hand, 55mins).