Kilruane goals prove decisive in relegation semi-final win against Upperchurch Drombane

FBD Insurance Senior Hurling Relegation Semi-Final

Kilruane MacDonaghs 2-18

Upperchurch Drombane 0-20

Kilruane MacDonaghs were made to dip into the depths of their vast experience to edge past a battling Upperchurch Drombane team in Dolla last Sunday afternoon, and in doing so, the reigning county champions confirmed their status as a senior club for the 2024 season.

There was very little to separate these teams for large swathes of play as both head their periods of dominance throughout the contest, but it was Kilruane MacDonaghs’ clinical edge, with goals at the perfect time in both halves which gave them victory here and sends Upperchurch Drombane into a relegation final shootout.

Willie Cleary’s goal on the stroke of half-time gave the 2023 county champions a six-point lead at the break and when Upperchurch Drombane had fought back in the second half to level the game by the 47th minute, Seamus Hennessy netted after a clever team move to give his side a lead they would not relinquish.

In the end, Kiruane MacDonaghs leaders show up to the party in a big way, with Seamus Hennessy continuing to show his worth after all his years of service, while Niall O’Meara was immense at centre back and laid the foundations for the north side to build a performance they have failed to deliver all year long.

There were numerous positional changes to the Kilruane team which worked a treat and brought more confidence into their play, with Craig Morgan picking up Padraig Greene at full-back, while Kieran Cahill’s move up to wing forward worked a treat as he bagged 0-3 on the day.

Upperchurch will rue the concession of those goals at crucial periods in the game, and their insistence at trying to carve out goal chances - particularly in the second half - when points were on probably cost them in the end as they had their chances to make their opponents pay more on the scoreboard.

The sides were evenly matched in the first quarter of the game as they were tied at 0-6 apiece by the 18th minute with the teams starting to get into the contest, and you could sense the nervousness of the players in different patches with a lot at stake for these clubs.

Kian O’Kelly was an early threat for Kirlauen and set up two of those opening six scores, proving to be a brilliant outlet from puck outs and he had Keith Ryan under pressure for large spells, while Niall O’Meara, Seamus Hennessy, and the busy figure of Aaron Morgan getting on the scoresheet in that time.

Upperchurch had to work marginally harder for their scores but Diarmuid Grant was an astute inclusion from the start, having played very well for the Intermediates in the relegation final win against Kiladangan the previous day, and he hit two scores for his side in that period, while Aaron Ryan, Pat Ryan, and Padraig Greene (free) also hit the target.

However, MacDonaghs went on to dominate the rest of the half scoring six points in a row up to the 27th-minute mark with four Willie Cleary frees, a second for Aaron Morgan who was causing trouble, and a first from Kieran Cahill putting them up by six points coming up to half-time.

Upperchurch dulled the damage somewhat as the clock was winding down to the breakthrough three Padraig Greene frees (two frees) but Kilruane struck a big goal on the stroke of the half-time whistle, when a short one-two from a puck out led to Paidi Williams launching a long ball into the Upperchurch half, and Willie Cleary broke across the 21 onto possession and finished with real class with a sigh at goal to give his side a 1-12 to 0-9 lead.

The unusually warm and sunny weather was contributing to the standard of the game but Upperchurch were playing within themselves and needed to have a really go in the second half before the game ran away from them, and they did just that as they took control of the third quarter, outsourcing MacDonaghs 0-7 to 0-2 up to the 47th minute with Aaron Ryan, Paddy Phelan, Niall Grant and further Greene frees taking them level with all the momentum going there way as Kilruane began to look tired from their earlier exertions.

Kilruane were going to need some steadying scores to stave off the Upperchurch resurgence and they duly came through a Cleary free and a third for Aaron Morgan put them back in front, but the key moment came soon after in the 50th minute when Kian O’Kelly went high to pluck a serious high ball before powering through the Upperchurch defence and fire across to the unmarked Seamus Hennessy who lashed home. 

That was a huge score and gave Kilruane a big four-point lead, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the game with scores from Jerry and Kieran Cahill keep the scoring ticking just enough to keep Upperchurch at bay. 

The mid Tipperary side will now go into last chance saloon fare against divisional rivals JK Brackens in a fortnight’s time, where the clubs will meet for the second time in a week as they face off in the senior football championship semi-final this coming weekend.

Kilruane MacDonaghs: Paidi Williams; Jack Peters, Craig Morgan, James Cleary; Eoin Hogan, Niall O’Meara (0-2), Aaron Morgan (0-3); Conor Austin, Seamus Hennessy (1-1); Kian O’Kelly, Willie Cleary (1-7, 0-6f, 0-1 65), Kieran Cahill (0-3); Jerome Cahill (0-1), Conor Cleary, Cian Darcy (0-1).

Subs used: James Williams for Darcy (58); Eanna Hogan for K Cahill (63).

Upperchurch Drombane: Ciaran Shortt; Michael Lavery, Ger Grant, AJ Shanahan; Keith Ryan, Gavin Ryan, Ailbe O’Donoghue; Colm Ryan, Paul Shanahan; Paddy Phelan (0-1), Diarmuid Grant (0-3), Aaron Ryan (0-2); Luke Shanahan (0-2), Padraig Greene (0-9, 0-8f), Pat Ryan (0-1).

Subs used: Dean Carew for A Shanahan (33, inj); Niall Grant (0-2) for C Ryan (40); Mikey Griffin for D Grant (58); Conor Fahy for L Shanahan (61).

Referee: Michael Kennedy (Newcastle)