It was a beautiful, warm and sunny Sunday – the perfect weather for a hurling match and the Piltown panel travelled to Jenkinstown on the 2nd April 2017 for their JJ Kavanagh & Sons All County Junior Hurling League encounter with Ballinkillen of Carlow.
Within seconds of the throw-in, Ballinkillen scored the first point of the afternoon and Martin Power converted a free for Piltown’s first point in the second minute. Ballinkillen added two more points and were heading for the Piltown goal in the ninth minute but Seamus Norris, ever reliable at full back, had other ideas and his clearance found Martin Power in midfield who quickly sent the ball into full forward Ronan Ryan who scored a lovely point. The Ballinkillen corner forward put his mark on the game with two points in two minutes. Shortly after, Shane O’Dwyer sent a lovely ball down the wing to Ian Long and Ian dropped it right in front of the Ballinkillen goalie & with a quick flick of his hurley, Ronan Ryan sent it over the bar.
Ballinkillen added another point in the 13th minute and then David Kinsella won a breaking ball and with a quick hand pass back to Peter McCarthy, Peter sent the ball in to Martin Power who scored a fine point. Shane Walsh won the next Ballinkillen puckout, one of many he won during the match, and cleared it down the line. In the tussle for possession, the ball went out of play and the resultant hop ball, given the uncertainty as to who last touched it, was quickly picked up by David Kinsella. David passed it off to Martin Power who spotted Neil Kelly. Martin continued his run and Neil hand passed the ball back to Martin who drilled the ball into the back of the Ballinkillen net. Aaron Gallagher cleared the next Ballinkillen puckout and found Ronan Ryan who, encountering some opposition, passed the ball to the open Philly Kenny & Philly sent the ball high over the bar. Two more points from Ballinkillen brought us to the 25th minute when Peter McCarthy won another Ballinkillen puckout and found Ronan Ryan who scored a fantastic point from a difficult angle. Ballinkillen’s centre forward scored their final point of the half and Ronan Ryan closed out Piltown’s first half scoring with a great delivery in from Shane Walsh. HT score Piltown 1-7 Ballinkillen 0-9.
The second half started with two Piltown points, one from Ronan Ryan and one from a converted free from Martin Power, followed by a Ballinkillen point from a converted free. Ian Long was instrumental in Neil Kelly’s next point, getting in a crucial hook and Neil made no mistake in sending the ball over the bar. Ballinkillen added another point in 40th minute and shortly after, Martin Power stood up to take a free and seeing that Neil Kelly was open, he sent in a short ball to Neil who pointed it beautifully. Ballinkillen pointed another from a converted free and sub Jamie Norris announced his arrival on the pitch with a lovely pass to Ian Long who scored a wonderful point. Ballinkillen scored a great point in 47th minute before Piltown added three in a row, all from converted frees, one from Martin Power and two long range frees from Peter McCarthy.
Ballinkillen’s last point of the afternoon came from converted free in the 55th minute. Piltown defended well in the second half, conceding only five points. Once again, Shane Walsh found Neil Kelly, both of whom were having a fantastic game, and Neil spotted Philly Kenny making the run and Philly scored a cracker of a goal. In the 57th minute, Neil Kelly won a James Norris puckout and, making it look easy, simply turned and sent the ball over the bar. A great ball up the line from Mixer O’Dwyer was recovered by Ian Long who scored his second of the afternoon. Ballinkillen were awarded a free in injury time and their full forward stepped up to take a shot on goal but his strike was well saved by Tom Kenny. Piltown closed out the game with another great point from Peter McCarthy. FT score Piltown 2-18 Ballinkillen 0-14.
Piltown panel: James Norris, Tom Kenny, Seamus Norris, Mixer O’Dwyer, Shane Walsh, Peter McCarthy (0-3, 0-2f), Aaron Gallagher, Martin Power (1-4, 0-3f), Shane O’Dwyer, Ian Long (0-2), Neil Kelly (0-3), David Kinsella, John Kenny, Philly Kenny (1-1), Ronan Ryan (0-5). Subs used: Jamie Norris
Ref: Eamon Mansfield
