Round 2 of the JJ Kavanagh & Sons Junior Hurling League encounter between Piltown and Kilmacow took place on Sunday the 7th May last in Piltown. It was a beautiful sunny evening, the winds of the previous day had calmed and there was a great turnout of support to watch these two near neighbours battle it out.
The first half was a fast-paced affair which was not reflected in the slow-moving scoreboard! Martin Power opened Piltown's scoring with a point from a converted free in the second minute. Less than a minute later, a Piltown line ball found half-back Shane Walsh and his long range strike bounced on the hard ground in front of the Kilmacow goal and went straight over the bar for a lovely point. Kilmacow got on the scoreboard in the fourth minute with a Richard McNamara point from a converted free. A short while later, Martin Power won a breaking ball and was bearing down on the Kilmacow goal but Kilmacow's Stephen Haberlin denied Martin a goal with a great save. However, the Kilmacow clearance went out for a line ball and Ian Long made no mistake in sending the line ball over the bar for a great point. The Piltown defence was holding strong and a breaking ball was picked up by Shane Walsh who sent it down the line to David Kinsella and a quick hand-pass from David to Neil Kelly resulted in a lovely point.
Peter McCarthy and Richard McNamara traded points from converted frees before Kilmacow's Alan Murphy, who was looking dangerous all evening, scored a lovely point from a Paul Laffan pass. A Kilmacow puckout in the 22nd minute found Peter McCarthy and Peter sent the ball high over the bar for a fantastic long-range point. In the 23rd minute, a Martin Power free looked like it was going wide but Ronan Ryan managed to keep the ball in play and batted it down to Philly Kenny and the quick-thinking Philly, who was surrounded by Kilmacow defenders and didn't have room to strike the ball, simply kicked the ball over the bar. Peter McCarthy closed out the first half with a point from a converted free. HT score Piltown 0-8, Kilmacow 0-3.
The pace and intensity was upped in the second half and a few crucial changes by the Kilmacow panel at half time saw Kilmacow come right back into the fray. Martin Power opened the second half scoring with a point from a converted free which was quickly followed by a great point from Kilmacow substitute Anthony McNamara, from a Conor Dowling pass. Shane O'Dwyer, having a solid second half, stopped a Kilmacow attack and sent the ball into David Kinsella who linked up with Kevin Brophy for a lovely point. David was also instrumental in Philly Kenny's point less than 30 seconds later. Luke Harney added two points to the Kilmacow tally, one from a converted free and the second was a great point directly from winning a Piltown puckout.
Luke was also instrumental in Kilmacow's first goal which came in the 38th minute from a great strike by John Power who eased past the Piltown defence. A short while later, Shane Gaule put his name on the scoreboard with a lovely point from a pass from Alan Murphy. In the 41st minute, Martin Power stepped up to take a free and he dropped the ball in short into the half-forward line and Philly Kenny succeeded in sending it over the bar. Luke Harney then added another from a converted free and James Norris' subsequent puckout was won well by Philly Kenny who managed to evade his marker again and Philly sent the ball high over the bar from out on the wing. Martin Power and Luke Harney, trading points from converted frees, took us to the 47th minute. A short Piltown puckout found Shane O'Dwyer in mid-field and Shane took off with speed and made a great run up the middle and with a quick pass to Philly Kenny out on the wing, Philly added another point to his tally.
In the 50th minute, a Kilmacow free was intercepted by Martin Power and Martin sent a great ball across the pitch to substitute Jamie Norris whose first touch of the ball resulted in a great point. Peter McCarthy added another from a long-range converted free and it looked like Piltown were safe. However, Kilmacow had other ideas and substitute Paddy O'Keeffe put his mark on the game with a fine point in the 55th minute. Less than two minutes later, Kilmacow went on the attack again and Shane Gaule, bearing down on goal, drew a free and Paddy O'Keeffe stepped up to take the free. Piltown lined the goal but Paddy made no mistake in raising the green flag with a solid strike that could not be stopped and reduced Piltown's lead to one point. Peter McCarthy pointed in the 58th minute from a converted free but they still weren't free and clear and Kilmacow continued to threaten. In injury time, a long ball up the wing to Jamie Norris saw Jamie take off towards the Kilmacow goal and Stephen Haberlin pulled off a fantastic save and Piltown had to settle for the resultant point from a Peter McCarthy 65, the final score of the match. FT score: Piltown 0-19, Kilmacow 2-10.
Best for Piltown: Philly Kenny, Tom Kenny, Peter McCarthy, Martin Power.
Best for Kilmacow, Luke Harney, Alan Murphy, Stephen Haberlin, Paddy O'Keeffe.
Piltown panel: James Norris, Tom Kenny, Seamus Norris, Michael (Mixer) O'Dwyer, Shane Walsh (0-1), Peter McCarthy (0-6, 0-5f), Darragh Walsh, Martin Power (capt) (0-3f), Shane O'Dwyer, Ian Long (0-1 sideline), David Kinsella, Neil Kelly (0-1), Philly Kenny (0-5), Kevin Brophy (0-1), Ronan Ryan. Subs used: Dean Brophy, Jamie Norris (0-1).
Kilmacow panel: Stephen Haberlin, Jack Maguire, Ray Hennessy, Paul Laffan, Conor Dowling, Diarmuid O'Dwyer, Emmet Blanchfield, Alan Murphy (0-1), John Power (1-0), Ian Ahearne, Luke Harney (capt) (0-4, 0-3f), Shane Gaule (0-1), Jack Power, Richard McNamara (0-2f), Oisin O'Dwyer. Subs used: Robert Croke, Anthony McNamara (0-1), Dean Power, Paddy O'Keeffe (1-1, 1-0f).
Ref: Barry Donohoe
To view photo, go to Gallery, Club Photos (JHL v. Kilmacow)
