Kerins O’Rahillys (Kerry) 2-6 Newcastle West (Limerick) 1-8
Stephen Barry reports from Mallow
KERINS O’RAHILLYS HAVE won their first Munster Club football title, the high fielding of Tommy Walsh sealing a second-half turnaround against Newcastle West.
The Strand Road Club become the eighth Kerry team to take provincial honours thanks to two goals in the space of five minutes from Walsh and Barry John Keane, either side of a Mike McMahon goal, to give them a lead that was closed to a point but never equalled.
Like Louis van Gaal and the Netherlands in last night’s World Cup quarter-final, both sides threw caution to the wind and started pumping long ball into their towering target-men in the second half. A game that featured seven scores and one goal chance in the first half suddenly had three goals and another saved inside nine minutes.
Tommy Walsh caught three high balls in the first 10 minutes, the first two of which resulted in goals. At the other end, McMahon gathered two balls fed in, leading to a goal and another goal chance.
Gavin O’Brien started the second half as he did the first, catching the throw-in and charging forward to set up a point – this time for substitute Ben Hanafin to score with his first touch.
Jack Savage was notably quicker feeding the ball into the full-forward line and it paid off in the 34th minute; Walsh danced in behind the full-back and his shot, half-blocked by Darren O’Doherty, found the net. Cormac Coffey burst forward to make it a four-point lead, 1-5 to 0-4.
McMahon saved fair warning of his danger forcing a save from Shane Foley but after winning possession again to set up a Cian Sheehan shot, McMahon was goal-hanging for the rebound off the post. A one-point game, but only for a matter of seconds.
David Moran won the kick out and was fouled. He launched another rocket. Walsh grabbed it and laid off for Barry John Keane to almost rip the rigging off the roof of the net.
Eoin Hurley (free) and Tom Hoare traded scores as defences began to adapt to the new means of examination. The Kerry champions, now with a lead to defend, began to slow their attacks, while Moran began to position himself at the edge of the square when Newcastle West advanced. Hoare’s 47th-minute point was their last score.
Kerins O’Rahillys’ Cormac Coffey (right) in action against Newcastle West’s Michael O’Keeffe. Ken Sutton / INPHO
Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO
Two Hurley frees, the first of which saw Jack Savage sent off for a second booking, closed the gap to two at the start of the four added minutes but he missed with another free to close to the minimum.
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A wild clearance fell to Aaron Neville but his driven shot flashed over the bar and there was to be no last chance for the Limerick champions.
Strand Road were reliant on frees for their scoring threat in the first half. Savage kicked their first point (off the left, from the hand) in the first minute, and his next three frees (on the right, off the ground) resulted in a point, a goal chance, and the goalie plucking the ball from above the crossbar.
The goal chance, in the 23rd minute, saw Tommy Walsh field the dropping shot but his close-range shot was blocked by the diving James Kelly.
Otherwise, Newcastle West were congesting the half-back line and turning back Strand Road runners. Ruadhán O’Connor, handed the task of marking Savage, laid on a point for Shane Stack, and Iain Corbett rampaged forward for another.
Sheehan against Coffey was another notable pairing, with Coffey bursting forward at every opportunity but those were limited by the Newcastle West defence and Sheehan’s attacking threat – he was fouled twice for Hurley pointed frees.
A stoppage-time mark, from Barry John Keane to Tommy Walsh, narrowed the gap to one at the break and gave Kerins O’Rahilly’s the idea of how to break down this Newcastle West defence.
Scorers for Kerins O’Rahilly’s: Tommy Walsh 1-1 (0-1m), Barry John Keane 1-0, Jack Savage 0-2 (2f), Ben Hanafin 0-1, Cormac Coffey 0-1, Tom Hoare 0-1.
Scorers for Newcastle West: Eoin Hurley 0-5 (5f), Mike McMahon 1-0, Shane Stack 0-1.
Kerins O’Rahillys
1. Shane Foley
2. Darragh McElligott
3. Ross O’Callaghan (captain)
5. Con Barrett
4. Cormac Coffey
6. Karl Mullins
7. Pádraig Neenan
8. David Moran
12. Gavin O’Brien
10. Gearóid Savage
11. Jack Savage
9. Tom Hoare
13. Barry John Keane
14. Tommy Walsh
15. Conor Hayes
Subs:
19. Ben Hanafin for G Savage (h-t)
17. Ryan Carroll for Barrett (38)
21. Diarmuid O’Sullivan for Hayes (58)
Newcastle West
1. Michael Quilligan
2. Michael O’Keeffe
3. Darren O’Doherty
4. Brian O’Sullivan
7. Iain Corbett (captain)
5. Ruadhán O’Connor
6. James Kelly
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Tommy Walsh is the inspiration for Kerins O'Rahillys as they conquer Munster
Updated at 18.42
Kerins O’Rahillys (Kerry) 2-6
Newcastle West (Limerick) 1-8
Stephen Barry reports from Mallow
KERINS O’RAHILLYS HAVE won their first Munster Club football title, the high fielding of Tommy Walsh sealing a second-half turnaround against Newcastle West.
The Strand Road Club become the eighth Kerry team to take provincial honours thanks to two goals in the space of five minutes from Walsh and Barry John Keane, either side of a Mike McMahon goal, to give them a lead that was closed to a point but never equalled.
Like Louis van Gaal and the Netherlands in last night’s World Cup quarter-final, both sides threw caution to the wind and started pumping long ball into their towering target-men in the second half. A game that featured seven scores and one goal chance in the first half suddenly had three goals and another saved inside nine minutes.
Tommy Walsh caught three high balls in the first 10 minutes, the first two of which resulted in goals. At the other end, McMahon gathered two balls fed in, leading to a goal and another goal chance.
Gavin O’Brien started the second half as he did the first, catching the throw-in and charging forward to set up a point – this time for substitute Ben Hanafin to score with his first touch.
Jack Savage was notably quicker feeding the ball into the full-forward line and it paid off in the 34th minute; Walsh danced in behind the full-back and his shot, half-blocked by Darren O’Doherty, found the net. Cormac Coffey burst forward to make it a four-point lead, 1-5 to 0-4.
McMahon saved fair warning of his danger forcing a save from Shane Foley but after winning possession again to set up a Cian Sheehan shot, McMahon was goal-hanging for the rebound off the post. A one-point game, but only for a matter of seconds.
David Moran won the kick out and was fouled. He launched another rocket. Walsh grabbed it and laid off for Barry John Keane to almost rip the rigging off the roof of the net.
Eoin Hurley (free) and Tom Hoare traded scores as defences began to adapt to the new means of examination. The Kerry champions, now with a lead to defend, began to slow their attacks, while Moran began to position himself at the edge of the square when Newcastle West advanced. Hoare’s 47th-minute point was their last score.
Two Hurley frees, the first of which saw Jack Savage sent off for a second booking, closed the gap to two at the start of the four added minutes but he missed with another free to close to the minimum.
A wild clearance fell to Aaron Neville but his driven shot flashed over the bar and there was to be no last chance for the Limerick champions.
Strand Road were reliant on frees for their scoring threat in the first half. Savage kicked their first point (off the left, from the hand) in the first minute, and his next three frees (on the right, off the ground) resulted in a point, a goal chance, and the goalie plucking the ball from above the crossbar.
The goal chance, in the 23rd minute, saw Tommy Walsh field the dropping shot but his close-range shot was blocked by the diving James Kelly.
Otherwise, Newcastle West were congesting the half-back line and turning back Strand Road runners. Ruadhán O’Connor, handed the task of marking Savage, laid on a point for Shane Stack, and Iain Corbett rampaged forward for another.
Sheehan against Coffey was another notable pairing, with Coffey bursting forward at every opportunity but those were limited by the Newcastle West defence and Sheehan’s attacking threat – he was fouled twice for Hurley pointed frees.
A stoppage-time mark, from Barry John Keane to Tommy Walsh, narrowed the gap to one at the break and gave Kerins O’Rahilly’s the idea of how to break down this Newcastle West defence.
Scorers for Kerins O’Rahilly’s: Tommy Walsh 1-1 (0-1m), Barry John Keane 1-0, Jack Savage 0-2 (2f), Ben Hanafin 0-1, Cormac Coffey 0-1, Tom Hoare 0-1.
Scorers for Newcastle West: Eoin Hurley 0-5 (5f), Mike McMahon 1-0, Shane Stack 0-1.
Kerins O’Rahillys
1. Shane Foley
2. Darragh McElligott
3. Ross O’Callaghan (captain)
5. Con Barrett
4. Cormac Coffey
6. Karl Mullins
7. Pádraig Neenan
8. David Moran
12. Gavin O’Brien
10. Gearóid Savage
11. Jack Savage
9. Tom Hoare
13. Barry John Keane
14. Tommy Walsh
15. Conor Hayes
Subs:
19. Ben Hanafin for G Savage (h-t)
17. Ryan Carroll for Barrett (38)
21. Diarmuid O’Sullivan for Hayes (58)
Newcastle West
1. Michael Quilligan
2. Michael O’Keeffe
3. Darren O’Doherty
4. Brian O’Sullivan
7. Iain Corbett (captain)
5. Ruadhán O’Connor
6. James Kelly
8. Emmet Rigter
9. Seán Murphy
12. Diarmaid Kelly, 19. Séamus Hurley, 10. Cian Sheehan
11. Shane Stack
14. Mike McMahon
15. Eoin Hurley
Subs
21. Todd O’Donovan for S Hurley (40)
17. Aaron Neville for J Kelly (46)
13. Bryan Nix for Murphy (51)
24. Thomas Quilligan for D Kelly (56)
Referee: Seán Lonergan (Tipperary).
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Kerins O'Rahilly's Munster Club Football Championship Munster GAA Newcastle West seminal