Goals prove costly as Coláiste an Átha beaten by Scoil Aireagail in hurling final

The Kilmuckridge side had the hurling in them to win this title but struggled to keep Ballyhale from racking up the goals, and in the end that scoreboard pressure and inability to slow down a talented full-forward line proved costly.

The nine-point margin of defeat doesn’t nearly tell the story of this match. Kilmuckridge were within four points with five minutes to go and were still right in the reckoning until Ballyhale scored their sixth goal to finish off the contest.

They were led throughout the contest by livewire Tomás Walsh. The Buffers Alley clubman took only a few minutes to show himself as the chief danger for Kilmuckridge, and Scoil Aireagail reacted accordingly, sliding cover to his area of the field.

Walsh still registered 2-8 to end the game as top scorer. He got some help elsewhere but credit to Ballyhale, as they defended superbly and shut down a lot of the avenues that their opponents looked to exploit.

Walsh got two points in the opening two minutes, but Ballyhale provided a sign of things to come when Cathal Coogan fired to the net.

After a third Walsh point, the Kilkenny school found the net again, with Sam Mansfield drifting in on a long ball before dispatching past Gearóid Kirwan.

Five of the next six points were scored by Kilmuckridge, as Walsh got three and James O’Leary and Kevin Doran also registered to move ahead by 0-8 to 2-1.

However, the half ended poorly for Coláiste an Átha. They added Walsh’s seventh point but allowed 2-2 in the closing stages, with goals from Mansfield and Mark Power, to hit the interval 4-3 to 0-9 behind.

Mansfield completed his hat-trick in the 40th minute and it looked like Kilmuckridge, who were playing against the breeze, were getting left behind. However, the Wexford school had renewed hope when Walsh smacked in his first goal (5-5 to 1-10).

The goal gave Coláiste an Átha a jolt of life and, after Walsh tapped over a free, the nippy attacker found the net again.

Marin Kisov flighted over in the 55th minute to cut the gap to four (5-7 to 2-12), but Ballyhale produced a big finish, with 1-2 unanswered to wrap up the title.

Coláiste an Átha: Gearóid Kirwan (Buffers Alley); Feidhlim Proctor-Laird (Oulart-The Ballagh), Seán Walsh (Monageer-Boolavogue), Jamie Murphy (Buffers Alley); Donncha Proctor-Laird (Oulart-The Ballagh), Kevin Doran (Buffers Alley, 0-1 free), Liam Carty (Buffers Alley); Carter Tohill (Oulart-The Ballagh), James O’Leary (Oulart-The Ballagh, 0-1); Alphonse Martin (Blackwater), Marin Kisov (Buffers Alley, 0-2), Ross Carroll (Blackwater); Callum Dixon (Blackwater), Ciarán Murphy (Buffers Alley, capt.), Tomás Walsh (Buffers Alley, 2-8, 0-3 frees). Subs. - Ryan Codd (Oulart-The Ballagh) for Dixon (51), also Rhys Whelan-Byrne (Buffers Alley), Billy Holmes (Monageer-Boolavogue), Karl Whelan (Oulart-The Ballagh), Seán Stamp (Oulart-The Ballagh), Gearóid Neary (Ballygarrett).

Scoil Aireagail: Cian Franks; Seamus Murphy, John Somers, Ciarán Holohan; Christopher Aylward, Joseph Aylward, Matthew Murphy; Michael Catt (0-1), Michael O’Shea (capt.); Cathal Coogan (1-3, 0-2 frees), Patrick Irish (0-1), Jack Walsh-Raggett (0-1); Sam Mansfield (3-0), Mark Power (1-0), Adam Franks (1-3). Subs. - Jamie Dempsey for Holohan (39), Conor Kinsella for Power (58).

Referee: John Bennett (Tullogher-Rosbercon).