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Mike O’Halloran on a Garveys Supervalu Kerry SHC final where both teams will have learnt a lot for the replay…
Lixnaw 1-18
Ballyduff 2-15
Brendan Brosnan clears the ball despite Paul O’Carroll’s efforts. Photo by Dermot Crean
They said it was going to be close and I had predicted a win for Lixnaw by a point or two, but it ended up all square Ballyduff 2-15 Lixnaw 1-18.
The man who levelled the game is a young man who played under 21 for Kerry this year, but he has been “playing” in Austin Stack Park for sixteen or seventeen years.
Shane Conway, was the boy tasked with keeping Lixnaw in the championship, when he was presented with a sideline ball, with the clock gone to red.
He slotted it. Of course he did, he has been pucking ball at that side of the field since he could walk.
Continued below…
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He had dragged Lixnaw back into the game with two points before that, after Jack Goulding had made it Ballyduff 2-15 to Lixnaw 1-15 with six minutes left.
On 48 minutes, Lixnaw replaced Raymond Galvin with James Flaherty and even though James was very unlucky that he didn’t get a goal after Michel Conway brought a great save from P.J. Gorman, I thought Reggie was playing well.
Shane Conway about to strike. Photo by Dermot Crean
Ballyduff had recovered from a bright start to the second for Lixnaw, when John Buckley pointed, Padraigh Boyle had two points and he must have thought that he had put Ballyduff well on their way to championship number 25 when he goaled on 34 minutes to leave the score Ballyduff 2-10 Lixnaw 1-9.
Ballyduff’s Padraig Boyle in for a goal. Photo by Dermot Crean
It was nip and tuck in the first half with the sides going in at half time 1-8 each.
Ballyduff had opened the scoring from the stick of Padraig Boyle, John Griffin levelled, a minute later Shane Conway scooped the ball to the net after PJ Gorman pulled off a great save; 1-1 to a point after three minutes.
Ten minutes later, Aiden was fouled and his brother Padraigh blasted past Martin Stackpoole in the Lixnaw goal.
Padraig Boyle’s penalty on its way to the net. Photo by Dermot Crean
Shane Conway and Padraig Boyle exchanged points to leave matters level at the break.
Most people I spoke to after claim that Lixnaw have learned more from the game and Ballyduff are over reliant on Padraig Boyle.
The game was “a lovely game of hurling” with little or no bite to it, with both teams being a little tentative. Next week will see all that change. Expect a cracker.
I stick with my prediction for Lixnaw to squeeze past Ballyduff in the replay. SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS
Ballyduff: PJ. O’Gorman, A. O’Connor, P. O’Grady, C. Kearney, D. Goulding, P. Costello, E. Ross, D. O’Carroll, A. O’Carroll, P. O’Carroll (L.Boyle) (A.Boyle), A. Boyle (G.O’Brien), J. O’Sullivan (0.01) (T Slattery) P. Boyle (2.11), M. Boyle(0.01), J. Goulding (0.02).
Lixnaw: M. Stackpoole, D. McCarthy, P. Corridan, G. Stackpoole (D.Shanahan) B. Brosnan (0.01), S. Power, C. O’Keeffe, J. Griffin (0.01), B. McAuliffe (0.01) J. Buckley (0.01), R. Heffernan (J Wallace), R. Galvin (0.01) (J.Flaherty) J. McKenna (0.01) (C.Sheehy), M. Conway (0.02), S. Conway (1.10)
Jack Goulding in possession. Photo by Dermot Crean
High flying action. Photo by Dermot Crean
