Kilmallock stay the distance to take Munster hurling title

Munster senior club hurling final

Cratloe 3-18 Kilmallock 1-32 (Cratloe 3-15, Kilmallock 1-21 after 60 minutes)

Kilmallock emerged victorious from an energy-sapping AIB Munster senior club hurling final at the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday, as a decisive extra-time surge ensured a third provincial success for the Limerick kingpins.

Cratloe ran out of gas in front of 6,365 spectators, having been taken to extra-time by The Nire in the Munster football semi-final a week before.

A season that promised much beyond their county boundaries ultimately ended in massive disappointment, but finishing the season as Clare senior hurling and football champions is a noteworthy achievement and should be celebrated over the winter months.

Kilmallock have more hurling to look forward to in the New Year, with an eminently winnable All-Ireland semi-final against Ulster champions Portaferry next on their list in February.

And Kilmallock did it the hard way, surviving Gavin O’Mahony’s red card with 12 minutes remaining.

They hung on grimly to force extra-time and might not have needed it but for Martin Ogie Murphy’s brilliant long-range equaliser for Cratloe deep in stoppage time, after Graeme Mulcahy’s point looked to have won it for Kilmallock.

But this victory came as no surprise to Kilmallock manager Ger ‘Sparrow’ O’Loughlin, who revealed: “I said to them when I went in there first that I wanted to win a Munster club with this team.

“I have been ramming that down their throat for most of this season.

“That was our aim. I just felt I had seen this crowd; they had lost a bit of spirit. “Tony Considine had done tremendous work with them for a couple of years and had won two (Limerick) championships with them but I just felt last year, I came in to watch the semi-final as a neutral, that the spirit was gone out of them.

“In January, I told them I don’t just want to win a county championship, I want to win a Munster club.”

As manager of Limerick three-in-a-row winners Adare from 2007-09, O’Loughlin had failed to crack the Munster code.

But he masterminded an historic success for Kilmallock today, as they were crowned Munster winners for the first time in 20 years.

They outscored Cratloe by 0-11 to 0-3 in extra-time, a purple patch that mirrored an excellent run of scoring in the first half of normal time.

Kilmallock had fallen 0-1 to 1-3 behind by the 10th minute, with Gearoid Considine netting for Cratloe, but the winners dominated the remainder of the first half to establish a 0-12 to 1-6 interval lead.

All Star nominee McGrath would finish with 1-6 for Cratloe but he was well shackled by aptly-named Kilmallock corner back Liam Hurley in the first half, before venturing further out the field in the hunt for space.

It was Cratloe who had dominated the opening 10 minutes, despite falling behind within seconds of the start when Graeme Mulcahy pointed.

McGrath, Markham (free) and Cathal McInerney put them 0-3 to 0-1 clear before Considine netted for Cratloe in the 10th minute.

Referee Fergal Horgan, who let the game flow from start to finish, allowed the play to continue in the build-up to the goal, despite Kilmallock protests that McGrath had taken too many steps in possession.

But Cratloe appeared obsessed with the hunt for goals, as a combination of poor decision-making and heroic Kilmallock defending stopped them from raising more green flags.

Perhaps the most glaring miss occurred early in the second half when a subdued Podge Collins and McInerney combined to set up McGrath, who cut back inside before losing possession.

Kilmallock continued to hold the lead before McInerney swiped home Markham’s delivery that dropped short for Cratloe’s second goal.

And when O’Mahony saw red, as Horgan travelled from one end of the pitch to the other to issue the ultimate censure, Kilmallock were in serious trouble.

O’Loughlin admitted: “It looked pretty poor at that stage alright for us but the game nearly went outside of anyone’s control really, it was that type of game.”

Cratloe: G Ryan; S O'Leary, M Hawes, D Ryan; S Chaplin, C Ryan, E Boyce; M Ogie Murphy (0-1), L Markham (0-3, 1f, 1 65); S Gleeson, P Collins (0-1), S Collins (0-3); C McGrath (1-6, 0-3f), G Considine (1-0), C McInerney (1-3).

Subs: D Collins (0-1) for Gleeson (h.t.), D Browne for Considine (58).

Kilmallock: B Hennessy; A Costello, M O'Loughlin, L Hurley; L Walsh, P O'Loughlin, K O'Donnell (0-1); B O'Sullivan (0-7), P O'Brien (0-4); J Mulcahy (1-6), G O'Mahony (0-1), R Egan; K Kennelly (0-1), G Mulcahy (0-6), E Ryan (0-5, 4f, 1 65).

Subs: R Hanley for Kennelly (52), P O'Loughlin (0-1) for O'Mahony (60; following red card).

Referee: F Horgan (Tipperary).