Rathnure's roaming full forward Colm Byrne earned the man of the match award as he contributed 1-4 to his side's total and got the better of All Star nominee Kevin Kinahan. Byrne showed no sympathy for his illustrious marker as he relentlessly went in pursuit of possession as far out as 50 metres.
"Their (Seir Kieran's) big names never turned up trumps," said Byrne. "We were told to get tight on them and it worked." The big names included the Dooley brothers who dropped short of their usual contributions.
Rathnure manager Dan Quigley had to be pleased with his team's sustained effort throughout the hour. The team's overall performance went a long way towards excusing a woeful opening quarter of wasted chances. The 16-5 wides count gives a fair indication of Rathnure's superior ability to create chances.
"They haven't played as a team like that all season," said Quigley. "We should have put them away in the first half. We were expecting them to come at us in the second half. We were always wary of their ability and we remained in hungry.
Two last-gasp goals by substitute Mick Mulrooney and Johnny Dooley were merely of academic value to the Offaly champions in the end.
Robbie Codd's late defection denied Rathnure of the chance of fielding an all-Codd half forward line. Martin Byrne moved into the attack from midfield with Larry Somers figuring at wing back.
Johnny Dooley opened the scoring for Seir Kieran after seven minutes. Mark Morrissey almost immediately replied with a great goal, a long Austin Codd delivery finding the corner forward in behind the Kieran's defence.
The Rathnure attack never really rid itself of the wides bug, although the game belonged to Rathnure once Paul Codd made it 3-8 to 0-8 with 10 minutes remaining.
Rathnure goalkeeper Jim Morrissey was not given a lot to do, but he excited the team's followers when saving a Johnny Dooley penalty in the last quarter. The whole Rathnure defence emerged with full marks. They showed great awareness throughout, with captain and centre back Joe Mooney producing a truly inspiring game. Michael O'Leary performed well in midfield, as did Michael Redmond.
Rathnure were far superior on the day. Now, they must sharpen up their marksmanship if they are to beat Portlaoise in the final.
Rathnure: J Morrissey; S Somers, J Conran, D Guiney; R Guiney (0-1), J Mooney, L Somers; M Redmond, M O'Leary; A Codd, M Byrne, P Codd (1-4); M Morrissey (1-0), C Byrne (1-4), B O'Leary (0-2).
Seir Kieran: L Coughlan; P Scully, K Kinahan, P Connors; D Murphy, G Connors, J Coakley; Joe Dooley (0-3 frees), J Guinan; Johnny Dooley (1- 2, 0-2 from frees), M Coughlan (0-1), K Kealy; B Dooley (0-1), S Dooley, TJ Dooley. Subs: M Mulrooney (1-1) for TJ Dooley (22 mins), F O'Neill for G Connors (39 mins), E Coughlan for Guinan (48 mins).
Referee: P Aherne (Carlow).
