Leinster Club SHC final: St Martin’s 0-24 Ballyhale Shamrocks 2-17
Teams on the verge of a breakthrough never have it easy, especially when they’re up against the best that a game’s traditions have to offer. Wexford champions St Martin’s broke new ground by even being in an AIB Leinster final but to take it farther, they had to beat Ballyhale Shamrocks – and a roll-of-honour-leading nine All-Ireland titles.
So, the underdogs had to be that crucial bit better, just to sustain a minimal victory.
The Kilkenny champions hadn’t lost a knockout match in Leinster for 12 years and their manager, record All-Ireland medallist Henry Shefflin, in his two stints as manager had yet to lose one at all.
This was no smash-and-grab: plucky outsiders staying in touch and managing to be in front when the whistle went. No, they hurled their distinguished opponents all the way through, from a nervy start, trailing in the eighth minute by 0-2 to 1-4, to the titanic finale, when replacement Ben Stafford pointed from underneath the Cusack stand.
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As Martin’s manager Daithí Hayes reflected, the manner of the victory was as memorable as the bare outcome.
“It’s massive ... and the way we won – they stuck to the way we played all year. We didn’t change, even when the pressure was on in the last few minutes. It’s hugely satisfying.
“The way they responded after the start they [Ballyhale] got; they didn’t cave in, they didn’t go into their shell. The one thing we asked them today was to be brave and have no regrets and keep hurling the way we’ve always hurled.”
They got ahead on the scoreboard just before half-time and stayed in front for nearly the remainder of the match, occasionally being pulled back level and after Niall Shortall’s 40th minute goal briefly regained the lead for Ballyhale, having to come from behind.
Their opponents’ DNA pulses with instinct that wins big matches like this. They were the ones staying on Martin’s shoulder and they found the scores to keep in touch. Then, on the hour, Richie Reid swept the ball over the bar from about 65m to put the favourites 2-17 to 0-22 ahead. All around the ground, people in the crowd of 7,031 nodded fatalistically.
Three minutes later, at the end of the allotted injury time, Martin’s got a free, which Rory O’Connor calmly potted and we got ready for extra time. But there was one more shot left in this exhilarating contest.
The O’Connors played a big part, as they have done all season. Jack – man of the match, and who gets married next week – shot 0-6 from play and varied points around the field. Rory delivered another skip-full of scores from placed balls and play, 0-11, and Barry showed tirelessly for high ball and battled mightily with Joey Holden.
“You had your heart in your mouth at times all right when it was going back and forward,” said Hayes, “especially with the likes of TJ and Eoin Cody around there and ready to take the ball off you.
“At 1-4 to 0-2, you might turn your back, you mightn’t want a puck-out, you might get the ball and launch it long, you mightn’t look for it again but they kept their heads up and kept the scoreboard ticking over.”
Being a Kilkenny side, Ballyhale conjured goals when threatened. Eoin Cody’s run set up Niall Shortall for a perfect chance and he took it, if not quite against the run of play, then against the momentum of the match.
You could sense the watershed moment. Lose heart and Martin’s might as well have gone back down the M11 there and then. To their credit, they sniped a couple of points, a Rory O’Connor free and a well-taken shot from the left by Coleman.
So it went, down the line. Three times, Ballyhale pulled level; three times Martin’s got the next point – until Shortall and Richie Reid disrupted the process. Surely that was it. Well done to the boys of Wexford for putting up such an honourable fight.
But they hadn’t come this far to go home empty-handed.
Shefflin was philosophical. “I was just in the St Martin’s dressingroom there and they have the cup, and the sense of elation and joy that comes with sport, and then we have the hurt in our dressingroom. It’s very fine margins and it’s difficult to take but that’s the way sport goes.
“It’s very difficult to be fair but there’s the fact that we were probably the second-best team and too many of our lads were a little bit off tonight.
It’s very frustrating because there were chances there but to be fair to Martin’s, they did enough to get over the end line.”
ST MARTIN’S: C Quirke; E O’Leary, C Firman (capt.), P Dempsey; D O’Leary, J Barrett (0-1), D Waters; David Codd, A Maddock; Darren Codd (0-2), J O’Connor (0-6), J Firman; M Coleman (0-2), B O’Connor (0-1), R O’Connor (0-11, 9f).
Subs: B Maddock for Coleman (50 mins), B Stafford (0-1) for J Firman (59 mins).
BALLYHALE SHAMROCKS: Dean Mason; K Corcoran, J Holden, Dara Mason (0-1); E Kenneally, R Reid (0-2), D Corcoran; E Shefflin (0-1), R Corcoran; P Mullen (0-1), E Cody (1-2), TJ Reid (0-6, 5f); B Cody (0-2), N Shortall (1-2), L Barron.
Subs: D Aylward for R Corcoran (51 mins), J Fitzpatrick for R Corcoran (57 mins), C Phelan for Shefflin (61 mins).
Referee: A Coyne (Westmeath)
