ALL-IRELAND CLUB SHC SEMI-FINAL O'Loughlin Gaels 3-10 Loughgiel Shamrocks 0-10:KILKENNY CHAMPIONS O'Loughlin Gaels made it through to a first All-Ireland senior hurling club final with a nine-point win over Antrim's Loughgiel Shamrocks.
“This was all about battling, battling, battling,” O’Loughlin’s manager Michael Nolan said after Saturday’s game in Parnell Park.
The opening exchanges were tough, with Mark Bergin and Liam Watson trading early points. It remained close until O’Loughlin’s got on a roll late on, Bergin and Maurice Nolan bagging points to move the Leinster men three clear at the interval, 0-6 to 0-3.
The game changed on 40 minutes when O’Loughlin’s scored their first goal through Peter Dowling to open up a 1-9 to 0-4 lead.
The Shamrocks got their game into action after that, rattling off points through Brendan McCarry, Joseph Scullion and Barney McAuley. However, a Danny Loughnane goal on 49 minutes opened up a gap Loughgiel would not close. A third goal late on from Alan Geoghegan ensured a comprehensive victory.
O'LOUGHLIN GAELS: S Murphy; B Kelly, B Hogan, E Kearns; A O'Brien, B Murphy, N Bergin; P Dowling (1-0), M Nolan (0-2); N McEvoy (0-2), M Bergin (0-3, one free), A Geoghegan (1-0); B Dowling (0-1), M Comerford (0-1), D Loughnane (1-1). Subs: S Cummins for Dowling (47 mins), C Bergin for Geoghegan (58 mins), E Grant for Murphy (59 mins).
LOUGHGIEL SHAMROCKS: D Quinn; P Gillan, N McGarry, B McAuley (0-2, one free); M McFadden, J Campbell, M Scullion; Declan Laverty, L McKillop; E McCloskey (0-2), J Campbell, A McCloskey; B McCarry (0-1), J Scullion (0-1), L Watson (0-3, two frees). Subs: A Watt (0-1) for A McCloskey (31 mins), C McKinley for J Campbell (31 mins), O McFadden for L McKillop (54 mins), Damien Laverty for B McCarry (55 mins).
Referee: C McAllister(Cork).
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