Kilkenny SHC Semi-finals: Nine points from Maurice Nolan ended James Stephens' reign as Kilkenny senior hurling county champions yesterday and booked O'Loughlin Gaels' place in the county final on a 1-15 to 1-13 scoreline.
After a tense first half, the sides were all square at 0-6 apiece. As well as three points from Nolan, Martin Comerford also helped himself to a treble while Eoin Larkin (five) and Brian McEvoy were responsible for the James Stephens tally.
The second half was just as close, with the sides level on no less than five occasions. James Stephens were quick to take control of the game through points from captain Gary Whelan and Matthew Ruth, but O'Loughlin's kept up pace through a Nolan brace, before sub Brian Dowling put them back in the lead.
The Gaels had carved out a 0-12 to 0-9 lead by the 50th minute. It didn't last long, though, as three points in as many minutes from Larkin had James Stephens back on level terms with five minutes to go.
Much of the excitement was saved for the closing stages, with Nolan's ninth point of the afternoon giving his side a slender advantage in the last minute of normal time (0-14 to 0-13). Stephens pushed players up in search of an equaliser, but Alan Geoghegan landed the security point from an acute angle.
Meanwhile, Ballyhale Shamrocks made a swift return to the Kilkenny senior hurling county decider with a 1-18 to 1-14 win over Dunnamaggin. Last year's beaten finalists made a poor start to their semi-final in Nowlan Park yesterday, and trailed by 1-4 to 0-2 after a quarter of an hour, thanks to some good points from Colin Herity.
Dunnamaggin were quick off the mark with full-forward Noel Lahart booting the sliotar to the net after just four minutes. However, four points from hurler of the year nominee Henry Shefflin helped to bring Shamrocks to within a point by the 27th minute.
Full-forward Patrick Reid gave his side the lead in the last minute of normal time, drilling home from close range to help the Shamrocks turn a five-point deficit into a one-point advantage by the break (1-8 to 1-7).
The Shamrocks continued to dominate the scoring throughout the third quarter. Two points apiece for Shefflin and midfielder James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick, plus one apiece for TJ and Patrick Reid, had them 1-14 to 1-10 ahead.
Dunnamaggin, aided by a point from centre-back Noel Hickey, did well to close the gap to a single point by the last minute, but Shamrocks still had some aces up their sleeve. An Eoin Reid point, followed by another Shefflin brace, was enough to book their place in the county final.
