St Kieran’s retain Masita Croke Cup
Masita GAA Post Primary Schools Croke Cup Final
St Kieran’s College (Kilkenny) 0-26 St Raphael’s, Loughrea (Galway) 1-18
After extra-time
By Daire Walsh at Croke Park
Defending champions St Kieran’s College produced the goods in extra-time against St Raphael’s, Loughrea at Croke Park on Saturday afternoon to get their hands on the Masita GAA Post Primary Schools Croke Cup for a 25th time.
While the sides couldn’t be separated at the end of normal time (0-18 to 1-15), Brian Dowling’s Kilkenny men ultimately flexed their muscles in the additional periods of an absorbing All-Ireland Senior ‘A’ Hurling Championship showpiece – outscoring their Galway counterparts by 0-8 to 0-3 to ensure the silverware returned to the Noreside for a second year in succession.
Kieran’s stormed into the game with unanswered points from inside forwards Edward McDermott and Aaron McEvoy (two) and whilst Raphael’s got up and running with fine scores courtesy of Paddy MacCarthaigh and Bobby Feeney (free), the title holders reinforced their authority with further white flag efforts by James Hughes and Ed Lauhoff.
Kieran’s remained three in front after their right corner-forward Rory Glynn traded points with his opposite number Vince Morgan, but this was followed by a dominant spell from a determined Raphael’s side. Although Kieran’s attacker Hughes split the uprights in response to back-to-back efforts from Paddy MacCarthaigh and Feeney, the Loughrea school took the lead for the very first time with a clinically-taken goal by Morgan on 20 minutes.
Raphael’s appeared to have serious momentum behind when the midfield duo of Luke McInerney and Cullen Killeen both chipped in with a point each, but Kieran’s ultimately entered the interval on level terms (0-10 to 1-7) thanks to successive contributions from Sean Bergin, Hughes and McEvoy.
Raphael’s marksman Morgan and McEvoy swapped scores in what proved to be a tentative start to the second half, before Kieran’s eventually regained the lead on 38 minutes with a superb point from Glynn.
Kieran’s then created some daylight with scores by the impressive Glynn and McEvoy in the wake of Paddy MacCarthaigh posting an equaliser at the far end of the Jones’ Road venue, but their stubborn Connacht opponents continued to play with great spirit and endeavour.
After the dependable Feeney knocked over frees either side of a Sean Hunt score for Kieran’s, wing-back Oscar O’Gorman and the outstanding Paddy MacCarthaigh pointed to move Raphael’s back into the lead in the 53rd-minute.
However, the pendulum swung back in the direction of Kieran’s when the increasingly-prominent Hunt amassed three points in a five-minute spell that also featured a score from Killeen for Raphael’s and it took a nerveless free by Feeney deep into stoppage-time to force the action into 20 additional minutes.
While McEvoy and Morgan swapped scores at the start of extra-time, a rejuvenated Kieran’s knocked over three points on the bounce through Glynn, Lauhoff and Bill McDermott to establish a 0-22 to 1-16 buffer by the 70th minute of the play.
Even though Paddy and Diarmuid MacCarthaigh split the uprights for Raphael’s (whose sole final victory at the grade was back in 1995), McEvoy and substitute Ciallin Brennan struck a brace of points on the resumption to help St Kieran’s ease over the line in the end.
Scorers for St Kieran’s College: Aaron McEvoy 0-8 (4fs, 1 ‘65’), Sean Hunt, Rory Glynn 0-4 each, James Hughes 0-3, Ed Lauhoff, Ciallin Brennan 0-2, Sean Bergin, Edward McDermott, Bill McDermott 0-1 each.
Scorers for St Raphael’s College, Loughrea: Vince Morgan 1-3, Bobby Feeney 0-5 (5fs), Paddy MacCarthaigh 0-5, Cullen Killeen 0-2, Oscar O’Gorman, Diarmuid MacCarthaigh, Luke McInerney 0-1 each.
St Kieran’s College: Stephen Manogue; Sean Bergin, Evan Murphy, Timmy Kelly; Cathal Hickey, Jeff Neary, Tom McPhillips; Rory Connellan, Ed Lauhoff; James Hughes, Sean Hunt, Tomas Roche; Rory Glynn, Edward McDermott, Aaron McEvoy.
Subs: Oisin Bateman for Glynn (48-49), Bateman for Roche (50), James O’Neill for McDermott (51), Ciallin Brennan for Hughes (60+2), Tom Brennan for Kelly (61), Bill McDermott for Glynn (66-71), Bill McDermott for McPhillips (72), Sean Deely for Hickey (78).
St Raphael’s College, Loughrea: Shane Murray; Jason Griffin, Daniel Keane, Gavin Maher; Oscar O’Gorman, Diarmuid MacCarthaigh, Finn Beirne; Luke McInerney, Cullen Killeen; Donnacha Campbell, Paddy MacCarthaigh, Eoghan Mulleady; Vince Morgan, Thomas Stratford, Bobby Feeney.
Subs: Stephen Keane for Stratford (39), Jack Shaughnessy for Mulleady (56), Louis Keary for Griffin (66), Mulleady for Feeney (75), Eoin Spellman for Beirne (78).
Referee: John Keenan (Wicklow).