MUNSTER CLUB SFC FINAL/Kilmurry-Ibrickane (Clare) 0-7 Kerins O'Rahillys (Kerry) 0-6:AN UNMEMORABLE hour gave way to an unforgettable minute of football in Limerick yesterday.
Kilmurry-Ibrickane have become hardy perennials on the Munster club football scene but they lived on their wits at the Gaelic Grounds. Seconds before winning this Munster club final, they seemed to have lost it.
Full time had elapsed when Kerins O’Rahillys forward Declan Quill punched David Moran’s falling free into the net. Referee Maurice Condon had the presence of mind to check with his umpires before cancelling the goal.
It was a big call on a passage of play that was, at the very least, debatable. On initial impressions, the goal looked good but Moran’s free hung up in the air for an age and it is possible Quill edged into the small square before meeting it.
However, afterwards, the player was adamant that the score was perfectly legitimate.
“It was a goal, straight and simple,” Quill said afterwards.
“It was a goal. I waited outside the square and I thought the ball was going over the bar and then when I saw it hanging up short, I waited until it was in the square and it was a goal.”
If Quill’s interpretation of events is shown to be accurate, then the Kerry team were very hard done by.
In fairness, they did not protest too vigorously once the referee had cancelled the score and as they trooped outfield to collect their thoughts, Kilmurry restarted play quickly and embarked on one of their sharp counter-attacks that resulted in a terrific winning point by substitute Evan Talty.
It was a stunning strike by Talty, struck off his right foot on the run and it seemed all the more audacious given Quill’s disallowed score and because Kilmurry had found scores so difficult to come by.
Talty had come into the match just 20 minutes earlier and he wheeled away in celebration before the ball had even travelled over the crossbar.
The win exorcised the miserable experience Kilmurry endured at this stage last year when they failed to show against Limerick champions Drom-Broadford.
But Kerins O’Rahillys may well adopt a motion to refuse to play football on December 6th from now on. A year ago to the day, they lost the Kerry county final when Aidan O’Shea converted a last minute penalty for Mid-Kerry. Now this.
It was a fairly abrupt return to local culture for David Moran, the Kerry star who flew in from an Australian Rules trial during the week; 2,412 souls turned up to welcome him home. This was a Sunday afternoon of soup and woollen hats at the Gaelic Grounds, about as far removed from the pleasant Melbourne suburb where St Kilda, Moran’s trial club, operate as can be imagined.
Kerins were clearly determined to make the most of Moran’s timely return to native shores, instantly installing him at full forward and trying to thread the majority of their attacking ideas through his athletic frame. He landed a wonderful point from distance after just six minutes during a promising opening spell for the Kerry representatives.
His score was book-ended by two frees by John O’Connor and Quill as Kerins made light work of skipping into a three-point lead.
Given the dampness of the field and the fact scores can be hard to come by on these December days, Kilmurry supporters may have wondered if the consistent form their team has shown over the past number of years had caught up with them.
But by the last 10 minutes, they had the Kerry champions trailing by a point and a man. O’Rahillys lost free-taker John O’Connor during a period in the second half when both sides looked clueless as to how to shake off the other.
The centre forward was yellow-carded for one of those murky off-the-ball incidents, but having escaped the ultimate censure, he was cited for drawing his foot at Kilmurry captain Enda Coughlan just a minute later.
O’Rahillys form was not conspicuously affected by losing their player: they assumed a 0-5 to 0-4 lead through a Quill free and with Michéal Quirke bossing midfield, had plenty of chances to push on.
In fact, a stats sheet bearing nine wides, two frees which bounced off a post and six shots which dropped short into the Kilmurry goalmouth, show the Kerry side created ample opportunities.
Kilmurry, in contrast, had to rely on invention as their inside forward line was utterly closed down and they found it difficult to win possession against a tough and organised O’Rahillys back six. They just found a way.
Shane Hickey, brave and smart all afternoon, stepped up from wing back to float a brilliant point on 45 minutes to level the scores at five points apiece.
Then Coughlan raced onto a perfectly judged pass from Stephen Moloney and fisted the ball over the bar from 20 yards out. They held onto that lead until four minutes from time, when Quill punished them for a foul on Barry John Walsh.
But they had the composure not to foul as the Kerry men pressed forward in the last desperate seconds seeking an equaliser.
Kilmurry are not the biggest team in the country but their defensive performance was admirable here, with Mark Killeen outstanding at full back, while Declan Callinan seemed to pop up in every single play along the left wing.
Kilmurry’s delight was unconfined afterwards, although manager Michael McDermott did reflect on the controversial close: “It’s hard to call. When officials are out there they have a job to do and we let them to it. We came here to a Munster final last year and didn’t get the breaks at all, but when your day is in, your day is in. Fate plays a huge part in winning anything.”
One event shone through the celebrations at the final whistle. Quirke escorted the referee from the centre field to the tunnel, all the time making sure the protestations of his club-mates were made from arms’ length. What a laudable example of sportsmanship from the Kerry man, who put his own disappointment to one side for those few seconds before returning to the field to be with his team-mates. In a weird way, it was one of the highlights of the day.
KILKMURRY-IBRICKANE: D O’Brien; D Hickey, M Killeen, M McMahon; S Hickey (0-1), E Coughlan (0-1), D Callinan; P O’Connor, P O’Dwyer; M Hogan, I McInerney (0-2, one free), S Moloney (0-1); M O’Dwyer, O O’Dwyer; J Daly (0-1, free). Subs: E Talty (0-1) for M Hogan (41 mins), N Downes for O O’Dwyer (47 mins), P O’Dwyer for S Maloney (54 mins), M McCarthy for J Daly (60 mins).
KERINS O’RAHILLYS: D Hennessy; P Begley, M O’Shea, B O’Shea; G O’Grady, B Moran, R O’Callaghan; G Duffy, M Quirke; J O’Connor (0-1 free), BJ Keane, T O’Sullivan; BJ Walsh, D Moran (0-2), D Quill (0-3 frees).
Referee: M Condon (Waterford).
