Banteer land Duhallow Cup Hurling title despite Kilbrin fightback

Banteer 2-14 Kilbrin 1-15 

BANTEER pulled out all the stops to ward off a battling Kilbrin in a highly entertaining Hannon’s Mace Duhallow Cup Hurling Final played at Dromtariffe.

Third time lucky for the winners, having been runners-up to Dromtariffe and Meelin in the previous two deciders, Banteer timed their run to perfection in both halves, when it mattered, they stood up to be counted through sheer graft and resilience.

Favoured by a howling gale in the opening half, Banteer looked to be in a vulnerable position to fall behind but once settled, they offered steady improvement to forge ahead. 

On the restart, Kilbrin erased a four-point deficit only for a resurgent Banteer to display character to regain the lead after substitute David Murphy netted a fine goal.

With the competition open to all hurling clubs in the division, two worthy finalists made for a closely contested showdown. Conditions made play difficult, operating against a strong breeze, Kilbrin operated at a higher intensity through the excellence of Conor King and the O’Brien brothers.

And Kilbrin quickly regained a return from points to Stephen O’Reilly, Niall Field, Rory King and a goal netted by Ronan Heffernan. 

That allowed Kilbrin to charge ahead 1-5 to 0-3 midway through the opening half.

Having started in a sluggish fashion, Banteer improved substantially, Denis Roche and Tadgh Sexton pointed before a goal from a Luke Philpott close-in free squared up proceedings. 

Though O’Reilly nudged Kilbrin ahead, Banteer’s play remained composed, five consecutive points from Philpott, Roche, Donal Wilson and Richard O’Connor changed the scoreboard in favour for Banteer to hold a 1-10 to 1-6 advantage at halftime.

Again Kilbrin were quickly off the mark for the second half, the accuracy of Stephen O’Reilly and Conor King squared up the contest at the three-quarter stage. 

It remained nip and tuck, the match-defining score surfaced from a Banteer goal netted by substitute Murphy.

During the latter stages, Kilbrin laid siege in a frantic finish but tenacious defending allowed Banteer captain James McAulliffe to accept the silverware.

Scorers for Banteer: L Philpott 1-5 (1-4 f), D Murphy 1-1, D Roche 0-4, S Kelleher, T Sexton, D Wilson, R O’Connor 0-1 each.

Kilbrin: S O’Reilly 0-9 (0-8 f), R Heffernan 1-0, N Field 0-2, R King 0-2, F O’Connor, C King 0-1 each.

BANTEER: K Roche; K Sexton, C O’Keeffe, J McAuliffe; A Coughlan, R O’Connor, C Coughlan; T Sexton, C Shine; D McAuliffe, D Wilson, K Tarrant; S Kelleher, L Philpott, D Roche. 

Subs: D Murphy for D McAuliffe, R O’Connell for D Wilson.

KILBRIN: E O’Riordan; D Heffernan, E Sheahan, B Power; T O’Brien, C King, M O’Brien; J Harrington, N Field; R Heffernan, R King, S O’Reilly; S Crowley, W Heffernan, F O’Connor. 

Sub: B O’Sullivan for B Power.

Referee: J Kenneally (Kanturk).