Thomastown 0-21; Ballyhale Shamrocks 1-16
It wasn’t just the other clubs in Kilkenny but those around the provinces with an eye on the All Ireland club championship series who had a smile on their faces on Saturday after kingpins Ballyhale Shamrocks were knocked out of this year’s Kilkenny SHC by newly promoted Thomastown.
Watched by a large crowd, Noel Doherty’s charges were worthy winners in this changing of the guard encounter with the Donnellys - Robbie with 0-10 and Stephen’s return to action proving vital as they both got some crucial late scores.
The two points victory by the current All Ireland intermediate champions means it is the first time in eight years that the famed Shamrocks will be spectators for the final and you have to go all the way back to 2004 to find when last they exited before reaching the semi-final stages.
Thomastown’s shock win opens the door of possibilities for sure but don’t step away from this club too lightly as they too will now entertain notions of winning back-to-back national titles albeit at intermediate and senior ranks this time around.
Robbie Donnelly led the way back in January when the Kilkenny outfit dismantled Cork’s Castlelyons in Croke Park and he was to the fore again on Saturday when he settled his side with a pair of frees.
His side led by four points midway through the first half and by half-time they had weathered something of a Ballyhale storm, including a great save fromDiarmuid Galway to thwart Adrian Mullen, to lead by 0-12 to 0-10.
Donnelly added a further four white flags on the resumption and with Colm Treacy helped to stretch the lead to seven points.
It looked too good to be true and it was. Veteran Colin Fennelly got his side back into it with an opportunistic goal and it was then Thomastown showed their character by finishing the stronger with the Donnelly boys scoring at vital times to get them over the line.
Donegal SF Semi-Finals
Dungloe bridge 60-year gap against St Michael’s
Dungloe 0-9 St Michael’s 0-8
Dungloe fans were in rapture on Saturday evening in Ballybofey when they toughed out a real arm-wrestle of a game to reach their first final in 60 years where they will face St Eunan’s on Sunday week.
It may be something that has been coming ever since Dessie Gallagher guided his side to the county intermediate championship in 2022. Still, there is a whiff of Roy of the Rovers about this rise through the senior ranks and they are just an hour away from book-ending their inter title with a full-on senior victory.
In their last appearance in 1964, they lost out to Sean MacCumhaills and in fact it was six years previous to that when they last lifted the treasured Dr Maguire trophy.
There was seldom more than a kick of a ball between Dungloe and St Michael’s at the weekend with the winner a point to the good at the interval and still holding out by that margin at the end.
After coming from behind to lead at the break through late points from Daire Gallagher and Ryan Connors, Dungloe kicked on on the changeover with three quick scores but slowly St Michael’s wrestled control and cut the deficit point by point.
Spurred on by county man Michael Langan, they had the margin at the minimum when Daniel McLaughlin slotted over well into injury time.
There was tension all around as Dungloe held on and on the sound of the final whistle, a huge outburst of emotion went up from their supporters - most of whom hadn’t been born the last time the club had gone so far in the competition.
Eunan’s edge home thanks to Dowling’s late double
St Eunan’s 0-8 Gaoth Dobhair 0-7
This second semi-final under lights in Ballybofey brought together two recent powerhouses with St Eunan’s just about deserving to advance to the final after a tit-for-tat battle with Gaoth Dobhair.
This is the winners’ third final appearance since 2021 and they will be seeking a 16th title when they face newcomers Dungloe on Oct 13.
Ultimately the game went down to the final straight where Eoin Dowling stood up with a late brace of points, one from play and one from a free to prise victory for the Letterkenny-based side against a game Gaoth Dobhair outfit.
The winners can also thank county netminder Shaun Patton who made a great save late on from sub Cathal Gillespie. Even then the losers had a chance to level affairs with a last minute 45m free but Dáire Ó Baoill was just wide with his effort.
Offaly SFC semi-finals
Harte sees Faithful talent up close as Tullamore and Ferbane reach final
Tullamore 2-8 Edenderry 0-5
Mickey Harte will get to see first hand what sort of raw material he has at his disposal as he attempts to build Offaly football back to where it would like to be a division or two above where they are now.
What better way for a new manager to check on character and intent than by having two teams who contested last year’s final returning to the 2024 decider.
In other words, will Tullamore, backboned by a number of successful age-limit stars continue with their run or will Ferbane mount a revenge mission for their two-point reverse in ‘23?Further afield, Edenderry looked to be a team on the rise last season when they came close to shocking Tullamore. This time around the champions had no such worries as they took control of this game from an early stage despite playing against the wind in the first moiety.
It helps of course when you are playing against the elements that you raise a green flag in the opening minutes - something that occurred when Cormac Egan gave the Blues a rousing start.
His teammate Daire McDaid added a penalty to an early point and by half-time they were leading 2-2 to 0-2, knowing that it was only a question of game management from there to the end to ensure they would progress to the final.
Once Edenderry missed two half-decent goal chances, Tullamore kicked on with Egan and Harry Plunkett added points to stretch their lead and they ran out nine-point winners on a scoreline of 2-8 to 0-5.
In the other semi-final Ferbane ensured it would be a case of deja vu when they had six points to spare against a disappointing Shamrocks side in O’Connor Park.
Like Tullamore, Shamrocks got off to a great start and led by 1-3 to 0-1 after 12 mins with county star Jack Bryant getting the first of his two goals as well as a point.
However, unlike Tullamore in the previous semi, they failed to build on that tonic opening and despite having the backing of the elements they managed only one point for the remainder of the half.
By the short whistle Ferbane had restored parity at 1-4 to 0-7 and backed by the wind, they drove on and were leading by seven once Darragh Flynn finished off a scrambled move mid-way through the half.
Bryant got his second goal to breathe hope for the Shamrocks and then added a point to complete a personal tally of 2-2. Ferbane’s dangerman Flynn wasn’t to be outdone and had the final say with his second goal in what was an even more impressive 2-5 personal haul by the green’s corner forward.
