Another title for Kilmessan hurlers

Kilmessan completed a clean sweep of adult trophies when they added the 2008 A HL Div 1 title to their impressive roll of honour with a hard-earned victory over neighbours Kiltale at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday. The only disappointing aspect to this game was the small crowd of no more than about 300 who turned up to see two of the best teams in the county. Those who paid the €5 admission fee certainly got value for money as the game produced some very good hurling, but it was also laced with more mediocre fare. That didn"t unduly concern the Kilmessan supporters, players and mentors who can now look forward to the forthcoming championship draws on Wednesday, 4th March with a lot of confidence. Kilmessan captain Ger O"Neill was delighted to receive the cup, probably even more so as it was a Kiltale man who presented it. Newly-elected hurling chairman Francis Lynch performed his first official duties since he was elected as a replacement for TJ Reilly who stepped down after he took control of the county team. 'We have been a long time waiting to play this game due to the success of Kilmessan and Moynalvey footballers in the Leinster club competitions, both brought great honour to the county,' stated Lynch. 'Kilmessan had the edge today and there is no one more fitting to get this cup than Kilmessan captain Ger O"Neill,' he added. O"Neill kept his speech short. 'We gave our supporters a good year and we probably owed this to Kiltale, they beat us a few times in the past and it"s good to get one back at them,' commented the Kilmessan captain. Central to Kilmessan"s victory was the performance of inter-provincial player Stephen Clynch who had a busy weekend. He received the hurler-of-the-year accolade from Meath Co Committee on Friday night, helped Leinster to beat Ulster in the inter-provincial semi-final at Casement Park on Saturday and was inspirational for Kilmessan on Sunday. And he needed to be on top form as Kiltale posed a serious threat throughout with Philip Garvey and Peter Durnin particularly potent in attack. Durnin gave Kiltale the lead from a fifth minute free against the wind, but Nicky Horan drew the sides level soon after from a 45-metre free. Kilmessan forged ahead in the 10th minute after wing-back Peter Farrell gained possession and split the posts with a superb effort from about 70 metres. Joey Keena increased that advantage when he sent over from a tight angle for a 0-3 to 0-1 margin. The pace was maintained and Durnin reduced the deficit to the minimum from another free before Philip Garvey raced through and a goal chance definitely looked on, but he opted to go for a point and was narrowly wide. Kilmessan countered immediately with another fine score from Farrell. That was augmented by points from Clynch and Keena from play while Kiltale had to rely on Durnin to convert another free as they trailed by 0-3 to 0-6 at the interval after they failed to hit the target from play in a hard-hitting opening half. Referee Gerry O"Brien issued a yellow card to Kiltale"s John Donoghue after he got involved in a incident which didn"t concern him. Donoghue"s intervention may have saved Shane Reilly from a caution after he was late in his attempted tackle on Keena who shipped a lot of heavy challenges in the opening 30 minutes. Kiltale introduced Cathal Sheridan at full-forward for the second-half and they resumed smartly with points from Durnin (free) and Mark O"Sullivan who managed their first score from play which cut the deficit to a point inside two minutes. Kilmessan found the perfect response in the form of a goal from full-forward Christopher Curtis which settled the Jubilee Cup holders. They extended that margin when Keena sent over his third point of the day and Nicky Horan made it 1-8 to 0-5 by the end of the third-quarter. However, Kiltale found a rapid response in the form of a goal from Philip Garvey"s lofted centre which Kilmessan "keeper Mark Brennan failed to clear under pressure from Sheridan. That raised the tempo considerably, but Kilmessan managed points from Keena, Curtis and Horan to maintain the initiative in the closing stages. SCORERS Kilmessan - J Keena 0-4; C Curtis 1-1; N Horan 0-3, all frees; P Farrell 0-2; S Clynch 0-1. Kiltale - P Durnin 0-4, all frees; P Garvey 1-0; M O"Sullivan, B Dixon, J Donoghue 0-1 each. THE TEAMS Kilmessan - M Brennan; P McGovern, D Donnelly, C Keena; P Farrell, S Clynch, M Reilly; M Horan, R Donnelly; P Reynolds, N Horan, G O"Neill; J Keena, C Curtis, M Doyle. Subs - P Donnelly for Reynolds, K Keena for Doyle (both 53 mins); A Keena for Curtis (57m). Kiltale - O Regan; A Donnelly, P Donoghue, D Donoghue; W Mahady, J Donoghue, S Reilly; B Dixon, I Douglas; S Donoghue, Philip Garvey, D Dixon; P Durnin, Paul Garvey, M O"Sullivan. Subs - C Sheridan for Paul Garvey (half-time); TJ Lynch for Sheridan (58 mins). REFEREE Gerry O"Brien (Wolfe Tones).