Leinster club SHC: Ballyhale breeze past Crokes and into final

November 23, 2014

Kilmacud Crokes' Damien Kelly with Colin Fennelly of Ballyhale Shamrocks
©INPHO

Ballyhale Shamrocks (Kilkenny) 2-15
Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin) 0-12

Ballyhale Shamrocks will face Kilcormac/Killoughey in the Leinster club SHC final in two weeks' time after making light work of Kilmacud Crokes' challenge at Parnell Park.

Captain and Hurler of the Year nominee TJ Reid hit 1-8 for the newly-crowned Kilkenny champions who were never headed at any stage in a one-sided contest.

After Henry Shefflin and Damien Kelly exchanged points in the opening minutes, Shefflin fired a fifth-minute goal to give the visitors an early cushion.

With Reid on form from frees, Ballyhale led by 1-6 to 0-4 after 20 minutes. Crokes cut the gap with points from Caolan Conway and Dillon Mulligan, but Reid netted in the 28th minute to leave the winners perched on a 2-9 to 0-6 interval lead.

Crokes, who had beaten Rathdowney-Errill after extra-time in the quarter-final, reduced the deficit to six points on the restart thanks to efforts from Mulligan and Ryan O'Dwyer before the Kilkenny kingpins restored their six-point advantage through scores from Reid, Shefflin and Colin Fennelly.

Try as they might, Ollie Baker's charges weren't able to get any closer after that as Reid shot a brace of late points to seal Ballyhale's place in the provincial decider for the first time since 2009.

Ballyhale Shamrocks - R Reid; A Cuddihy, J Holden, T Coogan; P Shefflin, M Fennelly, B Aylward; C Walsh, D Hoyne; J Fitzpatrick (0-1), C Fennelly (0-2), TJ Reid (1-8, 1-6f); E Reid, H Shefflin (1-2), M Aylward (0-2). Subs: B Cody for D Hoyne, K Nolan for T Coogan, R Corcoran for M Aylward, A Cummins for A Cuddihy, G Butler for C Walsh.

Kilmacud Crokes - M Collins; N Corcoran, Rory O'Carroll, J Clinton; R O'Loughlin, J Dougan, C MacGabhann; D Kelly (0-1), D Mulligan (0-2); Ross O'Carroll, C Clinton, J Sweeney; C Conway (0-2), S McGrath (0-2f), R O'Dwyer (0-5, 4f). Subs: B O'Carroll for J Clinton, R Murphy for Rory O'Carroll, O O'Rorke for C Clinton, J Burke for S McGrath, B Mulligan for C MacGabhann.

Referee - J Keenan.


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