Following on from last year's defeat to Kildalkey in the county final, Kilmessan set about to make amends in this year's campaign. Possessing some of the most talented hurlers that the county has ever produced, Kilmessan are annually regarded as one of the favourites for the title and rightly so.

This was no different in 2011 even though they were comfortably defeated in last year's decider. Any side that has players the calibre of Stephen Clynch, Ger O'Neill, Joey Keena and the ever impressive Nicky Horan to name just a few can never be written off.
In this year's campaign, the were drawn in the so called group of death as they faced defending champions Kildalkey, Kiltale, Killyon, Clann na nGael and Longwood.

The first match of the campaign was a repeat of last year's county final as Kilmessan faced Kildalkey in what was billed as the clash of the round.
Trim was the venue for this match and although a defeat would not have been the end of the world for either side, both teams were eager to lay down a marker for the remainder of the campaign.
Playing with the benefit of the first-half elements Kildalkey squandered too many chances as they tallied eleven wides on the way to slender 1-5 to 1-4 interval advantage.

Nicky Horan had Kilmessan motoring against the wind with a goal and a point inside five minutes. Darren Reilly and Kevin Keena, also hit the target in that opening period.
Joey Keena scored the point of the half with a great effort from play. Kildalkey struggled for supremacy in midfield as Eoin Marsh, well-supported by Ger O'Neill, called the shots. Kilmessan reeled of the points after the resumption and were ahead by 1-9 to 1-6 at the end of the third-quarter. Reilly (two), Joey Keena, Charlie Keena and Stephen Clynch were the marksmen. Clynch was very comfortable at centre-back.

Kilmessan took control in the closing stages and were full value for the six-point margin (1-14 to 1-8).
It was the perfect start to the campaign for Kilmessan and they sent out a warning to the rest of the county stating that they meant business this year.
The sequence of matches did not get any easier for the white and blues as they faced a decent Kiltale side in their second outing. The last time that these two had met was in last year's semi final when Kilmessan won easily and this match turned out to be of similar fare.

Star of the show on this occasion was Nicky Horan who finished the match with a personal tally of 2-5.
Kilmessan led by 0-5 to 0-4 at half-time but outscored their neighbours 2-10 to 1-3 thereafter to record their second win of the campaign.
Danny Maguire chipped in with three second half scores from play, the first coming within a minute of the restart.
When wing back Martin Horan sent over, Kilmessan were three points to the good, the biggest margin that separated the sides up to that point.

Then Kilmessan hit a wobble as Kiltale doubled their account with two scores inside 60 seconds.
Kilmessan responded with four consecutive points the pick coming from a free about 15 metres inside their own 65 converted by Stephen Clynch. Impressive midfielders Ger O'Neill and Eoin Marsh began the move which saw Maguire place Horan for his opening goal in the 53rd minute.
McGann intervened again to prevent Kilmessan's top scorer goaling but the game's main marksman had the last say with his second three-pointer and the hour's final flag in the 59th minute as the game finished 2-15 to 1-7 in Kilmessan's favour.
Two wins from their toughest two matches set the tone for the remainder of the group matches and already Kilmessan had virtually booked their place in the knockout stages. They followed this match up with a 2-27 to 2-8 win over Clann na nGael in a one-sided affair. Once again Horan was to the fore in the scoring charts and the white and blues made light work of their opponents.
A win over Killyon would ensure a place in the semi-finals but a nervy performance by Ollie Horan's charges meant that this game would go to the wire.

Six late points for Kilmessan saw off the challenge of Killyon and remain unbeaten in Group B. The 2008 champions got off to a perfect start when corner forward Danny Maguire goaled within a minute. Killyon with three points had the game level, 1-1 to 0-4 after fifteen minutes. Stephen Clynch took over the free taking duties from the injured Nickey Horan and two points from the centre back along with scores from Joey Keena and Shane Brennan kept Kilmessan in front 1-5 to 0-7 at the break.

Killyon had the game all square again after twenty minutes of the second half. Two points left it 1-7 to 0-10 and all to play for. But then Kilmessan hit a purple patch and a flurry of points from substitute Darren Reilly (2), Joey Keena, Chucky Keena, Malcolm Doyle and Danny Maguire pushed them to a hard earned victory on a scoreline of 1-13 to 0-11.
In their last group game and with qualification already secured, Kilmessan recorded a resounding 3-17 to 0-9 win over Longwood to set them up for a place in the semi final.
As it transpired, Kildalkey were the opponents as they came through the quarterfinal and this was set to be a thrilling contest and so it turned out.

This was a fine example of Meath club hurling at its best with two well-prepared, fired-up teams willing to stand toe-to-toe and slug it out for as long as it took.
The sides were level (0-6 apiece) at half-time. They were level (0-13 to 1-10) after an hour. They were still inseparable at the break in extra-time (0-14 to 1-11).

However, with just three minutes played in the second period of extra-time Kildalkey took a decisive step towards victory when Sean Heavey delivered a long ball into Fergus McMahon who was loitering with intent on the edge of the Kilmessan square.
McMahon showed his experience and craft to slip past his marker before firing the ball to the net from close range.
Soon after Noel Kirby slotted over from play and at that stage there was no way back for beleaguered Kilmessan who clearly had didn't have another card to play.

Up to then no-one could be sure which way the pendulum would swing. Coming up to the end of the 60 minutes Derek Doran fired over a fine point from a difficult angle to put Kildalkey ahead by the minimum. It looked to be enough.
Then, almost inevitably up stepped Nicky Horan to slot over a free after referee Richie Morris had brought the ball forward for dissent.
While five players got on the scoreboard for Kildalkey, all but one point of Kilmessan's 1-11 came from Nicky Horan with Kevin Keena the exception.
Horan's goal came on 54 minutes and hauled back Kildalkey's three-point lead.

Kilmessan were awarded a free 20 metres out and, surprisingly, Horan went for goal. He found a gap and the ball nestled in the net.
Kildalkey found scores from a variety of sources, but it was Kirby who led the way with his eleven points. He slotted over four excellent points from play in a barnstorming performance, perhaps the best he has produced for Kildalkey.

Undefeated up to the semi final, Kilmessan had some excellent displays with Patrick McGovern, Martin Horan and Peter Reynolds all showing up particularly well. It was in attack that Kilmessan needed something extra. They couldn't find it and so they must now regroup and look to next year's campaign. Tweet

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