O'Loughlin Gaels march into Leinster club SHC final

O'Loughlin Gaels 0-17 Kilcormac-Killoughey 0-12

By the time Kilcormac-Killoughey hit their stride in this afternoon's AIB Leinster club SHC semi-final at Glenisk O’Connor Park, Kilkenny champions O’Loughlin Gaels had just about built up a sufficient lead to see them through a strong second half surge from the home side.

With a slight breeze behind them for the closing 30 minutes, the Offaly side rallied to cut a seven-point interval lead back to two points, but they never looked like threatening Stephen Murphy’s goal, and as they pushed forward to try and salvage their campaign, they were hit with three late scores that saw O’Loughlin’s through to a first Leinster final in seven years.

Kilcormac-Killoughey’s big win over Naomh Éanna a fortnight ago only served to heighten the sense of excitement around the Offaly club in advance of their short trip up the N52 for today’s game, and with five members of this year’s successful county U-20 side in their starting 15, there was plenty of hope that this could be a contest worthy of the TV cameras that rolled into Tullamore.

Instead what viewers got was a masterclass from O’Loughlin Gaels, particularly in the first half, before the action got much more competitive after the interval.

At least, it was a masterclass in almost every aspect of play, other than shooting.

Close to their own goal, the Kilkenny city side had their hands full with the energy and tenacity of the Kilcormac-Killoughey forwards, and Huw Lawlor and Mikey Butler certainly didn’t have things all their own way.

However the Paddy-Deegan-led half-back line was imperious, aided by the ferocious pressure exerted on Kilcormac-Killoughey players further outfield. That forced the home side to play a lot of high,