Kilcormac switch on summer hurling to overwhelm Naomh Éanna

Kilcormac-Killoughey (Offaly) 2-22 Naomh Éanna (Wexford) 0-14

This AIB Leinster championship quarter-final underwent a profound change within little more than three minutes at the start of the second half. Up until then, it had tipped away competitively but definitely at a winter hurling pace.

Within those fateful minutes, not only did Kilcormac-Killoughey put the match beyond doubt as a contest but switch the co-ordinates to summer with a powerful performance to wipe out their narrow half-time deficit of two, 0-9 to 0-11, so explosively that they won by 14 – a 16-point turnaround to leave Gorey club Naomh Éanna stunned and without meaningful response.

The Offaly champions found the scoring vein and tapped into it remorselessly. TG4 player of the match James Gorman at full forward had caused trouble in the first half but in the 37th minute, the scores levelled, the Kilcormac captain got a vital touch to goalkeeper Colm Slevin’s long delivery to find the net.

For a match that had ebbed and flowed with points, in front of around 2,000 spectators, a goal felt significant but that was only the half of it.

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In little more than two minutes, the winners scored 2-1 to make the remainder of the match strictly a formality. The net had hardly stopped billowing from his goal when Gorman got a touch to a high ball for Adam Screeney to race around and drive the ball across the goal and into the right corner of Jack Cushe’s net.

Screeney added a point seconds later. Naomh Éanna were shell shocked and for the rest of the match, looked bereft of inspiration. Play was frantic in the search for goals and wild wides were posted, as the Offaly club helped themselves to both the opposition restarts and their abundant scoring chances.

Cian Ó Tuama didn’t do a bad job on Screeney but Offaly’s under-20 rain maker still racked up 1-7, 1-2 from play.

Scoring 2-22 in an hour’s hurling in November is a fair achievement and follows 3-26 in the county final win against champions Shinrone.

“We’re getting big scores,” said winning manager Shane Hand.

“They’re coming from all over the field. Adam was held in the county final to a point but we still got scores. We’re just trying to focus on getting fast ball into the forwards no matter what the conditions, work hard and see where it takes us.”

The ambient prematch misgivings around Wexford Park that the local county champions had been in dry dock too long – or worse devoting valuable bandwidth to football – were alarmingly realised in the opening minutes when a sprightly Kilcormac raced through their opponents to reel off a four-point lead.

Naomh Éanna were clearly struggling to adjust to match conditions after the 12-week break after the county final but they dug in and started to get in physical challenges around the field.

Conor McDonald took the fight to Kilcormac and had an absorbing tussle with Oisín Mahon and Jack Cullen nailed some fine, long-range dead balls and there was quality sniping from Jack Doran for two points. Then the latter got on the end of a powerful run by Cian Molloy, he was fouled for a close-in free that when converted by Padraig Doyle, gave the Wexford side the lead for the first time, 0-9 to 0-8.

Naomh Éanna had the bit between their teeth and finished the half strongly for a two-point lead but a surprisingly strong wind had favoured them and although it wasn’t going to win it for Kilcormac-Killoughey, the enhanced opportunity to furnish their attack with quick ball helped to set up the second-half devastation.

Once the tentative play of the first half was over, the match went up a gear. The sharpness of the Offaly champions was especially evident in the number of turnovers they engineered – double figures while conceding only a handful.

The scoring quickly became grace notes. Centre back Cillian Kiely shot some fine long-range points from frees and play and there was further damage done by wing back Enda Grogan and corner forward Charlie Mitchell. Replacements Lochlainn Kavanagh and Thomas Geraghty came on to score as well.

Kilcormac have a large panel and have introduced some outstanding young talent like Screeney and corner back Brecon Kavanagh.

“Look, we blooded a few last year and a few more today,” said Hand. “It will take them a few years to get up to speed but they did the finest. We didn’t look past today. We’ll knuckle down for the next two weeks and all we can do is give 100 per cent the next day.”

The next day, they will face O’Loughlin Gaels from Kilkenny but they won’t fear for their prospects.

Kilcormac-Killoughey: C Slevin; B Kavanagh, O Mahon, T Spain; J Quinn, C Kiely (0-3, 0-2f), E Grogan (0-1); C Spain (0-2), D Kilmartin; Leigh Kavanagh, C Mahon (0-1), J Screeney (0-1); C Mitchell (0-2), J Gorman (1-3), A Screeney (1-7, 0-5f). Subs: T Geraghty (0-1) for C Mahon (51 mins), Lochlainn Kavanagh (0-1) for Gorman (55 mins), T Guinan for Leigh Kavanagh (55 mins), J Mahon for B Kavanagh (59 mins), G Healion for Mitchell (63 mins).

Naomh Éanna: J Cushe; C Molloy, T Stafford, C Ó Tuama; C McGuckin (0-1), C Stokes, B Travers; S Doyle, A Doyle (0-1); C Browne , C Dunbar (0-3), J Doran (0-2); P Doyle (0-2f), Conor McDonald (capt; 0-1), J Cullen (0-4, 0-2f, 0-2 65). Subs: Seán Óg Whelan for Doran (55 mins), Eoin Conroy for Travers (58 mins), D Canavan for MacDonald (63 mins)

Referee: Seán Cleere (Kilkenny)