Kilkenny JHC – Drennan-inspired Galmoy finishes strongly to deny Piltown

A very strong closing burst saw Galmoy strike late to claim the spoils in this thrilling Premier Junior Hurling match at Tullaroan on Sunday.

A point from Niall O’Brien in the 58th minute left Piltown leading 0-25 to 0-24, but four unanswered points from Galmoy saw them hit the winning post in front.

It was a high class match with superb scoring from both sides in front of a huge crowd.

After Cian Kinsella opened the scoring for the southerners, three points from Callum Lonergan, Conor Drennan and Billy Drennan saw Galmoy lead by two after five minutes of play.

Piltown then dominated the rest of the first quarter, as Aidan Walsh scored an impressive three points from midfield along with a pair from Martin Power and one from Kinsella to give them a 0-7 to 0 lead. 4 at the end of this quarter.

Kinsella and Power really troubled the Galmoy rearguard while Aidan Walsh could do nothing wrong in midfield.

Callum Lonergan started well for the northerners and scored four points in the first half. He was deprived of a goal by a good save from Pauric Wall who deflected the shot for a 65 which Billy Drennan converted in the 17th minute.

Drennan was unerring on placed balls all day, most of which he won himself.

Piltown were full of runs in this first half and finished strongly with a flurry of points from Walsh, Robbie Culleton, Billy O’Callaghan, Cian Kinsella and a Daryl Maye free to lead 0-15 to 0-10 to the break.

The point made by Culleton in particular was a remarkable team effort involving Power and Kinsella. Galmoy was happy to arrive at the break without losing any further ground and took advantage of the rest to recompose himself.

However, it was Piltown who once again drew first blood, with Niall O’Brien scoring his third point of the day.

Galmoy captain Sean Phelan responded from the left, to which Daryl Maye responded with his only score from play, following a pass from Billy O’Callaghan, extending Piltown’s lead to six points again.

However, the Galmoys were not ones to lie down. As Callum Lonergan came solo from the right side, his shot on goal was just deflected for a 65 which Billy Drennan converted.

Lonergan then scored his fifth point of the day following a pass from Oisín Phelan, with Phelan then winning a free kick which Drennan pointed home.

Another free kick converted in the same way reduced the gap to just two points (0-17 to 0-15) with 40 minutes on the clock.

However, by the 45th minute Piltown had regained a four point lead 0-20 to 0-16.

Billy Drennan scored three free-kicks in as many minutes, two for fouls on himself and one on Conor Grace, as Galmoy began to test the Piltown defence, 0-20 to 0-19.

Continuing with the topsy-turvy nature of the game, Piltown moved on, thanks to two frees from Daryl Maye and a point each from the strong Martin Power and the opportunistic Niall O’Brien.

Callum Lonergan posted a response from Galmoy before passing to Oisín Phelan who hit a gem from the right touchline.
The Galmoys were now gaining momentum and their confidence was growing.

In defence, Dylan Grace, Kieran Phelan and especially Nigel Stanley began to exert their influence on the Piltown attackers.

Niall O’Brien was the exception here with two late points, but those final four points from Galmoy were the result of sheer hard work and a will to win.

Oisín Phelan pointed from midfield, Billy Drennan struck for a 65 followed by a 35-yard free kick won by substitute Brendan Phelan who had just been introduced.

Their last point showed their desire to move forward.

Conor Drennan won Pauric Wall’s long puck and broke solo from the defense and ran through the spine of the Piltown rearguard before handing off to Ryan Murphy who in turn passed to Jason Stanley to raising the final flag of the day for a victory embodied in the final act.

Teams and scorers

Galmoy – Brian Kelly; Dylan Grace, Nigel Stanley, Kieran Phelan; Conor Grace, Conor Drennan (0-1), Gearoid Phelan; Sean Phelan (0-2), Niall Drennan; Billy Drennan (0-13, 0-11 free), Ryan Murphy (0-1), Brandan Phelan (0-1); Callum Lonergan (0-6), Jason Stanley (0-2), Oisín Phelan (0-2).

Substitutes: Brendan Phelan, Rohan Lonergan.

Piltown- Paurique Wall; Niall Kinsella, Darragh Walsh, Robert Tobin; Michael O’Dwyer, Aaron Kinsella, Andrew Phelan; Aidan Walsh (0-4), Daryl Maye (0-5, 0-4 free); Brandon Wheeler, Robbie Culleton (0-1), Martin Power (0-4); Cian Kinsella (0-4), Billy O’Callaghan (0-2), Niall O’Brien (0-5).

Substitutes: Kevin Brophy and Aidan Friend.

Referee – Stephen Delaney (Graigue-Ballycallan)