Kiltale delivered an emphatic message to the other challengers when they opened their bid fox six SHC titles in-a-row with a 1-22 to 0-15 victory against Kildalkey at Pairc Tailteann tonight.
The Kiltale players were razor sharp and Kildalkey were the opposite – blunt – in the opening half, but the defending champions had the benefit of a substantial wind behind them.
The wind was significant, but it wasn’t the only reason for Kiltale’s dominance as they produced some excellent hurling.
Five points from Cathal McCabe were augmented by five pointed frees from Jack Regan, two by Adam Murphy and Fearghal McCabe and one apiece from Conor Shirren, Chris Reilly, James Kelly and Ross Ryan that eased KIltale into a substantial 0-18 to 0-4 interval advantage.
Kildalkey didn’t score from play in the opening half and had to wait until the 12th minute before Niall McNally sent over the first of his four frees.
Kildalkey were better after the resumption and that was due to a combination of an improved performance, wind assistance and a dip in intensity from Kiltale.
Regan converted a 32nd minute penalty goal for Kiltale (see video clip) and also added three (one free) more points to his tally for a total of 1-8 while James Kelly also sent over near the end.
In between all that Kildalkey scored some good points with McNally adding another four, a tally matched by Patrick Conneely while Sean Heavey (two) and Evan Fitzgerald also contributed to the cause.
These teams are also scheduled to meet in the final of the A HL Div 1 in Athboy on Saturday 13th July.