Mooncoin (Kilkenny) 0-22 Ballygiblin (Cork) 1-18
Five years on from the heartbreak of losing the 2017 final of the same competition, Mooncoin are finally All-Ireland junior hurling champions after edging Cork side Ballygiblin by a point at Croke Park.
Having trailed at the break, corner forward Killian Hogan roared into life in the second half with four points, Martin O'Neill was a colossus at right half back and his sideline cut that whizzed over the bar at the finish blew the rafters at the Jones' Road venue.
That previous final loss was the extra motivating factor and the hurt was visible in Mooncoin's play throughout, having the upperhand when needed. Ballygiblin’s reliance on free’s in the second half from the deadly accurate Joseph O’Sullivan wasn’t to be enough to overturn the Kilkenny side.
Dual star Darragh Flynn scorched over the opening point of the game after Mooncoin’s full back Cormac Daly was turned over in the first buds of a great battle with his man Seán O’Sullivan.
Having been here before Mooncoin sensed the importance of getting a good start, one of four players who started the previous final, John Fitzgerald, was quick to settle his side's nerves with a brace of booming points.
The first half then went with waves of dominance from both sides. Mooncoin’s period came first through their impressive full forward Patrick Walsh. Walsh fired over a long range free and in the next play whipped over an excellent score. Wing forward Kevin Crowley pushed Willie Coogan’s side 0-06 to 0-02 ahead at that stage.
Former AFL star Mark Keane was the focus of many before the game and his potential lived up the billing as his presence was the central to Ballygiblin’s good passages of play in the first half. O’Sullivan knuckled down to fire the first of his nine placed balls.
Thanks to some goalkeeping brilliance from Christopher Nolan and former Tipp underage star Colin English, Ballygiblin weathered the early storm to go in ahead 0-10 to 0-09 at half time. The discussion at half time was simple for Mooncoin and it showed.
The former finalists rattled off the first three points of the second half, Ciaran Quilty and Hogan opening their accounts and saw all Mooncoin’s forwards score on the day.
Against the run of play, Dean Barry finished off a long delivery for Ballygiblin to the net but Mooncoin never relented and rattled off another run of three unanswered points, they would do that again after O’Sullivan and the talented Flynn found the target again.
O’Sullivan kept piling on the pressure with free’s but such was Mooncoin’s level of focus and efficiency up front they would respond each and every time. The Kilkenny men would not be denied again and they weren’t.
Mooncoin: Eoin Purcell; Aidan Doyle, Cormac daly, Mark Kearns; Martin O’Neill (0-04, 0-0165’,0-01s/l, 0-01f), Paul Henebery, Jim Delahunty; Máirtin Gannon, Seán Gannon; Ciarán Quilty (0-01), John Fitzgerald (0-04), Kevin Crowley (0-01); Adam Croke (0-01), Patrick Walsh (0-07, 0-04f), Killian Hogan (0-04).
Subs used: Seán O’Dwyer for Crowley (41).
Ballygiblin: Christopher Noonan; Brian O’Gorman, Fionn Herlihy, James Mullins; Barry Coffey, Mark Keane, Michael Lewis; Ryan Donegan (0-01), Darragh Flynn (0-04); Michael Walsh (0-01), Colin English (0-01), Joseph O’Sullivan (0-09, 0-08f, 0-0165’); Kieran Duggan, Seán O’Sullivan (0-02), Dean Barry.Subs used: for Dillon Sheehan for Duggan (48), Aidan Donegan for Barry (57)
Referee: Brian Keon (Tommy Larkins, Galway)
