St Gabriel's 2-15 Kilburn Gaels 1-13
A strong second-half showing saw St Gabriel's retain their London SHC title and become London champions for the 20th time with a 2-15 to 1-13 win over Kilburn Gaels at Ruislip's McGovern Park.
The first half of Sunday's showdown in west London was far from a spectacle, and it was the underdogs, Kilburn, who seized the initiative and took the game to the reigning champs.
Both sides looked a bit nervous in opening exchanges and had more than their fair share of wides. Kilburn's David Devine opened the scoring in the fourth minute before Jack Morrissey replied with a free in the seventh minute to get Gabriel's up and running.
A trio of Kilburn scores then started to open up the game, with Mark O'Dwyer, who was a late change to the starting 15, scoring a majestic point, while Cian Kavanagh and Enda Egan gave them a lead of three.
Sean Glynn and another Morrissey free stemmed the tide and reduced the deficit to just a point, only for Kilburn to go back up by four thanks to Egan, Colin Nelson and Kavanagh.
However, their rhythm was disrupted when they lost Joe Phelan to injury in the 26th minute. He was replaced by Conor Murphy.
Christy Ring Cup Player of the Year, and London captain, Sean Glynn raised a green flag in the 28th minute.
The club from Wembley then sprang into life and finished the half the stronger, with Rory Lodge and Martin Glynn adding two further scores, Martin Glynn's point giving Gabriel's the lead for the first time. They took a slender 1-05 to 0-07 lead into the interval.
St Gabriel's flew out of the traps in the second-half when Colm Healy scored virtually straight from throw-in. That point was matched by Kilburn's O'Dwyer before Gabriel's hit four in a row, thanks to Lodge, Morrissey, Conor O'Carroll and Glynn.
Kavanagh and Egan broke up the wave of Gabriel's scores, but they would see the game slip further away when, in the 45th minute, Morrissey followed up a Lodge point with a beautiful strike past Kilburn keeper Cathal Kenny and into the top corner of the net.
Nelson replied with another Kilburn point, but it was goals they needed, not points, as they trailed by six. Rory Hickey and Stevie Whelan gave the Gabriel's some breathing space, as did Glynn when Egan kept the scoreboard ticking over for the challengers to the London hurling throne.
There would be late drama when Kilburn finally got a goal in the 57th minute when Devine knocked the sliotar in, with the north-west Londoners' first goal chance of the final. Egan then made it a four-point game to set up an exciting finish.
Following Morrissey extending the lead to five, Kilburn were awarded a penalty after Donie Reale was fouled. Up stepped Egan, but his penalty was expertly saved by Padraig Collins to ensure his side would retain their title for another year as Neil Rogers' men closed the game out by five points.
Kilburn Gaels: Cathal Kenny; Joe Phelan, Conor Byrne, Niall Fitzgerald; Evan Kelly, Cillian McSweeney, Paddy Morrissey; Fergal Collins, Pat Earley; Anthony Hands, Cian Kavanagh (0-03, 2f), Colin Nelson (0-02); Mark O'Dwyer (0-02), Enda Egan (0-05, 2f), David Devine (1-01).
Subs: Conor Murphy for Joe Phelan (26’), Donie Reale for Cian Kavanagh (40’), Chris McAlinden for Anthony Hands (41’), Luke Hands for Fergal Collins (46’), Rory Kelly for Pat Earley (60’)
St Gabriels: Padraig Collins; Niall Eames, Niall Geoghegan, Rory Hickey (0-01); Fionn Whelan, Stevie Whelan (0-01), Calum Gardiner; Sean Glynn (1-03), Colm Healy (0-01); Rory Lodge (0-03), Conor O’Carroll (0-01), Jack Morrissey (1-04, 3f); Danny Coyne, Martin Glynn (0-01), Liam Murphy.
Subs: Paddy Naughton for Colm Healy (51’), Eoin Kelly for Fionn Whelan (51’), Geoff Kingston for Rory Hickey (55’), Jack Gilsenan for Danny Coyne (56’)
