'Could have won, couldn’t have, who cares, we’re here'

It was all so different just fifteen minutes before, when Éanna O’Hanlon’s fourth point of the evening put them 1-12 to 1-10 in front. Everything seemed to be going their way, especially as just ten minutes prior to that they trailed by 1-10 to 0-7. Then it was two points each from O’Sullivans Darragh and Diarmuid and a goal from Alan O’Connell that turned the game on its head.

Aghabullogue looked spooked, but somehow, they mustered something from deep within themselves as points from David Thompson, John Corkery, Aaron O’Sullivan and Luke Casey put them two up with three to play. Thrice they tried to increase that lead, thrice they failed and in that sixty-third minute, Darragh O’Sullivan was on hand to clip over two frees to secure another day out.

It’s easy to figure out what Kilshannig manager, Denis Reen was most pleased about afterwards. “I think our heart and character, a never say die attitude. A pleasure to be involved in. At no stage outside there did I think that I was going to lose the game. As a manager, imagine feeling like that on the line?

“That at no stage were they going to pull away from us. You saw the way we worked the free at the end, and in a scoring area as well, which was brilliant. And that just comes down to being a cool, calm and collected and great bunch of lads that work hard at training.” 

The sides had been level four times in an excellent opening period before points from Corkery and Pádraic O’Sullivan gave the Muskerry side a 0-7 to 0-5 half time lead. They had been the far more clinical side, and they carried that accuracy and momentum with them into the second half as they took control of the game.

Casey and Corkery had doubled their lead within two minutes, and though Killian and Éanna O’Hanlon managed to halve that gap, Casey soon had Aghabullogue three to the good. Then a surging run from Breandán O’Sullivan set in motion the move that led to the outstanding Corkery sliding the ball into Gavin Creedon’s net making it a six-point game. From there it ebbed, it flowed, it entertained.

That was Saturday night, so what will next weekend bring? Well, that was best summed up by Aghabullogue manager, Ray Keane.

“You’ll only be able to answer that probably at 9:30pm next Saturday night. If we win, I’ve learned everything, if we lose, I haven’t even watched the video people will be saying. It comes back to the small details. I go back to this game, we had two chances at the end, small things. Could have won, couldn’t have, who cares, we’re here.

“They’d a free at the end, fair play to your man, he stuck it. Small hand in, you could argue was it a free, wasn’t a free – it doesn’t really matter. You just hope that we’ll get the bodies right, it’s a quick turnaround, and just be ready and just go at it and go again and see where it takes us.” Scorers for Kilshannig: Darragh O’Sullivan (0-6, 0-3 frees), É O’Hanlon (0-4), A O’Connell (1-0), K O’Hanlon (0-1 free, 0-1 ’45) and Diarmuid O’Sullivan (0-2 each).

Scorers for Aghabullogue: J Corkery (1-3), L Casey and A O’Sullivan (0-3 each), M Bradley (0-2), D Thompson (free), E O’Sullivan and P O’Sullivan (0-1 each).

KILSHANNIG: G Creedon; M Twomey, E Burke, S O’Connell; C Murphy, C O’Shea (c), E Healy; B Curtin, S Murphy; T Cunningham, K O’Hanlon, A O’Connell; E O’Hanlon, K Twomey, Darragh O’Sullivan.

Subs: Diarmuid O’Sullivan for Twomey (39), C O’Sullivan for Murphy (40), C McMahon for Curtin (47), C O’Connell for A O’Connell (58) AGHABULLOGUE: I O’Sullivan; C Smith, M Dennehy, P Dilworth; B O’Sullivan, T Long, A Murphy; C Gillispie, D Merrick; A O’Sullivan, J Corkery (c), P O’Sullivan; M Bradley, E O’Sullivan, L Casey.

Subs: D Thompson for E O’Sullivan (47), C O’Sullivan for P O’Sullivan (55)

Referee: Andrew Whelton (Clonakilty).