Superior Ballyhale Shamrocks topple gallant Raharney

They didn"t light any fires in doing so, but Kilkenny hurling outfit Ballyhale Shamrocks did what was necessary in Cusack Park, Mullingar on Saturday afternoon last, beating a stout-hearted Raharney side in one of two weekend Leinster club senior hurling championship semi-finals.Nobody gave Westmeath champions Raharney a ghost of a chance prior to Saturday"s fixture, but they made more than a good account themselves against the imposing green army of Kilkenny hurling legend, Henry Shefflin and his colleagues.Although Raharney boasted a large crowd of supporters, it would have been interesting to assess how many people turned out to see the eight-time All-Star Shefflin, as well as James "Cha" Fitzpatrick; and their celebrity status was crowned by a queue of young hurling enthusiasts looking for autographs after the full-time whistle.During play, however, the inter-county stars didn"t steal the show, and the story of Saturday"s fixture was Raharney"s determination to match their opponents move for move. Had John Shaw, Brian Smyth, Francis Boyle et al managed to translate this into scores, Ballyhale might have had more to worry about; what"s more, the Kilkenny men never looked likely to find the net, and for this the Raharney defence, led admirably by Paul Greville, should be commended.Stagefright seemed to grip the Deelsiders at various intervals, when the moment called for an accurate puck between the posts. Nevertheless, they were by no means trounced by the most successful club on the All-Ireland club hurling scene, and one of the hot favourites to feature at Croke Park come St. Patrick"s Day.Although Shefflin helped himself to ten points, most of these were from frees, and it was his Kilkenny colleague, Eoin Reid, who did most of the damage for Shamrocks from play.Raharney led early on, and held their opponents" lead to just three points with ten minutes left in the second half. Ballyhale turned on the style, leading 0-13 to 0-5 at half time; but Raharney boss Eamonn Gallagher had plenty to be positive about.But the Blues eventually ran out of steam, as Shefflin, Fitzpatrick and the Reid brothers completed Ballyhale"s mission, clocking up a comfortable seventeen-point margin, and booking a place in the forthcoming Leinster final against Offaly kingpins Birr.Raharney"s exit means that St. Mary"s, Rochfortbridge - who feature in the Leinster junior club football semi-finals next weekend - are the only remaining Westmeath team participating in provincial competitions.PressureRaharney put the pressure on after the throw-in and enjoyed some early fortune in the first half, with Brian Smyth catching Ballyhale netminder, James Connolly"s attention with a tame shot in the third minute.Henry Shefflin"s first free was successfully cleared by the Raharney defence, and at the other end, Smyth shot wide with a point at his mercy. After five minutes, Smyth delivered yet another tame shot into the awaiting paws of James Connolly, as Raharney kept applying pressure.Their hard work paid off in the sixth minute when John Shaw was awarded a free, and he duly shot between the sticks to give Raharney a deserved lead. But the honeymoon ended moments later when Ballyhale"s Eoin Reid shot over an equaliser, before his brother T.J. put the Kilkenny men in front.A third Kilkenny inter-county panellist, Michael Fennelly, added a third point on nine minutes after impressively bringing a high ball under control, before David Hoyne made it 0-4 to 0-1 with a commendable effort from the left wing.At the midway point, Raharney made an early change, introducing Padraig Connaughton in place of Daniel Riggs, in a bid to add some extra bit to the Blues" vanguard. But the Ballyhale scores kept coming, with Shefflin adding a brace (including one score from play), and Eoin Reid raising a flag for the second time.Raharney, six points adrift, responded positively. Brian Connaughton despatched a 75 metre free with aplomb to reduce the arrears, before veteran hurler Brendan McKeogh shot over a terrific point from the right hand side on 20 minutes.Francis Boyle - who had registered three wides in the first quarter - rose the occasion with a fourth Raharney point, as Ballyhale suddenly became uneasy.The Kilkenny outfit concocted the perfect emergency response, with captain Bob Aylward sallying forth with a fine long range point, and Eoin Reid finding the target for a third time.Raharney kept in touch thanks to another ambitious free from Brian Connaughton - this time from beyond 85 metres - but Reid"s fourth point moved Ballyhale into double figures.Maurice Aylward"s troops made the most of this psychological blow, with Michael Fennelly and Shefflin (a brace) moving Ballyhale into a solid, but by no means impressive, eight-point lead at half time.Incidentally, in the intervening time, Raharney custodian Jimmy Greville was on hand with some timely heroics, when Ballyhale"s T.J. Reid was presented with the Kilkenny side"s best goal chance of the game.EffectiveAfter the interval, Ballyhale picked up where they left off, with Shefflin converting another free after a foul by Paul Greville earned the Raharney man a yellow card.The visitors raced ahead thanks to scores from T.J. Reid, Shefflin (a free) and sub Tom Coogan, who had made a brief but hugely effective appearance as a blood sub for James "Cha" Fitzpatrick.Coogan"s contribution saw him introduced as a permanent sub moments later, as Ballyhale brought on fresh legs to supplement their attack.But the starters showed no signs of tiring, and Eoin Reid continued to plague Raharney in the left corner, making it 0-18 to 0-5 on 42 minutes with his fifth point of the afternoon.Immediately, John Shaw raised his second flag of the afternoon with a point from play, but the home cheers were promptly dulled when Shefflin converted a free, before setting up Michael Fennelly for his third point.James "Cha" Fitzpatrick - who played a minor role for Ballyhale on Saturday - registered his first point of the afternoon, as a further score from Eoin Reid left Raharney sixteen adrift with ten minutes to go. Raharney manager Eamonn Gallagher then introduced Cormac Boyle in a bid to shore up the attack.Shefflin made the most of any hint of Raharney indiscipline, punishing the home side with two more frees - the first coming after Brian Smyth was booked for a cynical tackle on the All-Star.With three minutes remaining, Kilkenny skipper "Cha" Fitzpatrick added his second point to the scoresheet; in the mean-time, two frees from John Shaw gave the Raharney faithful something to cheer about.As stoppage time began, a goalmouth incident threatened to put a dent in what was an otherwise tremendously sporting fixture. Ballyhale goalkeeper James Connolly received a yellow card from referee Eamonn Morris, after wrestling with Raharney"s Padraig Connaughton in the midst of a goalmouth scramble.It was handbags stuff, and the converse of this was Henry Shefflin"s unending professionalism, as he struck his tenth point from a free to raise Ballyhale"s 26th flag of the afternoon.But it was fitting that the home side, who had shown pluck and sportsmanship from start to finish, would have the last hurrah. Deep into stoppage time, Brendan McKeogh finished off a wonderful Raharney move with his second point, prompting wild applause from the Westmeath-dominated audience.It was a small victory for the underdogs, on a day when hurling celebrity came to Mullingar. Cue the autographs...Scorers: Ballyhale Shamrocks - H. Shefflin 0-10 (7 frees), E. Reid 0-6, M. Fennelly 0-3, T.J. Reid and J. Fitzpatrick 0-2 each, D. Hoyne, B. Aylward and T. Coogan 0-1 each. Raharney: J. Shaw 0-4 (3 frees), B. Connaughton (frees) and B. McKeogh 0-2 each, F. Boyle 0-1.Ballyhale Shamrocks (Kilkenny): James Connolly; Paul Shefflin, Eamonn Walsh, Padraig Holden; Michael Dermody, Aidan Cummins, Bob Aylward (captain); James "Cha" Fitzpatrick, Michael Fennelly; Patrick Reid, Henry Shefflin, T.J. Reid; Eoin Reid, Brendan Costelloe, David Hoyne. Subs used: Mark Aylward for Costelloe (28), Keith Nolan for Dermody (h/time), Tom Coogan for Holden (41), James Walsh for T.J. Reid (41), Ger Fennelly for B. Aylward (53).Raharney (Westmeath): Jimmy Greville; Peter Mullen, Paul Greville, John Greville; Alan Giles, Conor Jordan, Tony Doyle; Niall Flanagan (capt.), Brian Connaughton; Francis Boyle, John Shaw, Christopher Flanagan; Brendan McKeogh, Brian Smyth, Daniel Riggs. Subs used: Padraig Connaughton for Riggs (16), Mark Conroy for Mullen (29), Cormac Boyle for C. Flanagan (52), David Flanagan for N. Flanagan (56), Stephen Morley for F. Boyle (58).Referee: Eamonn Morris (Dublin).