Kilkenny IHC- Tallis heroics sends resurgent Lisdowney into county decider

A brilliant goalkeeping display by Aidan Tallis and goals in each half from Brian Kavanagh and Eibhean McEvoy saw Lisdowney claim the narrowest of wins over Mooncoin in a pulsating Intermediate Championship Semi-Final at UPMC Nowlan Park on Saturday afternoon.

The final four tie was a repeat of the exact same fixture a year ago but on this occasion, there was a different result as Lisdowney held on to a place in the final with Young Irelands.

It was super sub Eibhean McEvoy’s goal in the 57th minute that firmly pushed Lisdowney into a winning position but even at that, the North Kilkenny club still had to be thankful to their goalkeeper as he produced one of the saves of the season to deny Ciaran Quilty in stoppage time which arrived after Tallis earlier made stops from Cormac Kinsella and Adam Croke.

The game really could have went either way and was fascinating viewing from start to finish but in the end it was Lisdowney’s slightly more clinical edge that saw them over the line.

Lisdowney made an electrifying start to the game and were quickly three points to the good through points from Pat O’Carroll, Cathal Jordan and Brian Kavanagh who was more than a small handful for the Mooncoin rearguard.

The 2023 county finalists responded with a Stephen Crowley effort and while Niall Brennan pushed out the winners lead with a well taken score in the 7th minute, Mooncoin had the tie back on level terms come the halfway mark of the half (0-4 to 0-4).

Liam Hogan got all three Mooncoin scores in that spell as he showcased his excellence on placed balls as well as scoring from play.

The sides then swapped efforts with Hogan and Oisin Henebery scoring in response to Lisdowney points via Kavanagh and Richard McEvoy.

The first big moment of the contest duly arrived a couple of minutes later when Adam Croke firstly had a shot excellently saved by Aidan Tallis but Lisdowney were unable to clear their lines and the ball eventually made it’s way across the square where Mooncoin centre forward Oisin Henebery was perfectly placed to bat the ball to the net.

This was the first time Mooncoin hit the front on the scoreboard but they were unable to build any momentum as within minutes they were soon trailing again.

A well directed Dylan Jordan score got Lisdowney back on track and they then got an even bigger boost when Pat O’Carroll found himself in possession of the sliotar after a long delivery towards the Mooncoin goal and after showing great composure O’Carroll offloaded to Brian Kavanagh who clinically found the bottom corner of the net.

Like the earlier goal however, the response from the opponents was almost instant as Ciaran Quilty split the posts to leave the teams deadlocked at 1-7 apiece.

There was to be no separating them by the time experienced official Sean Cleere called time on the half either with Kavanagh and Liam Dunphy pointing for Lisdowney and Liam Hogan and Adam Croke scoring for Mooncoin at the end of a breathless 30 minutes of action.

Croke and Liam Dunphy exchanged further points from play at the start of the second period and at that stage, it was next to impossible to figure out what way the outcome may be headed.

Lisdowney were the ones leading for the longer period and they again moved ahead with scores from Kavanagh, Dunphy and Eibhean McEvoy who appeared as a first half substitute.

Cormac Kinsella kept Mooncoin ticking away in reply before successive Liam Hogan frees drew the game level once again on a 1-13 each scoreline.

After Tallis made a big save from Cormac Kinsella, Lisdowney began to get motoring with points from Kavanagh and Cathal Jordan edging them two clear.

Stephen Crowley then knocked over his second point of the afternoon for a Mooncoin team that wouldn’t give up but that theory got it’s biggest examination when Luke Holohan and Andrew McEvoy combined to set up Eibhean McEvoy and his well placed shot found a way past Donnacha Hogan in the Mooncoin goal.

Lisdowney led by four as a result but the drama was only beginning with Mooncoin laying siege towards the O’Loughlin Gaels end of Nowlan Park.

Ciaran Quilty will wonder how he didn’t find the net as firstly he latched onto a deflected Patrick Walsh effort but that shot was blocked wide before he then had the goal at his mercy in stoppage time but Aidan Tallis miraculously denied him from close in.

Liam Hogan still had time to reduce the gap to one with a pair of frees but that is as close as Mooncoin would get with Lisdowney holding on to secure a repeat of the league final with Gowran on Sunday week.

Teams and Scorers

Lisdowney - Brian Kavanagh (1-7, 0-2 ‘65s and 0-1 free); Eibhean McEvoy (1-1); Cathal Jordan, Liam Dunphy (0-2 each); Dylan Jordan, Niall Brennan, Pat O’Carroll, Richard McEvoy (0-1 each)

Mooncoin - Liam Hogan (0-11, 0-8 frees and 0-1 ‘65); Oisin Henebery (1-1); Adam Croke, Stephen Crowley (0-2 each); Ciaran Quilty, Cormac Kinsella (0-1 each)

Lisdowney - Aidan Tallis; Michael Kenny, Ben Tallis, Laurence Campion; Dylan Jordan, Niall Brennan, Eoin Walsh; David O’Carroll, Kevin Sweeney; Richard McEvoy, Pat O’Carroll, Cathal Jordan; Sean Phelan, Brian Kavanagh, Liam Dunphy.

Subs: Eibhean McEvoy for Sweeney, 21 mins; Luke Holohan for Brennan, 43 mins; Andrew McEvoy for P O’Carroll, 44 mins; Alan Dunphy for Kenny, 62 mins.

Mooncoin - Donnacha Hogan; Aidan Doyle, Cormac Daly, Ryan Carroll; Jim Delahunty, Paul Henebery, Martin O’Neill; Killian Hogan, Stephen Crowley; Liam Hogan, Oisin Henebery, Adam Croke; Ciaran Quilty, Cormac Kinsella, Stephen Wall.

Subs; Mairtin Gannon for Wall, 37 mins; Sean Brennan for Daly, 41 mins; Kevin Crowley for Kinsella, 54 mins; Sean O’Dwyer for K Hogan, 54 mins; Patrick Walsh for O Henebery, 54 mins.

Referee: Sean Cleere (O’Loughlin Gaels)