Hockey history as Kilkenny claim dramatic victory in Neville Cup

Hockey history was made as the Kilkenny men’s team became the first side outside Dublin to lift the Neville Cup on St Stephen’s Day.

The final, which was played at the Loreto, had Portrane as favourites to win given their pole position in the Leinster EY Qualifier League. The Dublin side have had the bragging rights over Kilkenny in recent years - the last EY qualifier was a 4-1 win for Portrane in early October.

The opening quarter started brightly for Kilkenny with some good use of the wide players with Howard McDonnell finding his team-mates with accurate passing.

The visitors were well marshalled by their skipper John Skehan and Chris Neville, but the opening score came from a period of sustained Kilkenny pressure when a stroke was awarded following a short corner which Dave McClure dispatched low to Cameron Goodwin’s left.

The visitors were not behind for long when an intercepted pass allowed Angelo Walstroom time and space in the circle, before he found the top corner with power and accuracy.

In the second quarter Kilkenny fought hard to redress the balance with some great tackling from Kyle Handcock, Andy Atkinson and Tim Cope. Handcock, who traditionally plays on the right, was playing on the left and looked more assured and experienced than his 17 years. After going on a telling run down the left he dribbled along the end with great skill before Howard McDonell swept in to make it 2-1.

Portrane demonstrated why they are joint table toppers when they struck back again in the same quarter. With Kilkenny down to 10 for a yellow card the sustained pressure from Portrane yielded a short corner which was deflected into the roof of the Kilkenny net by Irish under-21 international Noa Mulvey. At half-time the score was 2-2.

The third quarter saw a good press from a hard working Kilkenny side. Portrane’s Tom Mulvey had a green card but momentum was handed to Portrane when Kilkenny’s Emmet Hughes went off his feet and left his opposite number on the ground. The 10 minute yellow could have been critical when he was joined off the pitch by Dave McClure (green card), leaving the home team down to nine players for a few minutes.

The Kilkenny defence found themselves under pressure but some good stops by goalkeeper Ian O’Keeffe kept them in the game. Not content with sitting back Kilkenny had two good circle entries from which they should have forced more from goalkeeper Cameron Goodwin. The first ball pinged through the circle to go wide, while a second effort was slightly behind the incoming Kilkenny captain Bill McEnery.

Given the form of these two sides Kilkenny had to be the happier going into the final quarter. The hosts could have been tempted to play a deep defensive final quarter but opted to go after the game securing a short corner in the last few minutes. It finished 2-2 at full time.

Having won the toss Portrane opted to take the first shuttle, which was saved by Ian O’Keeffe. Cameron Goodwin managed to get a stick to the ball, sweeping the first Kilkenny stroke off to the side. Both Tom Mulvey and Billy McEnery scored respectively before a Kilkenny save and Portrane wide left it at 1-1 after three shuttles each.

The international Angelo Walstroom calmly found the net and Tim Cope decided not to use the allotted time, firing a quick one to the back of the net leaving it at 2-2 with a stroke each to take.

The final Portrane shuttle saw the Kilkenny goalkeeper Ian O’Keeffe remain on his feet, covering his goal. With time running out the shot was saved, putting Kilkenny in to the driving seat. The fifth shuttle saw Eddie Dore use his experience to move the ’keeper around before finding the net to secure a famous win.

Kilkenny Firsts: Ian O’Keeffe, Howard McDonnell, Andy Atkinson, John McNamara, Kyle Handcock, Riain Delaney, Emmet Hughes, Eddie Dore, Tim Cope, Billy McEnery (captain), Dave McClure, Evin McClure, Sean Corbett, Eddie Healy, Kieran Delaney, Harry Earl. Manager: Gary Doyle.

Portrane Firsts: Cameron Goodwin, Tristan Boyall, Dylan Eustace, Dylan Ferreira, Rory Govan, David Graham, Sean Graham, Noa Mulvey, Tom Mulvey, Chris Neville, Cameron Shoebridge, John Skehan (captain), Max Stead, Adrian Sweeny, Liam Wash, Angelo Walstroom.