2023 AIB GAA Hurling All-Ireland Junior Club Championship Semi-Final – St. Catherine’s (Cork) 0-12 Easkey (Sligo) 0-11

St. Catherine’s (Cork) defeated Easkey (Sligo) by 0-12 to 0-11 in the AIB GAA Hurling All-Ireland Junior Club Championship Semi-Final on Saturday December 16th at Ballinasloe.

St Catherine’s overcome Easkey to secure All-Ireland JHC final spot

All-Ireland Club JHC semi-final

Easkey (Sligo) 0-11 St Catherine’s (Cork) 0-12

Report by Maurice Brosnan for the Irish Examiner newspaper

St Catherine’s claimed a spot in the All-Ireland JHC final after overcoming a dogged Easkey in Duggan Park. A bit of class from Kyle Wallace and Seán O’Donoghue proved the difference.

In front of a full stand in Ballinasloe that included GAA president Larry McCarthy, a see-sawing tie swung their way down the stretch. There was late drama when substitute Adam Rolston scored in injury time to leave one between them. A bit of shred clock management helped the Munster champions see it out. There was an injury delay and then goalkeeper Eoin Davis drove his puckout out over the sideline.

Matthew Mulcahy put an end to a string of early wides to get St Catherine’s off the mark after a great turnover by Rory Galvin. The lively Andrew Kilcullen hit back with a sensational sideline, making up for an earlier placed ball miss.

Both sides allowed their centre-back to sit and sweep. That protection proved shrewd for the Cork side when Kilcullen caught a long ball at the top of the D and made for goal. He was pulled down by Oisin Fitzgerald resulting in a yellow card and tap over free. Finnian Cawley followed that up with a well-taken score to put two between them for the first time.

A Seán O’Donoghue free cut the margin to one at the turnaround. He nailed a beauty immediately after the break before helping to create a score for Brian Mulcahy as Denis Walsh’s outfit hit the front.

Easkey’s 38% conversion will haunt them. At one point they hit three shots short in a row before a Mulcahy point made them pay in the first half. The Sligo senior side had numerous chances to draw level before O’Donoghue spun and notched a superb score to stretch the gap.

As the semi-final entered the final quarter, Easkey were back in front thanks to three consecutive white flags including an inspirational Rory McHugh effort after he drove out of a packed middle third.

Having diligently trudged and laboured through draining winter’s fare, St Catherine’s found their patch and surged. The outstanding Kyle Wallace dummied and unleashed a bullet. Minutes later a ruck broke kindly for him to tap over his third of the day. Number one Davis nailed a long-range free. Eoin Condon took their total to 0-12 with five minutes remaining. They failed to score for the next ten minutes but Easkey were unable to draw level.

The winners of Sunday’s semi-final between Tullogher Rosbercon and Castleblayney await.

Scorers for Easkey: Andrew Kilcullen 0-5 (1 sideline, 3 frees), Finnian Cawley 0-3, Mikey Gordon 0-1, Rory McHugh 0-1, Adam Rolston 0-1.

Scorers for St Catherine’s: Seán O’Donoghue 0-3 (2 frees), Kyle Wallace 0-3, Matthew Mulcahy 0-2, Eoin Condon 0-2, Brian Mulcahy 0-1, Eoin Davis 0-1 free.

Easkey: J Gordon; J Weir, G Connolly, E Rua McGowan; N Kilcullen, R McHugh, D Hanley; R Molloy, F Cawley; F Moylan, M Gordon, T Cawley; J McHugh, A Kilcullen, F Connolly.
Subs: S Molloy for Moylan (54), A Rolston for R Molloy (58).

St Catherine’s: E Davis, F O’Connell, E O’Riordan, L O’Connor; K O’Donoghue, O Fitzgerald, K Neville; K Wallace, S Cotter; W Leamy, R Galvin, S O’Donogue; B Mulcahy, E Condon, M Mulcahy.
Subs: K Barry for Leamy (blood 30-32), Barry for M Mulcahy (46), G O’Brien for Leamy (52), C Hegarty for O’Donoghue (55), E Wallace for O’Connor (57).

Referee: P Owens (Down).