AIB All-Ireland Club JHC Final: Hickey the hero for Kilbrittain

AIB All-Ireland Club JHC Final

Kilbrittain 0-19 Easkey 0-18

By Paul Keane at Croke Park

Mark Hickey came up trumps for Kilbrittain with a late, late winning score from a free to secure a dramatic AIB All-Ireland club JHC title success for the west Cork outfit.

Extra-time beckoned with the teams tied deep into stoppage time but when Kilbrittain won a free in at the Davin End, Hickey held his nerve to secure his club's place in the history books.

Hickey finished with nine points and was a strong contender for the Man of the Match award which his forward colleague Ronan Crowley ultimately won.

Crowley oozed quality on the big stage too, sniping 0-4 from play as the west Cork side became the seventh club from the county to take the title.

It's a first title for a Cork club in the competition since Ballygiblin reigned in 2023, a win that also came at the expense of luckless Easkey.

The six-in-a-row Sligo champions, and four-in-a-row Connacht champions, finished with only 13 players as both star forward Andrew Kilcullen and Fionn Connolly saw red.

Kilcullen's was the really significant one as he was dismissed early in the second-half, with six points to his credit at that stage, following a collision with Hickey.

It's a third All-Ireland club final defeat in seven years for a number of Easkey players who were also part of the 2019 junior football final loss to Beaufort of Kerry.

Easkey conceded a goal inside 10 seconds when they lost that 2023 hurling final to Ballygiblin.

So putting two points on the board themselves this time before the game was even a minute old amounted to a terrific start.

And hitting the interval with a 0-11 to 0-10 lead was hugely encouraging for a side written off as 11/2 underdogs beforehand.

It was least they deserved to lead by because they cut a real dash in the opening half and carved out chance after chance.

Kilcullen, fresh off his 4-10 haul in the semi-final, operated at the tip of Easkey's spear again, displaying his full box of tricks with five first-half points.

He had the crowd in the palm of his hand when he chopped over a point from a sideline cut beneath the Cusack Stand into the Davin End.

But Kilcullen also dropped five attempts short in the opening 30 minutes and was unfortunate to be denied a goal in the 26th minute.

He burst through the centre and kicked to the net despite the heavy attentions of James Hurley and Aaron Holland.

But, agonisingly for Kilcullen and Easkey, the whistle had blown for a free in just before he got his kick away and he settled for a point from the placed ball.

Hickey came into the contest with 1-33 for Kilbrittain and finished the half strongly with four points in a row, taking his tally to six at that stage.

He and Kilcullen were central figures in a dramatic few minutes after the restart.

Kilkenny initially got the crowd going with a converted free, following it up by gesturing to the crowd to increase the decibel levels.

But a fired up Kilcullen then crossed the line with a big hit on Hickey in the 40th minute that referee Eamonn Furlong deemed worthy of a straight red card.

Hickey dusted himself off and took the free. He put that one wide but returned two minutes later with a brilliant point from a similar angle out on the right wing.

It was thrill-a-minute stuff now, and hard-hitting with several more cards coming out of referee Furlong's pocket.

Both sides held the lead at different stages as the sides found themselves on level terms five times overall in the second-half.

Crowley came increasingly into the game for Kilbrittain while Thomas Cawley took over the free-taking duties for Easkey and nailed two more for the north-westerners.

They were still deadlocked two minutes into stoppage time at 0-18 apiece when Kilbrittain sub Conor Ustianowski was hauled down, presenting the opportunity for Hickey to etch his name in history.

He duly obliged and the blow was compounded for Easkey as Fionn Connolly picked up his second booking for the foul and walked to the line.

Kilbrittain scorers: Mark Hickey 0-9 (0-5f), Ronan Crowley 0-4, Philip Wall 0-2, Bertie Butler 0-1, Sean Sexton 0-1, Conor Hogan 0-1, Luke Griffin 0-1.

Easkey scorers: Andrew Kilcullen 0-6 (0-3f, 0-1 sl), Thomas Cawley 0-5 (0-2f), Finnian Cawley 0-2, Daniel Rolston 0-1, Eanna Moylan 0-1, Ronan Molloy 0-1, Rory McHugh 0-1, Oisin Mylan 0-1.

Kilbrittain: David Desmond; Darragh Considine, James Hurley, Eoin O'Neill; Aaron Holland, Tomas Sheehan, Colm Sheehan; Sean Sexton, Josh O'Donovan; Mark Hickey, Philip Wall, Ronan Crowley; Conor Hogan, Luke Griffin, Bertie Butler.

Subs: Tomas Harrington for O'Neill 49, Declan Harrington for Butler 55, Conor Ustianowski for Hogan 56, Eoghan Byrne for Considine for 62.

Easkey: Adam Rolston; Oisin Moylan, James Weir, Shane Molloy; Donall Hanley, Rory McHugh, Eoghain Rua McGowan; Ronan Molloy, Niall Kilcullen; Eanna Moylan, Finnian Cawley, Daniel Rolston; Thomas Cawley, Andrew Kilcullen, Fionn Connolly.

Subs: Subs: Fionn Moylan for Eanna Moylan h/t, Cormac Vereker for Daniel Rolston 49, Patrick Walsh for Molloy 59.

Referee: Eamonn Furlong (Wexford).