AIB Munster Club SHC Semi-Final

KILMALLOCK 0-19 MIDLETON 1-9

Kilmallock never trailed at any stage as they eased past Midleton in Sunday’s AIB Munster Club SHC semi-final at the TUS Gaelic Grounds.

The Limerick champions had not played in seven weeks before the clash with their Cork counterparts but there were no signs of ring-rustiness as a nine-point first-half burst gave them a commanding 0-12 to 0-3 half-time lead.

Their advantage stretched to 11 points on three different occasions in the second half and, though a late Midleton goal gave the scoreboard a slightly closer complexion, there was never any doubting the superiority of Tony Considine’s side.

Micheál Houlihan, son of former Limerick star Mike, landed 11 points for the winners in a superb display while Paudie O’Brien impressed at wing-back and Robbie Hanley and Aaron Costello were dominant at midfield.

While a pair of early points from Houlihan and O’Brien were cancelled out by Conor Lehane and Seán O’Meara, Midleton’s shooting was below-par from the off and Kilmallock made a surge before the water break as Houlihan fired over three points, two frees, and Oisín O’Reilly was also on target.

A 0-6 to 0-2 lead had become 0-11 to 0-2 by the 26th minute as Kilmallock completely took over, with full-forward Gavin O’Mahony’s hard work yielding another O’Reilly point while Hanley was on target and Houlihan’s sights remained in.

Cormac Beausang did end 18 scoreless minutes for Midleton in the 26th minute following a good pass from Pa White, but Graeme Mulcahy’s point ended a good half for Kilmallock, who retired with a nine-point advantage.

Midleton’s Garan Manley did have a half-chance of a goal from a Lehane delivery on the restart but nothing came of it and two more Houlihan points at the other end increased Kilmallock’s cushion. They were outscored by 0-4 to 0-1 for the remainder of the third quarter as Lehane’s points had Midleton back to 0-15 to 0-7 by the water break, but their wayward shooting continued to be an impediment.

When action resumed, points from Kevin O’Donnell, goalkeeper Barry Hennessy – with a long-range free – and Houlihan restored Kilmallock’s 11-point advantage. Tommy O’Connell did fire home a late goal for the Cork side but even then the gap was seven and there was no chance of Kilmallock allowing such a lead to be eroded.

Scorers for Kilmallock: Micheál Houlihan 0-11 (0-7 frees), Oisín O’Reilly 0-2, Barry Hennessy (0-1 free), Paudie O’Brien, Robbie Hanley, Graeme Mulcahy, Kevin O’Donnell, Conor Stanton 0-1 each.

Scorers for Midleton: Conor Lehane 0-6 (0-2f), Tommy O’Connell 1-0, Cormac Beausang, Seán O’Meara, Pádraig O’Keeffe 0-1 each.

KILMALLOCK: Barry Hennessy; Liam English, Mark O’Loughlin, Dan Joy; Paudie O’Brien, Ciarán O’Connor, Philip O’Loughlin; Robbie Hanley, Aaron Costello; Micheál Houlihan, Oisín O’Reilly, David Woulfe; Graeme Mulcahy, Gavin O’Mahony, Kevin O’Donnell.

Subs: Paddy O’Loughlin for Costello (55), Conor Hanley for Woulfe (58), Robbie Egan for O’Donnell, Conor Stanton for O’Brien, Brian Daly for English (all 60).

MIDLETON: Brion Saunderson; Eoin Moloney, Luke Dineen, Ciarmhac Smyth; Seán O’Leary Hayes, Tommy O’Connell, Cormac Walsh; Paul Haughney, Sam Quirke; Pa White, Conor Lehane, Seán O’Meara; Garan Manley, Cormac Beausang, Luke O’Farrell.

Subs: Séamus O’Farrell for Smyth (19-20), Séamus O’Farrell for Haughney (37), Alex Quirke for Manley, Aaron Mulcahy for White (both 43), Pádraig O’Keeffe for O’Meara (49).

Referee: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary).