In an intense All-Ireland MHC semi-final that went into extra time, Kilkenny managed to topple reigning champions Clare with a scoreline of 2-23 to 2-20 at the Semple Stadium on Sunday. Jake Mullen shone for Kilkenny, accumulating a total of 13 points in the game, and played a pivotal role in setting up a final match against neighbouring county Tipperary. Kilkenny is now one step away from securing their first All-Ireland minor title since 2014.
After 15 minutes of play, despite Mullen opening with the first point, Kilkenny tallied 10 misses, while Clare took advantage scoring 2-3, leading by an eight-point margin. Clare’s first two goals were courtesy of a Conor Ralph rebound and a strong strike by Paul Rodgers. A missed penalty by Mullen in the 10th minute, following a foul on Ollie O’Donovan, added to Kilkenny’s woes.
Fortunes changed for Kilkenny when Conor Holohan managed to slip the sliotar past the goalkeeper, bringing the half-time score to 2-6 to 1-4 in favour of Clare. Mullen helped level the scores after the interval with six points, while Clare’s misses accumulated.
Kilkenny took the lead in the 47th minute when O’Donovan secured a goal, moving his team ahead 2-11 to 2-8. Despite Clare’s persistent efforts and last-minute points from Darragh McNamara and Harry Doherty helping them equalise, the match went into extra-time at 2-15 each.
During extra time, Kilkenny managed to recreate their four-point advantage largely due to Mullen, Buggy, and an exceptional effort from Patrick Lacey. However, Clare’s situation worsened when Rodgers was shown a red card for off-play conduct, leaving the half-time extra-time score at 2-20 to 2-16. Although Matthew Corbett added three points through frees, Kilkenny clung on to their lead, winning with late points from Mullen, Robbie Doherty, and a second from Patrick Lacey.
In Kilkenny, J O’Doherty joined by O Henderson, L Phelan, and B Brennan were seen in the game; as were D Barcoe, J Dollard, and M Rohan. The supporting players included K Buggy, who scored 0-2, E Brennan, R Doherty, who scored 0-3, B McDermott, who also scored 0-3, and C Holohan, who scored impressively with 1-0. O O’Donovan too scored 1-0, J Mullen scored 0-13, and J Cody also participated. L Raggett, E Cahill, C Byrne, P Lacey, C McEvoy, A Clifford, and D Behan were substitutes.
In the Clare-side, M Crotty was on the frontline with S Óg Kilkenny, S McNamara, and D Moroney. R Mulcahy, J Cullinan and D Kennedy also participated. Surprisingly, J Cullinan scored 0-1 and D Kennedy 0-1. G Ball, M Corbett, who scored 0-5, a tally solely from frees, P Finneran, T Lohan, H Doherty, who scored 0-7 also graced the field. C Ralph and P Rodgers scored 1-2 and 1-1 respectfully. L Murphy played too and the substitutes were R Hayes, D McNamara, D Ball, J O’Connor, M Vaughan, and Finneran, all of these substitutions occurred throughout the game for various reasons. C Cunning from Antrim officiated the game.