Only four years ago, Bennettsbridge were a junior club in Kilkenny.
Now, they’re only one win away from their first Kilkenny senior hurling title since 1971. The Bridge defeated 2013 and 2015 champions Clara in a 51 point thriller in Nowlan Park on Sunday afternoon.
The bookies couldn’t separate them, with both sides priced at even money before throw-in and this was reflected in a point-for-point, goal for goal dinger of a battle in Kilkenny’s county grounds.
Clara had the better of it in the early stages and they led 1-6 to 0-6 after 20 minutes of the action. Bennettsbridge responded well, however, with a couple of points before sucker-punching Clara with two goals just on the stroke of half-time.
senior hurling s/f @KilkennyCLG @StCanicesCU
Full time@TheBridgeGAA: 3-19(28)@ClaraGAA: 2-17(23)— Bennettsbridge GAA (@TheBridgeGAA) October 14, 2018
Those two goals changed the half-time team talks but to Clara’s credit, they just wouldn’t die. The game exploded into life as soon as the referee threw the ball in to start the second half with both sides hitting the ground running with a flurry of points.
Chris Bolger was keeping Clara in it while big John Murphy was also making his presence felt. On the other side, Kilkenny senior Liam Blanchfield scored a couple while Rob Lennon defended well.
Crucially, however, despite Clara levelling the game on more than one occasion, they would never lead the Bridge again. Sean Morrissey did most of the damage for the eventual winners, the half forward ending his afternoon with 2-5 from open play.
He wasn’t on the Kilkenny panel last year, but the former county senior gave Brian Cody a timely reminder of his talent here.
He was the main man for them, but there were also stellar contributions from wing forward Nicky Cleere and Kilkenny senior Enda Morrissey.
The Bridge have a proud tradition, with 12 Kilkenny senior titles to their name, but it’s more than 40 years since they were last in a senior county decider. They have been threatening though.
A young team, they’ve a number of former underage stars and current Kilkenny seniors in their ranks. Rob Lennon, Enda Morrissey and Liam Blanchfield were all a part of Brian Cody’s panel in 2018 while in recent years, Jason Cleere and Sean Morrissey have been involved.
This is a team who went unbeaten in club hurling for two full years between 2014 and 2016 when they won the Kilkenny, Leinster and All-Ireland Junior and intermediate titles in the space of two full years.
It’s taken them a bedding in period to find their feet at the top table, but with those young stars really coming to their milk, they’re now at the very peak of Kilkenny club hurling.
Their rise is also a testament to the true competitiveness of Kilkenny club hurling, from senior all the way down to junior. There’s not much between the sides in the different grades and once a team gets on a run, they can be hard to stop in their tracks. Bennettsbridge are a real example of this.
A fortnight away is the decider when they will take on the winners of Ballyhale Shamrocks and Érin’s Own Castlecomer. For tonight, the Bridge can enjoy this historic win.
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