K'daly's Brian Burke ahead of Caelom Mulry for Abbey.

Burke leads Killimordaly charge

THIRTY years have passed since Killimordaly won the County Cup for the first and only time in their history. It was a time when Tony Keady was in his pomp as they contested three finals in-a-row, losing the 1984 and ’85 deciders before going one better in ’86. The former Galway centre half-back has taken over the reins of his native club this year and with two wins from two they’ve made a solid start to life in Group 1 of this year’s Senior B Hurling Championship.
Monday’s nine-point victory over Abbeyknockmoy was far more hard-earned than the final scoreline suggests. Abbey played their part in a well-contested hour of hurling and were 0-14 to 0-9 in arrears on 40 minutes but building momentum with a stiff wind at their backs.
Then came a fateful few minutes that went a long way towards decided the outcome. Brian Burke, who would finish the afternoon with 1-11 to his name, nailed a free on 43 minutes to extend Killimordaly’s lead to six before blasting a penalty past Abbey netminder Ronan Cooley two minutes later.
Its award wasn’t without without controversy as referee Gerry Donoghue penalised John Culkin after he appeared to flick the sliotar away just as Darragh Cooney wound up to connect with a close-range strike. While Abbey players were left bemused by the decision, Burke maintained his composure to rattle the net and put nine between the sides.