Report | Kilmallock send out statement of intent with huge win over Adare

Fintan O’Connor’s men were irresistible in Ballyagran this evening.

After losing to Na Piarsaigh in their previous encounter, Kilmallock got their title defence back on track with an emphatic win in the third round of the Limerick SHC this evening.

The game ended 3-26 to 0-17 with Adare on the receiving end of an emphatic performance by the Balbec.

Three quickfire goals midway through the first half put the game beyond any doubt with Kilmallock leading 3-15 to 0-7 at the interval.

The defending champions set their stall out early and raced into an early 0-3 to 0-0 lead. Adare had the next score but the game was up by the time they next found the target.

With scores coming from all over the park, Killian Hayes found the net after ten minutes, flicking to the net after PJ Hall had denied the impressive Oisin O’Reilly. Hall would make a number of key interventions throughout the contest as the Balbec often sought green flags.

A couple of beautiful strikes from Micheal Houlihan followed with Kilmallock 1-7 to 0-1 to the good. Willie Griffin had a couple himself for Adare before Houlihan limped off with a leg injury.

But that did little to deter Kilmallock as they went route one, with Barry Hennessy’s puckout finding Houlihan’s replacement Conor Hanley Clarke, who then set O’Reilly free as he made no mistake from an acute angle despite Hall’s best efforts.

Three minutes later, with five to play in the half, O’Reilly doubled his goalscoring output, collecting the ball outside the 45′ in oceans of space before firing into the corner of the Adare net.

That had Kilmallock 3-11 to 0-5 clear which was extended to a seventeen point lead at the break.

It was a half where Kilmallock dominated all over. Neat intricate play in defence allowed their attack to flourish as Shane O’Brien once more impressed with a number from play.

It was one way traffic for the majority of the second half with O’Connor getting scoring contributions off the bench from Robbie Egan and Kevin O’Donnell.

Adare battled hard, with Willie Griffin in particular impressing, but they couldn’t match the workrate or skill of Kilmallock as they strolled to a second win the group and furthered Adare’s relegation woes.