TJ fires Shamrocks into the history books with eighth title

And a few minutes later, Ballyhale Shamrocks were record-shredding back-to-back champions.

"A magical day," declared skipper Michael Fennelly, on surely his last big outing in Croke Park, after this three-point victory elevated Shamrocks into a pantheon of one.

The first club to amass eight All-Irelands in either code, edging ahead of the seven won by Nemo Rangers in football, they also became the first Kilkenny champions to retain the Tommy Moore Cup.

Records

And Henry Shefflin, the player who couldn't stop breaking records, is now the manager who can't stop winning.

Yet, as the clock hit 58 minutes, all that was still in the melting pot. The Premier pretenders to Ballyhale's throne had just reeled off four unanswered points in a four-minute flurry that had transformed a seemingly straight-forward coronation into a two-point game.

Borris, having squandered an abundance, suddenly couldn't miss. Jerry Kelly had cut the deficit to two with the most outrageous of his magnificent seven points, taking a pass from Dan McCormack and then selling Darren Mullen a sublime dummy before bisecting the Hill 16 uprights.

Brendan Maher, so often the home straight catalyst during this epic Borris campaign, had again come strong in the preceding minutes. He had pointed from either touchline - from play and a placed ball - and assisted Kelly for his sixth score and then landed his second from play, this time from halfway with the help of Hawk-Eye. So, when Kelly followed up with his seventh point, the holders could have been forgiven for peering into the wing-mirror.

Re-enter TJ the talisman. Reid's penchant for delivering when the need is greatest has long predated this, his fifth successful All-Ireland club final appearance.

He had already produced a hugely influential first half to propel the south Kilkenny men into a four-point lead after a slumbering start.

Now, once again, Ballyhale were craving his inspired intervention and, straight from the next puckout, Reid raced onto a short pass from Eoin Cody to restore a three-point cushion.

His next intervention was more inspirational still: driving hard at the Borris defence, Reid was fouled once and then, with referee Colm Lyons playing advantage, he was fouled again. It was, perhaps, the only way to stop him; Reid picked himself up to convert his fifth free of the afternoon and his eighth point in total.

That four-point cushion was sufficient despite one last hurrah from a battling Borris. Two minutes into stoppage-time, Kevin Maher sought an unlikely jackpot from distance but his shot fizzed over.

In the game's final play, Brendan Maher drew a foul some 25 metres from goal. The angle was prohibitive, though, and Maher's attempt was blocked before Adrian Mullen came away with the sliotar.

As the final bell sounded, Ballyhale celebrated with more gusto than we're accustomed to seeing from Kilkenny men in HQ. A measure, perhaps, of how hard they had been pushed for the ultimate prize.

More often than not, club hurling's showpiece event has flattered to deceive. In the previous decade, the average winning margin had been nine points. Only one of those years - 2018, when Cuala edged Na Piarsaigh in a replay - qualified as an edge-of-the-seat thriller.

Flaws

Yesterday was no classic but, for all its flaws, it carried a certain fascination that went beyond the uniqueness of a Kilkenny/Tipp club final.

The Tipperary challengers set up, as usual, with Dan McCormack detailed to sweep; but playing with just five forwards didn't weaken their scoring hand, initially at least. That was partly because one forward - Kelly - was on fire.

His first point, barely five metres out from the Davin end-line, almost defied the laws of geometry. After Reid equalised, majestically, with his first touch, Kelly nailed his second score - this time from a sideline cut.

The centre-forward's first four shots yielded four points, each one eye-catching, and the underdogs led by 0-4 to 0-1 after 12 minutes.

Crucially, though, Borris couldn't sustain that scoring rate and Ballyhale would land nine of the next 11 points to lead by 0-10 to 0-6 at the midpoint. It could have been worse for Borris, who were indebted to 'keeper James McCormack for repelling Colin Fennelly's 29th minute shot after one of his trademark barrelling runs.

Patrick Mullen, with 0-3 from midfield, was a key first half figure in breaching Borris-Ileigh's defensive shield. Another was Reid: apart from one long-range missile off the post, his freetaking was flawless and he chipped in with three assists before the break.

One injury-time cameo summed up the difference. James Devaney, the 18-year-old Borris speedster, eschewed a simple point in search of an improbable goal and his shot flashed wide. Shamrocks went straight down the field and Reid, the seen-it-all 32-year-old, fired over to stretch the gap to four.

Maher, who had been booked in the first half for a full-blooded 'shoulder' on the impressive Darren Mullen, pushed further upfield on the restart and his influence grew ever stronger.

However, despite dominating territory for much of the half, they were undone by a glaring lack of shooting acumen beyond Maher and Kelly. Ballyhale had TJ but they also had four others - Eoin Reid, Evan Shefflin, Patrick and Adrian Mullen - contributing at least 0-2 from play. And while the wide count finished eight apiece, Borris dropped another seven attempts short.

On such margins is history made.

SCORERS - Ballyhale Shamrocks: TJ Reid 0-8 (5f), P Mullen 0-3, E Reid, E Shefflin, A Mullen 0-2 each, C Fennelly 0-1. Borris-Ileigh: J Kelly 0-7 (1 sideline cut), B Maher 0-6 (4f), T Ryan, K Maher 0-1 each.

BALLYHALE SHAMROCKS - D Mason; D Mullen, J Holden, D Corcoran; E Sheffin, M Fennelly, R Reid; R Corcoran, P Mullen; B Cody, TJ Reid, A Mullen; E Reid, C Fennelly, E Cody. Subs: J Cuddihy for R Corcoran (47), M Aylward for E Reid (54), C Walsh for P Mullen (61).

BORRIS-ILEIGH - J McCormack; S Burke, P Stapleton, L Ryan; D McCormack (sweeper); S McCormack, B Maher, R McCormack; T Ryan, K Maher; C Kenny, J Kelly, J Devaney; K Maher, N Kenny. Subs: J Hogan for K Maher (47), C Cowan for T Ryan (52), M Stapleton for N Kenny (54).

REF - C Lyons (Cork).