St Thomas' 1-25 Loughgiel Shamrocks 3-19 (aet)
Liam Watson may not have had his best day in a Loughgiel Shamrocks jersey, but he was the hero for his side in an epic AIB GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship semi-final against St Thomas' at Parnell Park on Saturday.
His last-gasp goal, with the very last puck of the game in extra-time, rescued a draw for the All-Ireland champions. Watson drilled a 21-yard free to the back of the St Thomas’ net to force a replay in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable.
He finished with 1-7, but the star of the show was St Thomas’ Conor Cooney who scored 0-12, including a brilliant point at the end of normal time that sent the game to two extra periods.
Loughgiel led at the break thanks to a Shay Casey goal, but with the six Burke brothers all making contributions, St Thomas' forced their way into the lead. A Benny McCarry goal in the 51st minute dragged Loughgiel back into the game and they looked like they were on their way back to Croke Park until Cooney’s late leveler.
Gerald Murray’s goal in the first half of extra-time put St Thomas' in the driving seat, but with Joey Scullion in superb form, Shamrocks hung in doggedly and were only three points down when Watson forced a replay at the death.
St Thomas' Scorers: Conor Cooney 0-12 (0-2 sl, 0-2f, 0-1 ’65), Bernard Burke 0-4, Gerald Murray 1-1, Kenneth Burke, James Regan 0-3 each, David Burke, Richie Murray 0-1 each.
Scorers for Loughgiel Shamrocks: Liam Watson 1-7 (1-6f), Benny McCarry, 1-2, Shay Casey 1-1, Joey Scullion 0-4, Eddie McCloskey 0-3, Tony McCloskey 0-2.
St Thomas: Patrick Skehill; Sean Skehill, Robert Murray, Cathal Burke; Enda Tannion, Darragh Burke, Sean Burke; Kenneth Burke, David Burke; Shane Cooney, Conor Cooney, James Regan; Anthony Kelly, Richie Murray, Bernard Burke. Subs: Eanna Burke for Kelly, Anthony Kelly for Eanna Burke, Eanna Burke for Cathal Burke, Gerald Murray for Shane Cooney.
Loughgiel Shamrocks: Damien Quinn; Paul Gillan, Neil McGarry, Mark McFadden; James Campbell, Martin Scullion, Johnny Campbell; Barney McAuley, Tony McCloskey; Liam Watson, Declan Laverty, Eddie McCloskey; Brendan McCarry, Joseph Scullion, Shay Casey. Subs: S Dobbin for Laverty
Referee: Barry Kelly (Westmeath)
Courtesy of official GAA