That’s hurling for you.
Parnell Park in the middle of November and every spectator would have got their money’s worth regardless of how much they paid to get in.
Ballyboden St Enda’s against Coolderry. The cream of Dublin against the pride of Offaly. A Leinster senior club hurling semi-final on a sunny Sunday. There would have been few better places in the world to have been.
Boden led for an hour and a few minutes but Coolderry are gritty. No matter how much they were down by, and they were nine behind at one stage, they never once thought never mind dreamed about giving up on this one.
Everybody who wasn’t wearing green and white was writing them off but Brian Carroll believed and Stephen Corcoran believed. Coolderry believed and they just wouldn’t stop fighting the good fight.
They faced a tall order from minute two. 120 seconds played and Niall Ryan and Collie Basquel had hit the net. Basquel added a point a few seconds later and that wasn’t the first time they started writing Coolderry off.
That’s a silly thing to do.
Brian Carroll scored five of the game’s next six points and Daniel Miller – another Coolderry forward – scored the other one.
And the game would follow that pattern for ages to come.
Ballyboden would reel off a few but just when you were about to say this game was over, Coolderry would respond with something else.
Half-time of normal time and the Dublin lads were leading by seven, 3-8 to 0-10 the score – Conal Keaney the scorer of their third goal.
Second half starts, nothing changes.
Ballyboden keep piling on the pressure – they lead by nine after forty minutes but Coolderry don’t die. They never die.
With fifteen minutes left, they’re down by eight. Four minutes left and with Brian Carroll on fire and needing to be hosed down at this stage, it’s down to three.
Then, with time almost up, they take the lead through a Kevin Connolly point. Could it possibly be?
Ballyoden are made of stern stuff too though. Paul Ryan responds.
Extra-time it is.
Boden go up by four after one half of it. Coolderry level it up after two halves of it. Brian Carroll scores another goal, the score?
5-22 to 4-25.
80 minutes played. The best thing about it all? There was ten minutes more hurling to come.
Coolderry have two men sent off, including Brian Carroll – who ended his afternoon with a whopping 2-16 tally. Conal Keaney follows him for a very late early shower.
Colm Basquel wins a few frees, Paul Ryan buries them over.
Game over. What a game it was. What a sport it is.
Result:
(After 2 periods of ET)@BodenGaa 5-28@CoolderryGaa 5-25#LSHC semi-finalSupported by #Allianz Insurance https://t.co/Fx4QV8GtTn #Gaa RT pic.twitter.com/p1LRUdlH8b
— 𝘿𝙪𝙗𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙧 (@DubMatchTracker) November 18, 2018
