Sometimes all it takes is one single moment of brilliance to to see something special in a player of any sport.
It was that easy to make our mind up on Cillian Kiely when we saw him win the Leinster club SHC quarter-final for Kilcormac Killoughey a fortnight ago.
A James Gorman goal brought the game to extra time in what turned out to be a riveting game.
But nobody managed to score in the second period of extra-time until a mere 30 seconds remained and up stepped Cillian Kiely.
He snatched the sliotar and sprinted clear down the right sideline before putting all his weight behind a shot 60 yards out to split the posts and send Kilcormac Killoughey through to the semi-final.
The deciding score was not just a flash in the pan of Kiely’s toolbox.
At sixteen years of age, he became the first person in history to record back to back All-Ireland U-16 Poc Fada titles.
In 2011, Cillian equaled the existing record when he won the competition with 24 pucks but he went one better the following year with 22 pucks sealing a place in the record books for the youngster.
The midfielder has since gone on to represent his county, Offaly, at minor level but a senior call-up must not be far away if he continues to put displays in for his club like he has been.
We’ll be hoping that he can relive some of the magic he showed against Shelmaliers in the quarter-finals when Kilcormac-Killoughey line out against Raharney in the Leinster Club SHC Semi Final on Sunday afternoon.
