Castletown Geoghegan 1-25 Thomastown 1-14
Westmeath champs Castletown Geoghegan pulled off a huge shock by defeating Thomastown in the Leinster hurling quarter final.
The Kilkenny champs were red hot favourites having blitzed their way through the county championship, after winning the All-Ireland intermediate title last year but their winning run came to an end in TEG Cusack Park.
Niall O'Brien was the main man for the high flying Westmeath side, scoring 1-13, including a late goal as the 11/2 underdogs showed their class, recording a huge win for Westmeath hurling.
Thomastown got off to a flying start with Luke Connellan rattling the net early on, putting them five up after twelve minutes but Castletown Geoghegan thundered into the game roared on by the home crowd.
GOAL for the @KilkennyCLG SHC champions, @ThomastownGAA! 🔵⚪️
Luke Connellan motors through the defence and nobody can get near him ⚡️
Watch @gaaleinster SHC LIVE on https://t.co/yMkMTpFmTc 📺 pic.twitter.com/cVSDXd8T04
— Clubber (@clubber) November 17, 2024
Star forwards Niall O'Brien and David O'Reilly had phenomenal days for the Lake men, bringing them back into the game instantly.
Robbie Donnelly tacked on the frees for Thomastown but they couldn't get into the rhythm they'd shown in Kilkenny, with the likes of Peter Clarke, O'Reilly, O'Brien and captain Aonghus Clarke scoring points to cut the deficit back to one point by half-time.
Thomastown suffered a blow just after half-time when former Kilkenny player Jonjo Farrell was red carded and Alan Mangan's side took advantage, scoring five points without reply to open up a four point lead.
The Kilkenny men couldn't get a foothold in the game from then on, with Castletown's phenomenal midfielder Peter Clarke scoring a late point before Niall O'Brien put the icing on the cake with a late goal.
After the game, manager Alan Mangan hailed his side.
"We were confident coming in. We thought we'd give them a rattle alright," he told Clubber.
"It was a super performance. You wouldn't want to manage anyone else, they're a super group of lads. They thoroughly deserved this victory.
"We were massive underdogs, but it's all about work-rate and using the ball well.
"No-one gave us a chance today only ourselves, we thought we had a chance here today. Thomastown are a phenomenal club, but I can't commend our club enough, from the top down to the players."
Castletown Geoghegan's Jack Gallagher celebrates after his side's victory in the AIB Leinster GAA Senior Club Hurling Championship quarter-final match between Castletown Geoghegan and Thomastown at TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar, Westmeath. Photo by Tom Beary/Sportsfile
