Ten points from Shane O'Meara sent The Nire through to the Waterford SFC Final for the seventh time in ten years. The corner forward nailed all eight of his frees and scored two from play in a 1-16 to 0-11 win over Kilrossanty at Fraher Field on Saturday night.
Aaron Ryan's second half goal was a game changer for the Ballymacarbry side who are chasing three in a row for the first time in their history. Sean Walsh and Tholom Guiry ruled the roost at midfield. Dermot Ryan kicked three first half singles.
Kilrossanty only trailed by a point, after an entertaining opening period, but couldn't sustain their challenge. Danger man Alan Dunwoody shot three from play.
Thomas O'Gorman and Jamie Barron didn't start for The Nire due to injury. Captain Dermot Ryan kicked the champions into the lead after just 57 seconds. Donie Fitzgerald levelled after combining with Eoin Power. Two Shane O'Meara points and one each from Dylan Guiry and Ryan (free) left The Nire 5-1 ahead by the tenth minute. Tholom Guiry dominated the Kilrossanty kickout in that first quarter.
The green and gold fought back and narrowed the gap to one as Alan Dunwoody fired two from play (6-5). On 28 minutes, Kilrossanty goalkeeper Josh Kay denied Conor Gleeson from close range.
Dunwoody continued to threaten at the other end. The number fourteen weaved in and out of The Nire defence before he struck his third point from play two minutes into injury time. Five first half points from O'Meara (four frees) left the holders 9-8 up at the break.
Off the first attack of the second half, Aaron Ryan was denied a goal by Kilrossanty defender Rian Hayes. O'Meara then converted another free. On 35 minutes, Sean Boyce supplied Ryan and he buried the ball to the bottom corner. His fourth goal of the 2023 championship. O'Meara added four more to his tally while subs Craig Guiry and Kenny Brazil also raised white flags.
The sight of Dylan Guiry hobbling off the field with a knee injury will be a worry for The Nire ahead of next week's final. They will also have to plan without Kenny Brazil who received a straight red card in injury time.
Scorers for The Nire: S O'Meara 0-10 (8fs), A Ryan 1-0, D Ryan 0-3 (2fs), D Guiry, C Guiry, K Brazil 0-1 each.
Scorers for Kilrossanty: A Dunwoody, D Fitzgerald (2fs) 0-3 each, D Walsh 0-2 (2fs), P Whyte, M Dunne, E Power 0-1 each.
The Nire: S Ryan; F Hallinan, T Barron, C Peters; D Ryan, J McGrath, S Boyce; S Walsh, T Guiry; C Looney, D Guiry, A Ryan; C Walsh, C Gleeson, S O'Meara.
Subs: C Guiry for C Walsh (HT), K Brazil for D Guiry (42).
Kilrossanty: J Kay; M Hassett, C Walsh, R Hayes; P Fitzgerald, P Whyte, S Fitzgerald; M Dunne, T Prendergast; J Power, S Prendergast, D Fitzgerald; E Power, C Kennedy, A Dunwoody.
Subs: T Mooney for Hayes (39), D Walsh for J Power (44), R Hogan for Dunne (54), S Power for Hassett (54), P Cunningham for Kennedy (60).
Referee: T Tobin
