by Daragh Ó Conchúir
Kate Kelly put her injury-time winner for Wexford against Tipperary in Saturday's Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Quarter-Final down to being in "the right place at the right time" but given that the former player of the year has been producing such heroics regularly throughout a 21-season career at senior level, it was plainly more than luck.
The 36-year-old Kelly's definitive score was her eighth point of the day, edging her just past Limerick's Niamh Mulcahy as the competition's leading scorer with a tally of 5-41.
Much more importantly, it set the seal on a stunning comeback for Wexford, who at one stage in the second half trailed Tipperary by eight points.
"It was just the right place at the right time" smiled Kelly, a four-time All-Ireland winner whose mother Peggy (née Doyle) and aunt Mary also enjoyed ultimate success with the Model County.
"The ball landed in my hand, I just took a shot and lucky enough it went barely inside the post. I'm just delighted it went over the bar."
"We gave ourselves a bit of heart failure. We gave ourselves an uphill battle. Tipp were unbelievable. They got off to a great start and pushed on the whole way. We just kept plugging away and pulled it off in the end but my God, what a tough battle."
Kelly earned an eighth All Star last year, to join former Cork player Jenny O'Leary on the all-time roll of honour.
Another Rebel, Gemma O'Connor holds the record, having earned her ninth gong in 2015 and they will be in opposition as the three-in-a-row chasing champions look to bring Wexford's run to an end at Nowlan Park on August 13th.
Kelly always kept her faith that the showdown would materialise, even as Tipp moved inexorably clear at Walsh Park.
"Genuinely I never thought we were going to get beat but maybe there were a couple of doubts around the field. As I've said, we kept plugging away and kept plugging away. We've had days when we were eight points up and teams have come back and beaten us.
"What a game!"
Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Senior Championship Semi-Finals
(Televised live on RTÉ One)
Saturday August 13th
Galway v Kilkenny, Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, 1.30pm, Referee: Ray Kelly
Cork v Wexford, Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, 3.15pm, Referee: Owen Elliott
Admission Prices
Adults: €15
Students/OAPs: €8
Juveniles (12-16): €3
Juveniles (U12): Free
#ourgameyourgame
Tweet