The brothers Shanahan inspired their club Lismore to a scarcely believable comeback against Passage in the Waterford Senior Hurling Championship on Saturday evening.
Lismore trailed by 16 points at half-time after a torrid opening 35 minutes into the breeze, before Maurice and Dan bit down and went absolutely ape in the second half.
Goals in quick succession from Eoin Kelly and John Whitty shot Passage well into the ascendancy before the older Shanahan replied on 15 minutes, momentarily reducing the deficit to 10 points.
At the break, however, another Passage goal saw them lead Lismore on a scoreline of 3-13 to 1-3; a 16-point gap for the harbour men to protect into the breeze in the second half.
Half Time Passage 3-13 Lismore 1-3 seven different scorers Pa Walsh 0-3 from play Dan Shanahan 1-1 for Lismore
— Tomás McCarthy (@tomasmcc) April 15, 2017
Maurice and Dan Shanahan combined within minutes of the restart to score a goal apiece before Passage could rediscover their bearings. It was then a 10-point game with almost a full half of hurling remaining.
The brothers then exploded into life once more, with the 40-year-old Dan completing his hat-trick on 46 minutes before Maurice added a fifth Lismore goal three minutes later, moving his side a point into the lead less than 20 minutes after trailing by 16.
Dan struck again - his fourth and Lismore's sixth - on 57 minutes to all but kill the game for Lismore. Passage responded with a flurry of three consecutive points to take the within a goal at the death, but a double save by a man who wasn't a Shanahan - Seanie Barry, to be exact - kept them at bay.
In a club championship encounter for the ages, Dan Shanahan finished with 4-1 while Maurice fired 2-8....Just the 27 points between them, then.
Full marks to journalist Tomás McCarthy who tasked himself with having to keep up with an absolutely mental game of hurling.
Full Time Lismore 6-13 Passage 3-19 Lismore were 16 points down at half time Shanahans scored 6-9 between them 2-8 for Maurice 4-1 for Dan
— Tomás McCarthy (@tomasmcc) April 15, 2017
