Dire conditions but the best team won in the end, alas, not us.
December 15, 2019
Killavullen can have few complaints about the outcome of the Cork County Under 21 Hurling championship final, played earlier today on a dreadful pitch in Pairc Ui Rinn, going under to a very fine Castlemartyr side on a final score of 0-15 to 1-07.
If Cork GAA is serious about arresting its sliding revenue streams and hemorrhaging financial losses, it would take note not to be playing finals in the week before Christmas, and will not play them on a surface that was inferior to what horses will race on, in Limerick on St. Stephens’s day.
Back to the game, we had the opening salvo of the game but a free from Mikey dropped short and was cleared. In the 5th minute, Podge in goals, was forced into a good save, and he turned the ball aside to concede a 65 metre free shot, which was duly converted. Underfoot conditions were terrible and were responsible for a Killavullen player losing his grip, and then the ball in the 11th minute and Castlemartyr fired over their second point. Our opponents scored from another free in the 14th minute and we got caught in possession again after a short puck out went astray to see them register their 4th point in the 18th minute, again from a free. At the other end of the field Darragh O Grady was blocked down on the point of scoring, and Padraig Looney was unlucky with the follow up. Castlemartyr scored their fifth point in the 20th minute, and their sixth in the 21st, both from placed balls. They showed their prowess with a fine score in the 23rd minute to work the space cleverly, and to isolate a free man. It was looking ominous for us at this stage, 23 minutes into the game, and we had yet to score, but then, a big booming clearance from Jack O Connor bounced or rather slid in front of Colm Looney, and despite the close attentions of the full back, Colm rounded him, and fired the ball into the back of the net. That gave the very large Killavullen travelling crowd hope and they were very vociferous thereafter.
That remained the score until the short whistle, 0-07 to 1-00. After the resumption, when Castlemartyr kept us waiting on the pitch beyond the allocated time, Noah was introduced for Darragh to add more physique to the forward line.
We opened brightly and registered our first point of the game within 30 seconds, courtesy of Padraig Looney. However, the number nine player, Ciaran Joyce, for Castlemartyr was exerted a considerable influence on the game, and he was pivotal to the success of his team. We got another point back when Mikey O Connor was abruptly stopped and dragged back when he got inside his man. A free that we converted but the real point to make was the full back used his nous to prevent a goal. Castlemartyr scored an inspirational score, direct from the resultant puck out when that man, Ciaran Joyce plucked the ball from the air, controlled it on his stick, and fired it over the bar. We rallied though, and Paul O Sullivan sent over a tidy point to leave only two points between the teams, with just six minutes gone on the second half. General improved play all around from Killavullen made for compelling viewing, but Castlemartyr crucially scored next again, in the 10th minute, and opened up a four point lead with another point in the 13th minute of this half.
Castlemartyr lost a player to a straight red card and we sprung Mark Nagle from the bench in the 18th minute. We scored again, from a free in the 19th minute, but Castlemartyr answered that point immediately and then Mark Nagle turned in a tidy fashion, in a crowded square to reduce the deficit to 3 points again. The margin was down to two points when Mikey converted a free from an acute angle in the 23rd minute after Colm Looney was fouled, right out on the touch line. The margin was down to a single score in the 26th minute when Mikey scored another free but crucially again, that man Joyce plucked another ball from the air, and scored another point. We pressed valiantly and to the considerably ire of the large Killavullen following, a stone wall penalty was not awarded when Mark Nagle was held back within the square.
Castlemartyr though, weathered the storm, and could have had a penalty of their own, but that was not awarded either but they scored the remaining three scores of the game in the 29th, 30th and 32nd minutes to win out deservedly in the end. With their inspirational centre back, Darragh Moran imperious on the day and their midfielder, Ciaran Joyce, the best on show over the 60 minutes, Killavullen can have but a few quibbles on the day and reflect on what has been a tremendous year in 2019.
- Padraig Cronin
- Patrick Angland
- Fionn Magner
- Michael Fresh
- Seamus Fox
- Eoin Buckley
- Brian Cotter
- Paul O Sullivan (0-01)
- Mikey O Connor (0-04 , 0-4F)
- Padraig Looney (0-01)
- Liam Fox
- Eddie Cotter
- Darragh O Grady
- Colm Looney (1-00)
- Jack O Connor
Substitutes
- Noah Butler for Darragh O Grady
- Mark Nagle (01)) for Liam Fox
Not used
- Sean Woulfe
- Cian O Connor
- Ben Hunter
- Mikey Looney