Kanturk hurling captain Darren Browne sets his sights on a double

KANTURK captain Darren Browne had the privilege of accepting the Jim Forbes Cup at the end of an entertaining win over Fr O'Neill's in the SAFC final.

The powerful defender was part of a defiant rearguard action that only conceded two points in the closing 10 minutes and just six in all in the second half.

“It’s unbelievable. We haven’t won anything in the last three or four years since the All-Ireland final and it’s great to have that winning feeling back.

“We are delighted to get over the line, we can’t wait to hurl at Premier senior level next year,” he said.

Despite registering 20 wides over the hour, Browne said it was a good game to play in.

“There weren’t too many frees awarded by Nathan [Wall, the referee]. There was a good ebb and flow to the game.

“It was nice and open, not too many ruck balls. It must have been exciting for the supporters.”

The winning skipper paid tribute to goal-scoring hero Colin Walsh.

He is an outstanding hurler and talent, unlucky not to make the Cork U20 panel this year.

“Colin was a Cork minor and he is only 18 still, so there’s plenty of time to push on.

“The turning point was the third goal just before the water break after it had been level up to then. That was a huge score. We regrouped at the water break.

“We are very happy with the way we closed out the game, having conceded a lot of frees in the first half. When we cut down our free count it was a big factor in what won the game for us.”

Browne also identified keeping Fr O’Neill’s score down in the first half which helped go a long way in the destination of the title.

“The swirling wind mostly blew into the city end. Fr O’Neill’s won the toss and elected to play against it.

“We knew if we could keep down the score in the first half, we had a good chance in the second half. That is the way it materialised.

“We have two weeks to prepare for football. It is going to be a massive game against our local rivals. We will enjoy the next couple of days.”