Freemount win a superb Junior B County Hurling championship final with one point to spare over Randal Og

Freemount 1-18 

Randal Og 1-17 

HEARTBREAK for Randal Og as five minutes into stoppage time a Jason Ballantyne point ensured Freemount won the Co Op Superstores Junior B hurling county championship title after a thrilling encounter at Pairc Ui Rinn on Saturday.

There was certainly no room for the faint hearted in this dramatic encounter as the Randal Og players dropped to their knees in anguish at the final whistle.

The opening minutes were frantic with Randal Og surging into a two point lead courtesy of consecutive points from Sean Daly and Seadna Crowley.

Freemount after a sluggish start finally found their stride in the third minute but a terrific shot from Tommy Nunan clipped the upright.

Ironically a minute later Nunan made no mistake as his tame shot was completely misjudged by the Randal Og keeper as it dropped straight into the net.

Both teams were now showing intensity all over the pitch and points from Jason Ballantyne gave Freemount a 1-2 to 0-4 lead in the 12th minute.

Going into this final Randal Og had lost years decider to Belgooly but they showed they meant business with some quality hurling in the opening 20 minutes despite trailing by the minimum 1-3 to 0-5.

The pendulum swung in Randal Og’s direction in the next two possessions when poor Freemount defending saw Sean Daly punish them with consecutive placed balls.

Indeed Randal Og now looked in ascendancy when Daly struck over a class point from an acute angle that gave them a two point cushion.

After looking off the pace with a 13 minute drought Freemount responded with a Sean Fehin point.

The impact made by substitute Aidan O’Flynn was crucial as he produced a stunning touch with two minutes remaining to bring the sides on parity for the third time.

That was the score to drive Freemount forward in the closing minutes as they registered three points to Randal Og’s one that gave them a two point interval lead 1-8 to 0-9.

On the restart both sides exchanged two points in the opening four minutes but a minute later Freemount were denied a certain goal with a piece of goalkeeping artistry.

Freemount substitute Aidan O’Flynn introduced in the 27th minute placed a thunderous shot towards the corner of the net but somehow goalkeeper Barry O’Sullivan parried it out for a 65.

There was little to choose between the teams and although playing with an injury Paidi Collins kept Freemount in pole position with some fabulous striking that gave his side a 1-14 to 0-15 lead with 11 minutes remaining.

On the next possession the outstanding Aidan O’Flynn got possession and soloed 30 yards before placing a pinpoint pass to Jason Ballantyne who in turn found Sean Fehin but incredibly the resultant shot was off target.

The tension was clear to see for both sets of players but the intensity didn’t drop and when Freemount’s Kevin O’Connor slotted over his second point with five minutes remaining it gave his side a three point lead.

The pendulum swung again and consecutive points from Sean Daly reduced the deficit to two points entering the final minute.

Whoever wrote the script of the closing minutes was certainly a hurling fanatic and when a Sam Kingston shot dropped into the net a minute into added time Randal Og looked to have sealed the deal.

Freemount could have died but instead their talisman Paidi Collins levelled the game two minutes later with a magnificent strike.

There was to be one more twist as on the stroke of the full time whistle as Jason Ballantyne showed calmness personified and split the posts with a sublime strike.

The Freemount players and supporters went wild at the final whistle as Randal Og’s magnificent display just fell short.

In times when referees struggle to get praise lets give 25 year old Patrick O’Mahony from Inniscarra credit in the manner he handled this sporting game.

Scorers for Freemount: P Collins 0-7 (0-4f, 0-2 65), T Nunan 1-2, A O’Flynn 0-3,K O’Connor 0-2, J Ballantyne 0-2, S Fehin, D Curtin (0-1 each).

Randal Og: S Daly 0-8 (0-5f), D Collins 0-5, S Crowley 0-3, S Kingston 1-0, P Collins 0-1.

Freemount: J Morrissey, S McSweeney, S O’Callaghan, J Walsh; C Broderick, M Ballantyne, D O’Flynn; T Nunan, D Curtin, K O’Connor, S Fehin, P Curtin; M O’Callaghan, P Collins, J Ballantyne.

Subs:

Randal Og: B O’Sullivan; P Duggan, C O’Neill, K O’Brien; E O’Donovan, P Collins, C O’Neill; S Daly, C Nyhan; L O’Donovan, D Collins, P Crowley; P O’Sullivan, S Kingston, S Crowley..

Referee: P O’Mahony (Inniscarra).