Double delight for St Oliver Plunkett's following victory over Ballyclough in hurling final

St Oliver Plunkett’s: 2-20 Ballyclough: 0-13 

ST OLIVER PLUNKETT’S have completed the hurling-football double following victory over Ballyclough in the Co-Op SuperStores Cork Junior B hurling championship final at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday afternoon.

Fresh from their football win over Ballyphehane in the Junior B championship final last week, the Ahiohill club produced a majestic performance in this one to cap off a memorable seven days.

Ballyclough gave it everything and with a young group of players, the North Cork team will no doubt regroup and come back stronger next year.

St Oliver Plunkett’s, who have Mark Prendergast from Na Piarsaigh in as coach, led from pillar to post. The West Cork club had a sight of goal after just 45 seconds, Ronan McCarthy played a lovely ball into Pádraig Healy and the latter turned his marker but his shot from close-range was straight at Ballyclough goalkeeper Colm O’Neill.

The team in black and white were spraying around the ball very well and a pair of Michael Keohane points gave them an early cushion with confidence high after last weekend’s success. Keohane was on fire, as he landed his third point from his third shot.

Ballyclough struggled to get into the game early on, as wayward shooting and loose passes let them down.

Plunkett’s were using the full width of the pitch, dragging the Ballyclough defenders all over the pitch. Cian McCarthy converted two close-range frees before Ballyclough got their first score after 13 minutes through a long-range Denis O’Neill point, 0-5 to 0-1.

The West Cork team were in control though and two consecutive white flags from last weeks hero Brian Walsh and Healy extended Plunkett’s advantage.

The green and gold registered their second point after 19 minutes, Eoin Kelleher gave a clever pass into Thomas O’Neill and the latter slotted the ball over the bar when a goal may have been on the cards.

Dylan Finnegan clipped over a beauty of a point from an acute angle for the Avondhu outfit before the winners struck for a goal, Cian McCarthy played the ball into a totally unmarked Conor McCarthy in front of goal and he billowed the back of the net.

The sides traded points before the winners scored 1-1 without reply. Michael Collins the goal scorer. Ballyclough did get the final three points of the half but Plunkett’s had a comfortable 2-9 to 0-7 lead at the break.

Plunkett’s firm grip on the game continued into the second-half with two quick fire points until Adam Finnegan and Dylan Finnegan pointed for Ballyclough. Jack Moynihan rattled the crossbar sandwiched between those two white flags.

The teams exchanged white flags as Plunkett’s led 2-12 to 0-10 with 15 minutes remaining. The winning goalkeeper made a remarkable save to deny Thomas O’Neill a certain goal as the netminder got down low to save the shot. The match tipped along with Plunkett’s leading by 2-14 to 0-12 after 53 minutes.

The team in black and white saw out the game hitting six of the last seven points.

There was great celebrations on the Páirc Uí Rinn turf last weekend after Plunkett’s won the football, but they were slightly muted given the size of the potentially historic achievement. Once the final whistle blew in this one, Plunkett’s deservedly let the hair down.

An incredible achievement for the West Cork club. After a tough few years, the team in black and white have turned it around. Onwards and upwards for them.

Scorers for St Oliver Plunkett’s: Cian McCarthy 0-9 (0-8 f), M Keohane 0-6, Conor McCarthy, M Collins 1-0 each, P Healy 0-3, S Gazdar, B Walsh 0-1 each.

Ballyclough: T O’Neill (0-3 f), D Finnegan 0-4 each, E Kelleher, S Buckley, J O’Mahony, D O’Neill, A Finnegan 0-1 each.

ST OLIVER PLUNKETT’S: J O’Neill; G McCarthy, E O’Driscoll (j-c), C Dullea; B Walsh, N O’Driscoll, R McCarthy; R O’Driscoll, D White; Conor McCarthy (j-c), M Collins, S O’Donovan; M Keohane, Cian McCarthy, P Healy.

Subs: S Gazdar for D White (43), D McCarthy for M Collins (45), S White for S O’Donovan (53).

BALLYCLOUGH: C O’Neill; M Buckley, T Healy (c), S Walsh; A Finnegan, D O’Neill, J O’Mahony; M O’Callaghan, C Moynihan; D Ludgate, E Kelleher, S Buckley; T O’Neill, D Finnegan, J Moynihan.

Subs: K McDonnell for C Moynihan (h-t), S O’Leary for M O’Callaghan (53), E O’Connor for J Moynihan (58).

Referee: Niall Fahy (Brian Dillon’s).