Castlemagner end 62-year football famine with victory over Knocknagree in Duhallow JAFC final

Castlemagner 1-14 Knocknagree 0-7 

THE famine is over for Castlemagner after bridging a 62-year gap to capture the Castlecor Potatoes Duhallow Junior A Football Championship following a clearcut victory over Knocknagree at Kiskeam on Sunday.

Operating a fast and fluent brand of football and swift passing, rewarded with excellent scores allowed Castlemagner to impose themselves on the game and land a first-time title since 1961. 

Knocknagree second string side offered commendable battling qualities yet they failed to come to terms with the highly energetic performance of a ravenous Castlemagner seeking a breakthrough, As the contest aged, Castlemagner moved up a gear that their opponents failed to live with, the outcome saw Castlemagner gain compensation for a loss in the previous meeting between the sides in a final dating to1966 when Knocknagree won their initial title after a replay.

A lively opening produced excellent passages of play from both sides, a pair of David Twomey points for Knocknagree matched by Daniel Murphy and Danny Linehan to Castlemagner. Knocknagree nudged ahead with a Chris White point only for Castlemagner grab a goal in the eighth minute, a probing ball from Linehan fell into the path of the experienced Jack Cott to net.

That provoked a response from Knocknagree, points to John F Daly and Kevin Barry squared up the game 1-2 to 0-5 at the close of the opening quarter. 

Castlemagner rallied and drew encouragement from the steady play of Man of the Match Tadgh Fitzmaurice, Liam O’Riordan and Donal Gayer in defence with Darragh O’Sullivan and Danny Linehan fielding superbly.

Upfront, Kyrle Holland displayed accuracy to shoot three points from frees and play, Knocknagree’s cause not helped by a black card picked by Shane O’Connor. 

A Knocknagree point from Daly was cancelled out by Darragh O’Sullivan for Castlemagner to hold a 1-7 to 0-6 advantage at the interval.

On the restart, Castlemagner picked up where they left off moving forward with menacing purpose, Cillian O’Sullivan and Danny Linehan finding the range to extend their hand to 1-10 to 0-6. 

At the opposite end, the Castlemagner rearguard snuffed out the opposing threat.

Indeed Knocknagree waited until the 58th minute for their lone score in the second half courtesy of a Tadhg Long point. 

Down the straight, Castlemagner finished on the ascendancy, Darragh O’Sullivan and Shane Cronin pointing to put the icing on the cake.

The full-time whistle sparked scenes of wild celebration amongst black and amber supporters as team captain Donal Gayer lifted the silverware, the breakthrough sure to act as an incentive in the county championship where Castlemagner look ahead to a quarter-final against the Carbery champions.

Scorers for Castlemagner: D Linehan 0-4, K Holland 0-3 (0-2 f), J Cott 1-0, D O’Sullivan 0-2, Cillian O’Sullivan, Conor O’Sullivan, D Murphy, L O’Riordan, S Cronin 0-1 each.

Knocknagree: D Twomey 0-2 (0-1 f), J F Daly 0-2, C White, K Barry, T Long 0-1 each.

CASTLEMAGNER: T McAulliffe; T Fitzmaurice, T O'Riordan, L O’Riordan; D Murphy, D Gayer, C Murphy; Cillian O'Sullivan, S Cronin; D O'Sullivan, K Holland, E Magner; Cormac O'Sullivan, D Linehan, J Cott. 

Subs: Conor O’Sullivan for J Cott (46), A Morrissey for E Magner (55), A O’Keeffe for D Murphy (58), D Lucey for L O’Riordan (59), A Lucey for D O’Sullivan (59).

KNOCKNAGREE: A O'Sullivan; P Roche, C O'Connor, N O'Connor; R O'Connor, S Daly, D D O'Connor; P Dineen, P O'Connor; C White, J F Daly, T Long; D Twomey, S O’Connor, K Barry. 

Subs: M Murphy for P Dineen (39), Daniel Murphy for P Roche (39), Dan Murphy for C White ((58), L Sugrue for D O’Connor (58), B Hickey for S O’Connor (59).

Referee: D O’Leary (Kiskeam).