Bishopstown land first county U21 football title since 1992

Bishopstown 1-11 

Beara 0-6 

Bishopstown were crowned McCarthy Insurance Group U21 A Football county champions 10 days before Christmas at Páirc Uí Rinn on Sunday afternoon.

The Seandún club were too strong for a Beara divisional outfit searching for a first title since 2006.

Pat Cuthbert’s side built on consecutive city titles, overcoming Mallow and Ballinora before toppling Beara. 

Delight at grabbing the trophy for the first time since 1992 aside, Bishopstown’s latest crop of emerging U21 talent underlines the quality of their underage setup.

Beara enjoyed the better start and led 0-3 to 0-1 after 10 minutes. Alan O’Sullivan got the divisional side off the mark before two superb Ben O’Sullivan efforts, one a mark, edged Beara two clear after Conor Dunne scored at the opposite end.

In the face of determined defending, Bishopstown were guilty of repeatedly turning over possession. Their opponents’ inability to add to their early lead meant the final’s next score didn’t arrive until the 15th minute. 

Ben O’Sullivan turned provider and his Adrigole team-mate Tommy O’Sullivan split the posts. The same player’s second score made it a four-point game shortly after.

Brian McCarthy fired over a badly needed Bishoptown point before the Seandún side levelled matters for a second time. Kieran McFadden’s attempt fell short but Patrick Casey raced in and flicked the ball into the net. A scrappy end to the first half saw neither side add to their totals.

Bishopstown began brightly at the start of the second period, patiently retaining possession and waiting for an opening which Conor Dunne converted.

Beara’s response was swift with Fintan Fenner firing over from distance. Level for a third time, it took a Conor Dunne free to restore Bishopstown’s advantage. Then, Kieran McFadden’s curling long-range effort made it 1-5 to 0-6 with a quarter of the final remaining.

Conor Dunne had an excellent game and added his fourth point as Bishopstown grew in confidence heading into the closing stages.

Odhran Foley finished off another patient Bishopstown move to make it 1-7 to 0-6 as Beara struggled to muster a response. Their cause wasn’t helped by Tiernan Sullivan’s dismissal for a second infringement six minutes from the end.

Conor Dunne converted his second free to hand Bishopstown a five-point cushion. Just when it seemed the maroon and whites were set for a straightforward finish, Rian Foley’s late black card, for a rash challenge, meant the final minutes were not as comfortable.

Gary Holland’s point was a welcome one to make it 1-9 to 0-6 and Bishopstown comfortably saw out the remaining minutes. There was still time for Sean Cronin to produce an excellent save before Patrick Casey and Kieran McFadden points wrapped up their victory.

The year ends with Bishopstown as U21 A county football champions and deservedly so. 

Even more importantly, their senior prospects have been enhanced by capturing the Pádraig A Ó Murchú Cup.

Scorers for Bishopstown: C Dunne 0-5 (0-2 f), P Casey 1-1, K McFadden 0-2, B McCarthy, O Foley, G Holland 0-1 each.

Beara: B O’Sullivan (0-1 m), T O’Sullivan 0-2 each, A O’Sullivan, F Fenner 0-1 each.

BISHOPSTOWN: S Cronin; D O’Donovan, F Stevens (c), M Sheridan; O Foley, D Cuthbert, H Wixted; K Murphy, B McCarthy; S Sheridan, P Casey, R Foley; G Holland, C Dunne, K McFadden.

Subs: C McGrath for S Sheridan (47), B Cahill for P Casey (61), M Scally for G Holland (61) M Buckley for H Wixted (63).

BEARA: K Murphy (Castletownbere); M Downing (Adrigole), D Harrington (Urhan), J Hanley (Castletownbere); S O’Shea (Adrigole), D O’Sullivan (Adrigole), N O’Shea (Urhan); L Harrington (Glengarriff), F Fenner (Castletownbere, c); A O’Sullivan (Urhan), G O’Shea (Adrigole), Shane Power (Glengarriff); B O’Sullivan (Adrigole), T O’Connor (Adrigole), T O’Sullivan (Adrigole).

Subs: T Sullivan (Adrigole) for L Harrington (27), L Kelly (Castletownbere for D O’Sullivan (27), D Crowley (Urhan) for L Kelly (42).

Referee: Robert Whelan (Glenn Na Laoi).