Castlelyons score three goals against Rochestown to land Junior C football title

Castlelyons: 3-9 (3-0-9) 

Rochestown: 1-10 (1-0-10) 

A sweet success for Castlelyons as they won their first McCarthy Insurance Group Confined Junior C Football Championship title after getting the better of Rochestown at Mallow on Sunday afternoon.

The Imokilly team have made great progress in recent years with the objective of reaching this decider and the celebrations once the final whistle blew, told the story. A great day for the club.

They were the better team in this one, more balanced than their opposition, with Rochestown too reliant on the outstanding Jason Walsh.

Better known as a hurling club, Castlelyons have always had a soft spot for the big ball. They also won the Cork JBFC crown in 1989 and 2014.

Castlelyons couldn’t have dreamt of a better start to the game with a goal after just two minutes. Jack Cremin’s free dropped short only for Ronan Ryan to get a crucial touch and the ball ended up in the back of the net.

It was followed by a Cremin free, but Rochestown weren’t rocked by the challenging opening when they put together four points on the trot in the space of five minutes. All from the boot of full-forward Walsh, two from frees, to draw parity.

They could have also registered a goal during that scoring spree, but Denis Dullea’s effort was saved smartly by Castlelyons goalkeeper Stephen Hickey.

It was a very good game of football played on a difficult surface. The Imokilly outfit were the better team though at this juncture, looking very dangerous every time they went forward. They kicked over three unanswered white flags from Richard Morrison, Cremin (free) and a Dylan Leetch effort, 1-4 to 0-4 after 22 minutes.

Rochestown’s Ian McAuliffe, beautifully with the outside of his boot, cut the deficit to two points, followed by that man Walsh with a super effort.

The city outfit did finish the half on top, but it wasn’t truly reflected on the scoreboard. Both Michael O’Riordan and Ben Kelleher had great chances of netting a goal, but they weren’t able to find the back of the net.

A McAuliffe free did draw Rochestown level with the game finely poised at half-time, 0-7 to 1-4.

The sides shared the first four points of the second half with the pick of the scores coming from the boot of Castlelyons netminder Hickey, an excellent 45.

Castlelyons scored a second goal after 37 minutes when Cremin finished from close range, but exactly 42 seconds later, Rochestown drew level when Walsh placed the ball into the corner of the net following a driving run, 1-9 to 2-6.

Cremin did though restore Castlelyons’ lead before Ryan bagged his second goal with another clinical finish from close range, 3-7 to 1-9 after 46 minutes. The East Cork team in the driving seat.

Four points adrift, Rochestown were in urgent need to get scores with time running out. Leetch extended the eventual winners advantage with three minutes remaining.

The sides traded points late on as the game entered injury time. Despite Rochestown throwing the kitchen sink at their opposition, it wasn’t to be for them.

Glory for Castlelyons.

Scorers Castlelyons: J Cremin 1-4 (0-3 f), R Ryan 2-0, D Leetch 0-2, R Morrison, O Morrison, S Hickey (45) 0-1 each.

Rochestown: J Walsh 1-7 (0-2 f), I McAuliffe 0-2 (0-1 f), D Dullea 0-1.

CASTLELYONS: S Hickey (c); C Sheehan, C McCarthy, O Morrison; P Roche, E McLoughlin, S Flynn; D Leetch, S Moroney; M Rosner, A O’Regan, S Cotter; R Morrison, R Ryan, J Cremin.

Subs: S Leneghan for C Sheehan, D Tobin for S Cotter (both 43), E Barry for A O’Regan (55).

ROCHESTOWN: C O’Connor; R Feeney, G Scannell, M Biggins (c); D O’Shea, S Moore, D O’Leary; I McAuliffe, C Dillon; D O’Sullivan, P Hartnett, M O’Riordan; D Dullea, J Walsh, B Kelleher.

Subs: D Burns for M O’Riordan (45), E Daly for B Kelleher, S O’Sullivan for D O’Leary (both 54), A McHugh for P Hartnett (56).

Referee: A O’Regan (Kilbrittain).