Job done for Fr O'Neill's after battling back from three goals down

It was all or nothing for Fr O’Neill’s and Erin’s Own when they clashed in Group 1 of the Co-op Superstores PSHC in Killeagh on Sunday. 

Neither side could make the knockout stages, but there was something far more important at stake, their senior status. 

A loss would leave one side facing into a relegation playoff, while a win would mean one side would be guaranteed their grade in 2026.

O’Neill’s came out the victors, though when they trailed by 3-8 to 0-8 coming up to half-time, they looked to be in trouble. 

However, a goal on the stroke at half-time from Billy Dunne gave Ray O’Neill’s charges the boost they needed.

“We’d a desperate bad start, obviously, and it took us a good while to get going. We were getting ball into our forwards, but we just couldn’t seem to retain it inside there. 

We pushed up, they’d an extra man, we’d an extra man and it was like a game of tennis, and we said we just needed to push up, we needed to go for it.

“We got the goal before half time, as important as that was, it gave us something at half time, but yet, we’d harsh words at half time, let’s not be skirting around with that one! But the start to the second half, I think fellas were really geared up at half time, we came back out, scored early, scored 1-3 to close the gap and from there on, we always had a chance.” 

That scoring burst after the interval was supplemented by two more points and O’Neill agreed that it was vital that his side closed the gap quickly after the break.

“It was, or else you’re grasping at straws for the last five or six minutes, lumping high balls in, hoping to get something out of it. Whereas we actually pulled the score down early. I did feel that if we happen to go ahead at all, that we’d have a great chance. Because we did go level, Erin’s Own went a point up, we went level again, then they went two up and we went down the field and got a goal.

PROUD

“And I think once we got ahead, we were able to stay ahead towards the end. 

It was shaky enough, but it’s pure championship. 

"Erin’s Own are an unbelievably proud club, they’re senior an awful lot longer than we are and they’re not going to go down without a fight. You’d expect that at this grade like.” 

It brings to an end a difficult couple of weeks in limbo for O’Neill’s. For once, they were playing championship hoping not to have one more game. It was something they talked about 10 days beforehand, and now, it’s very much a case of the job being done.

“It was a different ask this time. Because it was almost an ask for survival as opposed to our season being over after today. If we lost, we were obviously in a relegation final. 

"We didn’t want to go there. So, we said the ask is different, but the need is the same. You just need to go away out and win the game and see where it takes you. The relief, the relief, just getting over the line. We can breathe now again.”