Premier 1 MFC final: Ballincollig come good in second half to capture the title in style

Ballincollig: 1-16 (1-0-16) 

Glanmire: 1-13 (1-4-5) 

Ballincollig footballers came good to retain their Rebel Óg Premier 1 MFC title following victory over Glanmire at Páirc Uí Rinn on Monday night.

The Muskerry team trailed by five points at the start of the second half, but inspired by Danny Miskella, the Village prevailed by three points in front of a large attendance.

They didn’t lead until the 45th minute, but once they got their noses in front, they always looked likely winners.

While Danny Miskella was outstanding kicking 0-8, Collig goalkeeper Matthew Murray also played his part with a few outstanding saves.

Glanmire got the first score. Billy O’Connor slotted over a two-point free after just 55 seconds.

It got better for Niall O’Driscoll’s team when Harry Browne fisted the ball over the bar from an acute angle after a driving run.

Ballincollig did get a point after seven minutes through a Danny Miskella free, but their opposition were in the ascendancy, O’Mahony and Browne (free) tacked on further points as Glanmire led 0-5 to 0-1 after nine minutes.

In an opening 30 minutes where both teams had their period of dominance, Kevin O’Leary and Brian O’Cronin helped the Village reel in their opponents.

They put four unanswered points together with Danny Miskella kicking over two and efforts from Cian Ahern and O’Leary, 0-5 each with 10 minutes to the short whistle.

Glanmire ended a run of 19 minutes without a score, a timely one when Browne landed a two-point free two minutes before the interval quickly followed an O’Mahony effort.

They did finish the half the better, Rúaidhri Dennehy had a goal opportunity, but his effort was excellently stopped by Ballincollig goalkeeper Murray.

Danny Miskella did tap over a free for his team, but Glanmire got their third two-pointer when Harry Cogan bisected the posts as they led 0-10 to 0-6 at half-time.

A Danny Miskella free did get Ballincollig up and running on the resumption, but two-pointers were doing the trick for Glanmire, Cogan clipped over his second one to push five points clear.

The Collig rallied though with 1-1, in two minutes. Joe Miskella with the point while Kevin O’Leary saw his effort trickle into the net after Cian O’Connor started the move, 0-12 to 1-8 after 39 minutes.

O’Mahony was unlucky though not to raise a green flag for Glanmire seconds later The teams swapped points before Ahern drew parity for Ballincollig before Joe Miskella gave the team in green and white the lead for the first time, 1-11 to 0-13 with 15 minutes to go.

The game completely swung as the holders took over, tacking on three unanswered points. With four minutes to go, Glanmire gave themselves a lifeline when sub Josh McNamara finished smartly from close range, 1-14 to 1-13.

The Village got the last two scores from that man Danny Miskella to win by a goal.

Glanmire did push hard late on, but to no avail.

The Village are back-to-back winners.

Scorers for Ballincollig: D Miskella 0-8 (0-4 f), K O’Leary 1-1, C Ahern 0-4, J Miskella 0-3.

Glanmire: H Browne 0-5 (1 2pt f, 0-1 f), B O’Mahony 0-4 (1 2pt f), H Cogan 0-4 (2 2pt), J McNamara 1-0.

BALLINCOLLIG: M Murray; E Donovan, P Rose, D Crowley; J Ryan, C O’Connor, A Rose; K O’Leary, B Cronin; M Delaney, C Ahern, F Jozefowski; D Miskella (c), L O’Mahony, J Miskella.

Subs: E Lynch for E Donovan (25, inj), P McCarthy for M Delaney (57).

GLANMIRE: I Barrett; R Boyle, C Condon, J Tierney; F O’Donovan, T O’Flynn, C Fennessy; E Considine, R Higgins; H Browne, H Cogan (c), R Dennehy; B O’Mahony, F O’Connor, C Galvin.

Subs: A O’Sullivan for F O’Donovan (h-t), D Barrett for C Galvin (41), C Daly for R Dennehy, J McNamara for R Higgins (both 45).

Referee: Jerry Kelleher (St John’s).