Ilen Rovers preparing for first county final in 17 years: 'It's bloody great...'

An instant classic between Ilen Rovers and Adrigole went the way of the West Cork club after extra-time in last weekend’s McCarthy Insurance Group Intermediate AFC county semi-final in Bantry.

Rovers ended a 17-year wait for a county semi-final victory by outlasting their opponents 0-24 to 0-22 to book a county final berth against Ballinora.

Dan MacEoin was the winners’ hero, finishing with 0-12 and converting two injury-time two-point frees to turn a four-point deficit into a draw.

In extra-time, Ilen outscored Adrigole by five points to three and kicked off wild scenes at the final whistle.

“It is bloody great,” MacEoin admitted shortly after the final whistle.

“The lads have put their shoulder to the wheel all year, in fairness to them. 

I’ve had a long year with injuries and am just getting back. So, it is nice to give something back.” 

Winning manager Flor O’Driscoll was delighted to reach a county final after successive relegations from the Premier Senior to Intermediate A grades. The Ilen Rovers bainisteoir took time to praise a brave Adrigole.

“The first thing I have to say is that Adrigole were just brilliant,” O’Driscoll commented.

“They were amazing today and played some absolutely brilliant stuff. We caught them with two two-pointers in injury time to level it. Adrigole were very unfortunate today.

“There were times we played well today and there were spells we didn’t play so well. Even during those difficult spells, we kept ourselves in it, somehow.

“We got ourselves to extra-time, somehow, where it was just to and fro. It could have been either team that won it.

“I’m just delighted for our lads. They have dealt with a lot of adversity over the years. To bounce back the way they did is just top class.

“I’m really, really delighted for them.” 

HARD TO TAKE

As for Adrigole, a third consecutive IAFC county semi-final loss was hard to take considering how well the Beara club played. Four points up after 60 minutes, being forced into extra-time, following a pair of Dan MacEoin two-point frees, handed the momentum to their opponents.

“This is devastating to be honest,” Adrigole manager Tim O’Sullivan admitted.

“In fairness to our lads, they put everything into it this year. 

We were nearly there in normal time, four points up.

“Those are the new rules though. That is what can happen. You can get pinged, you can get caught and that’s it. Look, we were out on our feet in extra time and it is just a tough one to take.

“I suppose they had that bit of momentum in extra time, in fairness to them. We had a lot of lads cramping and look, that is sport.

“The effort that these lads have put in over the last four or five years is unbelievable. They are a great bunch of lads and I’m absolutely devastated for them.” 

The final word goes to the Ilen Rovers manager however, as after years of setbacks, his club has a county final to look forward to.

“We have no county final won, that is the thing. We are up against a top team. You know, we are going to be ready for it and will give it our best shot.”