Erin’s Own defeat Carrigaline in seven-goal showdown for P2 U16 Hurling Challenge Cup
Carrigaline’s Cillian Buckley drives forward in the closing moments of the Fé16 Premier Hurling Challenge Cup final against Erin’s Own at the Mardyke. Picture: Chani Anderson.
Three second-half goals turned it Erin’s Own’s way – the Caherlag side rallying from behind to edge Carrigaline in a seven-goal thriller and claim the Premier 2 U16 Hurling Challenge Cup title at the Mardyke on Saturday.
They hadn’t led once in the opening half, only drawing level before the break when Oran Burke teed up Jack Nortan for the equalising point, 0-8 to 1-5. They came out transformed after the restart, two goals in six minutes flipping the game on its head.
First, less than a minute into the second half, Ben Aherne burst through and blasted low to the net, the spark for a superb individual display. Then came a slice of fortune – David Nolan’s ball dropped in for Burke, whose skewed effort bounced awkwardly, kissed the post, and crept over the line to make it 2-8 to 1-5.
It looked a comfortable lead, but Carrigaline weren’t done. Bryan McCarthy pointed on 43 minutes and then, from Eoghan Ahern’s 65 that was initially well saved by Zack McCarthy, he gathered the rebound and lashed home, 2-9 to 2-7.
For all their pressure, though, Carrigaline couldn’t sustain it. One more McCarthy point was one of only two white flags they managed before the finish. Erin’s Own steadied again through three points from Aherne.
When Jack Nortan broke clear on 56 minutes, his finish was emphatic – 3-12 to 2-9 and the cup within reach. Aherne quickly turned provider, feeding Rian Allen for another point as the lead grew to seven.
Still Carrigaline fought. In the 57th minute, Ahern and Cillian Buckley exchanged passes in the move of the match – Ahern drilling home a sublime goal to leave four between them.
Aherne’s free soon extended Erin’s Own cushion to a five-point lead, but deep in injury time, Ahern struck his second goal – punishing a defensive lapse from a free to bring it back to two.
Time, though, was gone. Erin’s Own had done enough.
It was a contest of contrasts – Carrigaline’s first-half control undone by Erin’s Own’s explosive second-half surge. Cathal Brickley’s 22nd-minute goal had put Carrigaline 1-5 to 0-4 ahead, but they failed to score again before the interval. Erin’s Own clawed their way back, and from there, never truly looked like losing.
David Nolan was immense in the sweeper role for the winners, just as Cillian Buckley and Oliver Gubbins excelled in similar duty for Carrigaline. But ultimately, the impact of Aherne and Nortan in that third-quarter purple patch proved decisive.
B Aherne 1-5 (0-2 f), J Nortan 1-3, O Burke 1-0, R Allen 0-3, Josh Hegarty, Jack Hegarty, D Nolan 0-1 each.
E Ahern 2-6 (1-5 f), B McCarthy 1-2, C Brickley 1-0, M Connolly 0-1.
Z McCarthy; E O’Donovan, M Hamell; D O’Sullivan; J Casey, D Nolan (c), S Lenihan; Josh Hegarty, O Verdonschot, A Lynch; C Dunphy, J Nortan, R Allen, Jack Hegarty, B Aherne.
O Burke for Dunphy (25).
J Lynch; P O’Donoghue, J Bryan; O Gubbins; J Streete C Buckley, F Lehane; E Ahern, J O’Grady, B McCarthy; B O’Sullivan, J Slyne, D O’Rourke; M Connolly, C Brickley.
C O’Regan for O’Sullivan (26 inj), M O’Connell for Brickley (46).
M O’Mahony (Kilbrittain)
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