"The internet sensation is six-seven, Shandrum have four-two!" - U21 champions rewarded for four-man full-forward line

Going in as underdogs against holders Midleton, Shandrum knew they had to start well in Sunday’s Co-op SuperStores U21AHC final.

Once they did that, they never relented, even after Midleton came strongly early in the second half.

“Being honest, we've a lot of work put into this,” said manager Willie O’Mahony.

“We knew we had to start well – if we didn't, we'd be whitewashed.

“I read in the week that Midleton trained one day a week - we were training three nights a week. We worked hard all year – we had a disappointing senior campaign, but this is about building for the future.

“It's massive for our village. We have two on the age, so there’s a lot of them under-age again next year.”

In the semi-final win over Valley Rovers, Shandrum operated with a two-man half-forward line and kept four attackers stationed closer to goal. Midleton were aware of that and the temptation might have been to try something different as a result but they stuck rather than twisted.

“The Midleton manager commented on it, the four inside and two outside,” said selector James Bowles, “so when we saw that yesterday, we said, ‘They're going to do something to counter-act it,’ but it’s a hard thing to do.

“Willie O’Mahony always says, ‘The internet sensation is six-seven, Shandrum have four-two!'”

They were rewarded with a first half where they never trailed, but nobody was going to rest on their laurels.

“Things went right for us,” he said.

“We should actually have been up by more at half-time, we had more wides. At half-time, Tim [O’Mahony] said if every fella gave an extra 30 percent in the second half, we weren't going to be beaten.

“The boys came up with the attitude that we weren't going to leave it behind and we weren’t

coming for a moral victory.

“We knew we had a good performance in us, the way things were ticking along in training. They got the reward that they deserved, really.”

They had to earn it, though, especially after Midleton turned a four-point deficit into a three-point lead in the opening ten minutes of the second half.

“We said that when the tide turns against us, real leaders will stand up,” Bowles said.

“To be fair, Johnny Murphy stood up there; Rob Troy got on some amount of ball at midfield and Rory Troy, he was out for 14 weeks, it was only his second game back.”

Added O’Mahony: “Chris Dunne is a serious talent that many wouldn’t know.

“He's a top-quality player. He goes under the radar, because he plays junior. They would have been targeting Turlough here, but we knew Chris Dunne inside was our danger man.”

Now, the objective is to bring those players on further at adult level.

“For Newtown seniors next year, it's a stepping stone to get out of the group next year,” Bowles said.

“Dromina should be winning the north Cork championship next year. The fellas coming through, there's no reason why they shouldn't push on.”