Incredible two-point showing a surprise, even for Knocknagree boss John Fintan Daly

Eight two-pointers in a Tom Creedon Cup final, on a wet Saturday night when conventional wisdom said leave the arc alone. Anthony O'Connor ignored that conventional wisdom, and he kicked five of them.

Knocknagree won by 14 against Naomh Abán. And, across the Irish Sea, Ireland had destroyed England in the Six Nations at Twickenham. John Fintan Daly, a man who lists rugby union as his second favourite sport, had a very good Saturday.

“It's a great day when we win this with the team we had and that Ireland give England a record defeat, because rugby union is my second favourite sport,” John Fintan Daly said. “So this Saturday is a great day!” Knocknagree arrived in Macroom without seven of the players who started last year's county final, and the two-point exhibition was not part of the plan.

“We didn't set out to do that because it was a wet night with a small bit of a wind and I would have thought two-pointers were probably going to be at a premium,” he said. “Naomh Abán have been doing a lot of heavy winter training and I know that they'll be a lot better later on.

“They have a very good management team.

“But for us, I suppose the real satisfying thing for me, trying to survive in this bear pit that we've gone into [with Premier Senior], we had only seven of our starting county final team playing today.

“We're actually down 10 key men. We’ve a few injured, a couple gone to Australia in the short term, and of course we've four with Cork.

“A small village club like us, and we are a small club, it's a big test. And for the fellas to stand up and it was a brilliant opportunity,” he said. “To start the season, to go into a competitive final with a brilliant field, you couldn't ask for better.

“But this is a great start. I'm just delighted that the boys have put in this effort. We didn't start together until February 1 because I insisted on giving the boys and ourselves three months off.” 

Knocknagree’s league campaign begins next weekend, and it will not ease them in gently.

“I don't know whether it's a conspiracy or not, but we've gone into the Kelleher Shield and our first four games are pretty frightening, let's say,” he laughed. “We're away to the Barrs next weekend, home to Castlehaven the following week, away to Clon in the next one and home to Nemo.

“They're our first four games. So I don't think anyone will expect us to get any points and that we'd be probably fighting relegation.

“And anyone that has watched us closely in the last seven or eight years in our development, those people will know that our league performances and our promotion year after year is a key factor in us being able to perform in a championship.”