Super second half sees Watergrasshill lift Premier 2 Féile after beating Sliabh Rua
Goalkeeper Cormac McCarthy and Sam O’Leary lift the cup after Watergrasshill won the Premier 2 Féile hurling final. Picture: Noel Sweeney
A magnificent second-half display from Watergrasshill paved the way for their superb win over a brave Sliabh Rua side in a cracking Rebel Og Premier 2 Féile Hurling final at MTU on Monday.
This final had everything but when the game hung in the balance, Watergrasshill found the key points that secured them a famous win. It takes two to tango and Sliabh Rua certainly have talented hurlers, in particular Alex Haughney, who finished with 1-3 from play.
Watergrasshill came out of the blocks in style with Sean Dunlea splitting the posts from a placed ball in the opening minute. The Hill were certainly fired up and with James O’Mahony striking over consecutive points raced into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead in the third minute.
Sliabh Rua, a team consisting of players from Ballymartle and Belgooly clubs are based in the parish of Clontead and showed plenty of spirit to bounce back. Led by the talented Haughney, they got up and running in the sixth minute with a superb solo run and point but the Hill dominated them for the remainder of the half.
They were accurate in front of goal and when Ciaran Lee struck over a point in the 10th minute, they commanded a four-point lead. However, in the last possession of the half, Haughney soloed from midfield before unleashing an unstoppable shot to the roof of the net.
Trailing 0-7 to 1-3 at the break, Sliabh Rua now had momentum and got off to flying start when Jacob Keohane-Kiely tied it up.
Watergrasshill responded in style with a cracking goal three minutes later. After a flowing move, the sliotar landed with Danny Murphy, whose shot billowed the back of the net.
This changed the direction of the game as the Hill never looked back. Robbie O’Leary's pair of points put them in pole position.
Sliabh Rua didn't wilt and Haughney's scores cut the gap to the minimum again. In the closing exchanges, the Hill collected the majority of the dirty ball and late points from Murphy and O’Leary sealed the deal.
In a final that will be remembered for sportsmanship and magnificent points, both sides should take a bow.
S O’Leary 0-5 (0-3 f), D Murphy 1-1, J O'Mahony, R O’Leary 0-2 each, D Noonan, C Lee 0-1 each.
A Haughney 1-4 (0-1 f), J Keohane-Kiely 0-2, S Brien, D Sheehan, J Hickey 0-1 each.
C McCarthy; A Fahey, J McDermott, E O’Callaghan; C Harrington, R Lehane, S Fenton; R O’Leary, A Downey; S Dunlea, S O’Leary, D Murphy; J O’Mahoney, D McHugh, C Lee.
R Lehane, J McDermott, J Connolly.
C McCarthy, I Wozniak, O Kelleher, A Ryan; D Sheehan, S Horan, S Sheehan; D Cummins, S O’Brien; A Haughney, J Chambers, J Hickey; J Keohane-Kiely, A Kelleher, J Hayes.
E Halpin, A Clough, F Daly, C O’Brien, R McCarthy.
John Horgan (Gleann na Laoi).
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