Ben Herlihy and Adam Kelly fire Douglas to victory over Carrigaline in the U18P1 Football League final

Douglas 2-13 (2-0-13) 

Carrigaline 0-10 (0-0-10) 

Ben Herlihy kicked eight points and Adam Kelly hit 2-1 as Douglas overcame Carrigaline in the Rebel Og Coiste Fe 18 Premier 1 Football League final at Ballinlough on Wednesday night.

The two clubs were level five times before the city side pulled away and added another underage trophy to their collection, following on from a victory over Nemo Rangers in the U16 equivalent of this competition on Monday.

Douglas got their reward on Wednesday by navigating a tense first half, before goals from Kelly effectively sealed the win.

They did lead 0-6 to 0-4 at the break, a hard earned reward over the nature of the final.

Things started with a searing run and a cool finish from Ben Delaney as Carrigaline took an early lead.

Douglas then created a goal scoring opportunity after James Naughton won the ball in midfield and played it through to Tomas Reddington. 

The corner forward drew an excellent save from Danny McSorley, and the resulting 45 went wide in the second minute of play.

Herlihy got things going for Douglas with a free and Delaney replied with a placed ball from a similar position, to restore Carrigaline’s advantage at 0-2 to 0-1.

Herlihy insured parity by splitting the posts from play, and Alex O’Connell replied by finishing a move that involved Sam Collins and Luke Jordan.

Herlihy made it 0-3 apiece and Carrigaline hit back with Harry Sisk curling over from just inside the arc.

Douglas then rattled off three scores without a reply with Conor McLoughlin getting one and Herlihy hitting a brace, to give the club a two point advantage with the scoreboard reading 0-6 to 0-4.

Carrigaline came out from the break and levelled the scoreboard for a fifth time with Delaney raising two white flags in quick succession.

Douglas’ response was to win the ball in midfield and play a quick pass to Kelly on the left wing. 

The half forward turned and unleashed a venomous strike that went well beyond the reach of McSorley in the 33rd minute, to push the club in front at 1-6 to 0-6.

Things got better during Douglas’ next spell in possession as it led to two quick scores for Herlihy, making it 1-8 to 0-6.

At this point, Carrigaline were very much swimming against the tide and it showed when an effort from Cillian Murphy was immediately cancelled out by Herlihy.

Douglas got breathing room in the final third, starting with another effort by Herlihy. Kelly then rattled off 1-1, with the goal coming from close range in the 54th minute.

Emmet Cronin then announced his arrival with Douglas’ final score, while a late brace from Cillian Murphy eased things from a Carrigaline perspective.

Scorers for Douglas: B Herlihy 0-8 (3f); A Kelly 2-1; C McLoughlin, J Naughton, C Fitzgerald and E Cronin 0-1 each.

Carrigaline: B Delaney 0-5 (3f); C Murphy 0-3, A O’Connell and H Sisk 0-1 each.

Douglas: R Hourihane; P Rudden, R McCarthy, C McLoughlin; C McAuliffe, I Butler, J Gordon; J Naughton, C Hallahan; D O’Connor, A Kelly, M Keeshan; B Herlihy, C Fiztgerald, T Reddington.

Subs: D Barry for Hallahan (37); E Cronin Gordon (45), S Lenihan for O’Connor (52), D O’Donovan for Fitzgerald (58), N Duane for Reddington (58), J Dollard Young for Herlihy (59).

Carrigaline: D McSorley; C Moloney, G O’Brien, J Bryan; S Collins, M Kiernan, J Scannell; D O’Beolain, O Lynch; H Sisk, L Jordan, E Bowens; A O’Connell, B Delaney, C Murphy.

Subs: D Scannell for Bowens (39); R Murphy for Sisk (48), E Crowley for Scannell (52).

Referee: Tom Manley (Inniscarra)