Killeagh withstand late Éire Óg rally to claim P2 Minor HL title
Rebel Óg chairman Peter Watson presents the cup to Killeagh's joint-captains Cormac Deane and Ben Geary. Picture: David Keane.
A huge sigh of relief for Killeagh, an agonising way to fall for Éire Óg. The east Cork club seemingly had the game put to bed when they rattled home their fifth goal in the 42nd minute.
A point five minutes later had Killeagh eight ahead in their Premier 2 Minor Hurling League final. Despite their best efforts, there was no way back for the Ovens side. They managed a brilliant fightback earlier, but their challenge looked to have ran out of steam here.
The gap remained at eight with less than ten minutes to go in Carrigtwohill on Wednesday evening. With three minutes of regular time to go, the Éire Óg deficit was six. Two frees from Sam Brennan had taken it down a bit, but they would have trailed by a dozen were it not for two excellent saves from Darragh Sheehan, who swapped with goalkeeper Cathal Murphy following the concession of the fifth green flag.
That switch ended up paying off at the other end, too. Brennan nailed another free before Eoghan Hogan added his sixth white flag from play. Heading into additional time, the deficit stood at four.
And then Murphy struck. Darting in and weaving his way through Killeagh’s defence, he blasted home from close range and turned up the heat.
Killeagh were forced to defend desperately. Another Brennan placed ball got the gap down to the minimum, but Éire Óg could not find another gap to exploit. Killeagh held on. Only just.
To their credit, the result was probably merited. Éire Óg led three times on the night, for a combined total of 95 seconds. Not that Éire Óg didn’t play well, but rather that Killeagh always pushed back.
Éire Óg’s best spell came in the first half, six white flags unanaswered saw them go from 2-3 to 0-3 behind to level in the span of nine minutes.
They would even lead briefly in additional time during the first half following a point from Hogan, but from that very puckout Killeagh nabbed their third major. Eolann Deane launched the ball deep and Alex Fogarty plucked it, ran at goal, and powered across goal beyond Murphy.
That left it 3-5 to 0-12 at the break, Killeagh two ahead. The margin would hover between one and two, until Fogarty hit the fourth goal in the 41st minute. It was similar to the first, another powerful run in the lead up to an excellent finish.
But it was the fifth goal that finally put daylight between the teams, as Andrew Brenner received a touch of fortune to see his point attempt slip into the top corner, a minute after the fourth.
The first Killeagh goal arrived in the ninth minute, and was the best of the bunch. Cork minor Cormac Deane made an incredible run from deep, handpassed to Fogarty, and he floated it up for Ben Geary, who batted home. They added the next two minutes later, Brenner assisting Jack Farquhar for the finish, bringing the lead to six, preceding the first of two Éire Óg purple patches.
Unfortunately for the Ovens side, they would lose out by the minimum.
A Fogarty 2-2, B Geary 1-5 (0-3 f), A Brenner 1-3, J Farquhar 1-0.
S Brennan 0-7 (0-4 f, 0-1 65), E Hogan 0-6, C Murphy 1-0, R Coakley, J Casey 0-3 each, D Dineen, E Hyde 0-1 each.
E Deane; P Dineen, R O’Connor, A Howey; D McCarthy, C Deane, A Barry; A Brenner, C Brennan; R O’Riordan, A Fogarty, John Farquhar; Jack Farquhar, B Geary, J Geary.
S O’Leary for O’Riordan, C Delaney for D McCarthy (both HT), C Lawton for J Geary (54), S McDonnell for Howey (59).
C Murphy; M O’Riordan, J Healy, D Strand; C Ahern, E Hyde, J Downey; J O’Sullivan, D Sheehan; R Coakley, E Hogan, D Dineen; S Brennan, M Sheehan, J Casey.
L McLaughlin for M Sheehan (39), C Sheehan for O’Sullivan (59).
D Butler (Carrigtwohill)
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