15-10-2016
Fossa 3-10
Beale
1-16
The general consensus
heading in to this Junior Club final at Austin Stack Park was that although
Beale would bring the traditional North Kerry spirit and doggedness to the game,
Fossa would just have that extra bit of firepower and guile to get them over
the line. If only sport was that
predictable!
In what was an
absorbing contest throughout both sides must have felt they had won, and lost,
this game at differing stages, Beale equalising in the 7th minute of
injury time at end of normal time through wing back Philly Blake and Fossa
reeling off three unanswered points in the second half of extra time to force a
replay.
Although Beale took an
early lead through wing forward Ger O’Gorman, who was unerring all afternoon
from placed balls, it was Fossa who struck the first major blow with a goal
from corner forward Tadgh O’Shea in the 4th minute, after a flowing
move which went the length of the pitch.
Fossa were slick in
their passing in these early stages with Beale a little slower and more ponderous. O’Gorman converted once again and this was
cancelled out by midfielder Matthew Rennie, who was industrious throughout,
before Fossa struck for their second goal in the 14th minute through
Paudie Clifford. He was well marshalled
by the experienced Jeremy King all through but got away from his clutches on
this occasion.
Kerry minor Cormac
Linnane had been Beale’s only real outlet up to this point but he was
continually being crowded out. Slowly
but surely however they began to get to grips with the Fossa game plan and
started to dictate matters themselves.
After another free by O’Gorman in the 19th minute they reeled
off a further three unanswered points between the 26th and 28th
minutes from Ian Mannix, Linnane and full forward Barry O’Mahoney to leave
Fossa ahead by 2-3 to 0-6 at the break.
Beale continued this
momentum early in the second half and hassled and harried the Fossa defence,
forcing turnovers and capitalising accordingly.
With Clifford and O’Gorman exchanging frees, the latter scored his first
from play in 37th minute to reduce the deficit to 2-4 to 0-8. Fossa’s wide count had risen to eight at this
stage, they would hit thirtheen in total over the eighty minutes played.
O’Gorman again was on
target before he rubberstamped his man of the match credentials by taking a
pass from James McMahon, bore down on goal and finished emphatically past Colin
Myers to give Beale a two point lead by the 42nd minute, 2-4 to 1-9.
Domhnall O’Sullivan
replied before Beale lost the experienced Paul Collins on a black card in the
48th minute after a body check on Clifford off the ball. O’Gorman was again on target before Beale
lost another of their experienced leaders in James McMahon through injury in
the 54th minute and you wondered if they would have the where with
all to close out the game now.
It looked like they
may just do until, in the final minute of normal time, Rennie caught a great
ball in the Beale square and was hauled down by corner back Johnny O’Sullivan
and Fossa had a great chance of stealing it at the death. Clifford converted expertly and we wondered
if Beale would get one last chance to equalise.
Not only did they get
that chance, converted again by O’Gorman, but with the excessive added time,
Fossa looked to have won it once more through Tadgh O’Shea before Blake
intervened at the death to take game to extra time.
It looked like Beale’s
greater championship experience would steer them to victory in extra time as
they took a two point lead at the break through scores from O’Gorman again, who
else, and substitute Darragh Buckley.
But credit the
character of Fossa. After only scoring
six points in the whole of normal time, and after Buckley pushing Beale’s lead
out to three, they reeled off the final three scores in extra time through
O’Sullivan, O’Shea and the influential Rennie to take the game to a replay.
The mood in both camps
after the game was one of relief to still have another chance at winning but
also some regrets that they could not close it out on the day. Beale manager Patie O’Mahoney was diplomatic
after but a little baffled as to where the added time in extra time came from “We
won and lost that game on a few occasions out there today but so did they. It was an up and down game all through, any
team could have grasped it in normal time and extra time. I am a bit baffled as to why three minutes of
injury time was added at the end of extra time.
Overall, however, no team probably deserved to lose on the day. Our big players stood up and we came back
well after conceding two bad goals in the first half from our point of
view. I am most pleased that we never gave
up and if we hold on to ball better the next day we will be there or
thereabouts again”
Fossa manager John
Evans was also relieved to be in a position to fight another day but was
fulsome in his praise of the bottle of his charges “ the experience of Beale
got them back in it, held them together, but we came from behind three
times. We are a young team but we have
great bottle, great to see that. The free
count against us was high, we will have to look at that. I am thrilled though that as an inexperienced
team we survived the pressure and fought back.
We have a few guys coming back from injury for the next day, it’s a
learning curve for this team but all to play for again in the replay”
Main Man: A toss up between Fossa’s Matthew
Rennie and Beale’s Ger O’Gorman, but for his scoring return which kept Beale in
the game all through, the accolade goes to O’Gorman
Talking Point: The decision to penalise Paudie
Clifford for a throw ball in lead up to a possible crucial goal for Fossa in
extra time, but more so the added time by referee Ger Lynch at end of normal
time and especially at end of extra time.
Teams & Scorers:
Fossa: Colin Myers, Colm Walsh, Kevin McCarthy, Anthony Wharton, Darragh Rice,
Mark Dennehy, Daniel O’Keeffe, Fintan Coffey, Mathew Rennie (0-2), Mikey
O’Shea, Lorcan Daly, Paudie Clifford (2-1, 1f, 1pen), Tadgh O’Shea (1- 4, 2f),
Domnhaill O’Sullivan (c)( 0-2, 1f), Daniel O’Connell
Substitutes: Michael O’Keeffe for Mikey O’Shea, 37 Shane Malone for Daniel O’Connell
41 Cillian Bellew for Michael O’Keeffe, H/T. E/T
Beale: Sean Dee, Killian Walsh
O’Boyle, Colm Kissane, Johnny O’Sullivan, Shane Joy (c), Paul Collins, Philly
Blake (0-1), Jeremy King, Neilus Mulvihill, Daniel Ellis, James McMahon (0-1,
1f), Ger O’Gorman (1-8, 6f, 45) Ian Mannix (0-1), Barry O’Mahoney (0-1), Cormac
Linnane (0-1)
Substitutes: Shane Hanrahan for Daniel Ellis, H/T Ian Blake for Barry O’Mahoney, 38
Darragh Buckley for Colm Kissane, 45 Daniel Ellis for Paul Collins (Black)48
Cillian Courtney for James McMahon, 54 Mathew Moran for Johnny O’Sullivan
(Black)60 Jamie Culloty for Jeremy King, 76
Referee: Ger Lynch, Ballymacelligott
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