Goleen 0-15
Garnish 1-4
JOHN MURPHY REPORTS
THE west is truly awake! Shrugging aside the bitter pangs of disappointment at losing three county finals at this level, Goleen will be hoping it will be fourth time lucky following their eight-point victory over a resilient Garnish in the semi-final of the Bon Secours Junior B FC at pristine Skibbereen on Sunday.
This all-West Cork local derby drew a huge crowd and while at the end Goleen were well in control, for much of the opening 30 minutes there was hardly a kick of a ball between these rivals.
Goleen's Paul Collins in control of the ball against Garnish's Sean O'Sullivan during the Bon Secours JBFC semi-final at Skibbereen on Sunday.
Aided by the stiff breeze Garnish set out their stall early on. With the O’Sullivan brothers of Brian, in the middle of the park, and up front Seán adopting a roving commission, they put the Goleen defence under pressure.
A great point-blank save by Goleen shot-stopper Ronen Kennedy settled the victors’ early nerves, but two beauties by Seán O’Sullivan had the large contingent from Garnish on the hill voice their early approval.
Neat inter-link play by Tommy O’Sullivan, Eanna Murphy and Donnacha Lowney had Goleen back pedalling, but unfortunately the finish left a lot to be desired. A splendid mark and subsequent white flag by Brian O’Sullivan in the 30th minute ended a barren 22-minute scoring spell and made for a meagre three-point interval total given Garnish’s possession dominance.
Goleen, in the interim period, got up and running in the 11th minute courtesy of their leading scoring sorcerer Michael O’Reilly. With the midfield pairing of Tadhg Cullinane and Matthew Sheehan getting to grips with the situation, a better-quality service was provided up front for the classy Darren O’Donovan, who obliged with a real gem, while Patrick Sheehan and Jake Coughlan both got in on the scoring act. It settled Goleen, and one minute later Tadhg Cullinane bisected the uprights.
A free by the unerring O’Reilly completed what was a low-scoring half, 0-4 to 0-3, but given the strength of the wind Goleen were much the happier side to be one point ahead. So, it proved, as on resuming a now rampant Darren O’Donovan hit the target twice in as many minutes, the second from a 45. With captain Pádraig Reidy, Paul Collins and Patrick Sheehan monarchs of all they surveyed in a rock-solid Goleen half-back line, their last line of defensive cohorts were equally effective. Despite the best efforts of the O’Sullivan brothers, Tuan Millen, Alan O’Sullivan, Ralph O’Leary and Jack O’Sullivan, the Goleen dam was not breached.
Michael O’Reilly, Darren O’Donovan, Shane O’Leary and Tadhg Cullinane shared a further six points between the 35th and 48th minutes, as Garnish slipped 0-12 to 0-3 in arrears. Undaunted, Seán O’Sullivan stopped the rot a minute later, but Goleen were now in cruise control, evidenced by a lovely O’Reilly free. One minute later a free-flowing move involving the impressive Matthew Sheehan, Tadhg Cullinane, Patrick Sheehan and Darren O’Donovan saw the score of the match by the latter.
Goleen's Matthew Sheehan turns away from the challenge of Garnish's Brian Walsh during the Bon Secours JBFC semi-final at Skibbereen on Sunday.
To their credit Garnish refused to capitulate and were rewarded when Seán O’Sullivan, Jack O’Sullivan and substitute Fintan O’Sullivan all combined delightfully, the latter sending a bullet to the Goleen rigging. Brian O’Sullivan forced a spectacular save from Kennedy, but Goleen were home and hosed as O’Reilly brought the curtain down with a superb score following a spectacular Darren O’Donovan solo.
‘Garnish made a great start, but that wind was tricky and luckily for us they missed a few opportunities,’ Goleen selector Kieran Sheehan said.
‘After the first quarter our forwards worked hard, stopping Garnish going forward. Going in at half time a point up against the breeze, we certainly would have taken it against a strong, physical team. I thought our defence was immense, Ronan (Kennedy) in goal was outstanding, all the backs were splendid while I thought Matthew Sheehan in the middle of the park was brilliant.
‘We slumped in the West Cork final against Plunkett’s in the third quarter, we did it a bit again last time out, but today the opposite was the case. It was a huge factor in our win. We are delighted to be in the county final and given our hard luck in previous deciders, hopefully Dame Fortune will smile on us this time.’
This will be Goleen’s fourth county final, and they are hoping for a change in fortunes. In the confined junior B championship (just for junior B clubs) they lost the finals in 2019 and ’21, while in this competition they lost to St Michael’s in 2019.
Scorers
Goleen: Michael O’Reilly 0-7 (5f); Darren O’Donovan 0-5 (1 45); Tadhg Cullinane 0-2; Shane O’Leary 0-1.
Garnish: Seán O’Sullivan 0-3 (2f); Fintan O’Sullivan 1-0; Brian O’Sullivan 0-1 (m).
Goleen: Ronan Kennedy; Eden Healy, Jack O’Driscoll, Michael Sheehan; Pádraig Reidy, Paul Collins, Patrick Sheehan; Matthew Sheehan, Tadhg Cullinane; Adam Sheehan, Daniel O’Driscoll, Jake Coughlan; Shane O’Leary, Darren O’Donovan, Michael O’Reilly.
Subs: Pádraig O’Regan for Adam Sheehan (46), Tadhg Reidy for Paul Collins (51), Michael O’Driscoll for Shane O’Leary (53), David O’Leary for Tadhg Cullinane (61).
Garnish: Martin O’Sullivan; Matthew O’Leary, Tommy O’Sullivan, Carthaigh O’Driscoll; Gary O’Sullivan, Eanna Murphy, Jack O’Sullivan; Alan O’Sullivan, Seán O’Sullivan; Ralph O’Leary, Donnacha Lowney, Jerome O’Dwyer; Tuan Millen, Brian O’Sullivan, Dylan Henshaw.
Subs: Cian O’Neill for Jerome O’Leary (ht), Brian Walsh for Gary O’Sullivan (ht), Daniel O’Sullivan for Ralph O’Leary (45), Dean Henshaw for Jack O’Sullivan (50), Fintan O’Sullivan for Dylan Henshaw (53).
Referee: Connie Murphy (Kilmeen).
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