Douglas 0-8
Goleen 0-4
NOEL HORGAN REPORTS
FOR the second season in succession, Goleen’s quest for glory in the county junior B (inter-divisional) football championship was foiled by Douglas in the final at Páirc Uí Rinn.
In contrast to 2023 when Goleen conceded six points on the trot inside the last ten minutes to lose by two in a lively decider they should have won, they can have no complaints about the justice of the outcome this time.
In a contest distinctly lacking flair and frills, the Carbery standard-bearers failed to produce anything close to their full potential, as a return of just four points over the hour amply illustrates.
Manager Shane O’Neill struggled to pinpoint the reason why Goleen performed so much below par on Sunday, stating they were ‘very flat’ from start to finish all over the pitch.
‘To lose the final for the second year in a row is a bitter bill to swallow, but the biggest disappointment is we didn’t do ourselves justice today,’ O’Neill said.
‘Not taking anything away from Douglas, they were the better, smarter team, but, looking back on it, I don’t think any of our lads played to the level they are capable of reaching. That the semi-final last week against Ballinhassig went to extra-time took its toll maybe, because these lads have been training since the first week of January,’ the Goleen boss pointed out.
‘Whatever the reason, we never got a bit of momentum going, there appeared to be a lot of tired bodies out there. I think they need to take a six or eight-week break now, and reassess things after that,’ concluded O’Neill, who guided Goleen to the confined county junior B title last July.
Goleen goalkeeper Ronan Kennedy saves a penalty from Douglas' Ray Keating.
The Carbery men had also won the Carbery-Beara Division 2 Football League title and the Carbery JBFC crown, so were targeting a fourth piece of silverware in their remarkable season, but there was no fairytale ending here.
Goleen never led at any stage, although a splendid individual score by midfielder Matthew Sheehan earned them parity at 0-1 apiece with seven minutes gone. They didn’t add to their tally until Michael O’Reilly pointed in the 22nd minute after Daniel O’Driscoll had done well to foil a promising Douglas raid and launch a snappy counter-attack.
Douglas had put four points on the board in the interim, but it took a smart save by goalkeeper Brian Boyle to prevent Goleen’s O’Reilly from shooting an equalising goal nearing half time.
It was the turn of Boyle’s opposite number to prove his worth in stoppage time, and Ronan Kennedy’s save from a Douglas penalty struck by Ray Keating kept Goleen in touch, 0-4 to 0-2, at the interval.
‘We played no football in the first half, and we were just two points down at half time, so we were hoping to strike a purple-patch at some stage in the second half,’ Shane O’Neill revealed.
‘That didn’t happen, but we had a couple of goal chances on the day, which, had we taken them, might have made a difference,’ he said.
Goleen's Cian Bowen gets his clearance away under pressure from Brian O'Neill of Douglas.
While Goleen struggled to create openings again in the second half, they bagged a brace of points in quick succession nearing the three-quarter mark. Both came from the boot of Darren O’Donovan – the first after full-back Jack O’Driscoll had made a storming run from deep to create the chance. Tadgh Cullinane and Daniel O’Driscoll were involved in the build-up to the next one, which left Goleen trailing by the minimum, 0-5 to 0-4, as the last quarter dawned.
The notion they might be ready to drive on from there proved off the mark, however, although they remained in with a shout until the game’s defining moment arrived in the 55th minute.
They were two points behind when hard-working wing-forward Jake Coughlan and Daniel O’Donovan combined to place the unmarked Daniel O’Driscoll at the edge of the square, but the advancing Brian Boyle proved equal to the latter’s effort for what could have been a match-swinging goal.
To compound Goleen’s frustration, Douglas immediately worked the ball upfield, winning a free which allowed Ray Keating to push them 0-7 to 0-4 ahead. Their advantage wasn’t seriously threatened after that, with Keating again on target from a placed ball to put the issue beyond all doubt in stoppage time.
Scorers
Douglas: R Keating 0-4 (f); K Murphy 0-2; E O’Flynn, David McSweeney 0-1 each.
Goleen: D O’Donovan 0-2; M Sheehan, M O’Reilly 0-1 each.
Douglas: B Boyle; C Donlan, Damien McSweeney, I Lucey; A Kelly, David McSweeney, M Lyons; B O’Neill, E O’Flynn; K Doyle, B Fitzgerald, A O’Brien; K Murphy, R Keating, C Clarke.
Subs: S O’Rourke for Doyle (40), P Tobin for Kelly (44), J Farrell for Clarke (46), C Lucas for Lyons (56), E Cotter for O’Brien (60).
Goleen: R Kennedy; M Sheehan, J O’Driscoll, E Healy; P Collins, P Reidy, C Bowen; M Sheehan, T Cullinane; J Coughlan, D O’Driscoll, D O’Donovan; P O’Regan, P Scully, M O’Reilly.
Subs: M O’Donovan for Scully (40), S O’Leary for O’Regan (44), A Barry for D O’Driscoll (61), A Sheehan for O’Reilly (61).
Referee: D Taffe (Passage).
