Ballinacarriga outfit Randal Óg will now represent Carbery in the county championship

CARBERY JBHC FINAL
RANDAL ÓG   0-14
KILBREE          1-2

TOM LYONS REPORTS

THE strong wind was the dominant factor in this lively RCM Tarmacadam Junior B hurling final in Ahiohill.

Randals faced the elements in the first half and did the donkey work for their victory by holding the opposition to level scores at half time.

The second half saw the Castle men taking full advantage of the wind to rifle over the winning scores, while holding the opposition scoreless for the full half.

Having lost the county junior B hurling final earlier in the year, Randals were installed as favourites to win the SW title and to gain promotion to the junior A grade, following in the footsteps of their footballers who won promotion last season.

Opposition on Saturday was the second team of Kilbree, who had done very well to reach this decider.

‘We might have been favourites but we still had to go out and win that game,’ said Randal Óg manager, Ger Collins.

‘You can have a promising side but they still have to deliver on the day. I must pay tribute to this bunch of lads, they have been developing very well and have done everything we asked of them. To be able to play that kind of hurling in such conditions was outstanding. If Kilbree got another goal or two in the tricky wind, we could have been in serious trouble. That’s a big win for us today.

‘If we have a worry from today, it’s that we never threatened the keeper, that’s something we will have to work on. We are looking forward to the county but there's still some very good teams left in it yet.’

It was Randals who got off to the better start in this encounter and they had the two opening points against the wind from a pair of frees by Seán Daly, the class hurler on the pitch.

To their credit, with Gearóid McCarthy, Jack Murphy and Patrick Shanahan prominent in the half back line, the Kilbree men rallied and points from Ray Shanahan and Daniel O’Donovan, free, levelled the scores.

Aidan O'Rourke chairman of the SW Board presents the David Walsh Cup to Seadhna Crowley captain of the Randal Óg. JJ McCarthy of competition sponsors. RCM Tarmacadam Ltd is also pictured. (Photos: Paddy Feen).

Although Randals were dominating possession, they were caught in the 14th minute when Brian Carmody whipped a ground ball to the net and the Blues began to hurl with more confidence.

It was the turn of the Randals’ defence to shine in the second quarter, marshalled superbly by veteran sweeper, John Collins, with great assistance from Conor O’Neill, Shane Patterson, Cian O’Neill and especially centre back, Peter Collins.

Kilbree failed to build on their goal and it was Randals who grabbed three scores, from the talented Daly, two frees, and hard-working full forward, Séadhna Crowley. It was all square at the break, 0-5 to 1-2.

The second half belonged to fired-up Randals, led superbly by Daly, with Donncha Collins, Séamus Crowley and Liam Donovan also to the fore. A series of points from Séamus Crowley, Seán Daly, two frees and one from play, and Séadhna Crowley had them ahead by six points at the three-quarters stage, 0-11 to 1-2.

Try as they might, the Kilbree men just couldn’t penetrate the Randals’ back line in the second half, into the strong wind and even though they fought to the end, further points from Seán Daly, two frees, and Donncha Collins had the Ballinacarriga men ahead by 0-14 to 1-2 at the final whistle.

To their credit, Kilbree held their net intact all through thanks to the efforts of goalkeeper, Aidan O’Shea, and backs, Barry Kirby, Séamus Tobin and Darren Deasy.

Vying strongly for man-of-the-match, John Collins, who played as a sweeper in defence and used all his experience and positional sense to very good effect, was delighted with this latest win.

John, who will have celebrated his 50th birthday before Randals play in junior A next season, told The Southern Star: ‘I actually retired this year but the lads had only fourteen players for a league game against Ardfield below in the pitch early in the season and they rang me at nine in the morning to make up fifteen. I was hooked again.

‘They don’t spare me in training, I have to put it in like the rest of the lads. I was fifteen when I first played junior with Randals and I’ve never missed a championship game. Now we’re back in junior A again and I’ll probably hang on for that. I enjoyed today. They put me in as sweeper and that suited me as I had plenty space. It gave me a chance to look around and to pick up a lot of handy balls. As regards the body, I’ll pay for it tonight, I’m in fair bits now, but the celebration will help me to recover.’

Scorers: Randal Óg – Sean Daly 0-9f, Séamus Crowley and Séadhna Crowley 0-2 each, Donncha Collins 0-1. Kilbree – Brian Carmody 1-0, Ray Shanahan and Daniel O’Donovan (1f) 0-1 each.

Randal Óg:  Barry O’Sullivan, Padraig Duggan, Conor O’Neill, Shane Patterson, Kieran O’Brien, Peter Collins, Cian O’Neill, Séamus Crowley, John Collins, Liam O’Donovan, Seán Daly, Cal Nyhan, Cathal Duggan, Séadhna Crowley, Donncha Collins.

Subs: Padraig O’Sullivan for C. Duggan (40), Eoghan O’Donovan for L. O’Donovan (53), Mark Shanahan for C. O’Neill (55), Oisín Daly for J. Collins (58), Diarmuid O’Callaghan for D. Collins (58).

Kilbree: Aidan O’Shea, Barry Kirby, Séamus Tobin, Darren Deasy, Gearóid McCarthy, Jack Murphy, Patrick Shanahan, Martin O’Donovan, Daniel O’Leary, Jack Coffey, Shane Scannell, Daniel O’Donovan, Thomas McCarthy, Brian Carmody, Ray Shanahan.

Subs: Daniel O’Sullivan for P. Shanahan, Tim O’Donovan for J. Coffey (50), Joe Bailey for T. McCarthy (52).