Beale 4-9
Goleen 1-10
GOLEEN’S bid for Munster junior B football glory was undone by a first-half Beale goal burst that left the Carbery champions playing catch-up all through this provincial final.
The men from the Mizen peninsula were hoping to follow in the footsteps of both Clann na nGael (2006) and Randal Óg (2021) who previously won this Munster junior B title, but they came up against a north Kerry team that scored goals at the right time.
While Goleen beat St Kieran’s of Limerick with a late score the previous weekend, this time it was Beale who grabbed the scores that mattered – two quickfire goals inside the opening ten minutes shook the Goleen challenge, as Barry O’Neill and Rob Stack rattled the net for Beale in the eighth and ninth minutes respectively.
Points from Michael O’Reilly, who finished as Goleen’s top scorer, captain Padraig Reidy and Tadhg Cullinane kept the West Cork men in touch, as they trailed 2-6 to 0-5 at the break. The goal they needed to take a dent out of Beale’s lead never arrived, as goalkeeper Joe Downey proved equal to Goleen’s efforts.
When Beale struck for a third goal in the 56th minute, it was game over for Goleen who finally scored a goal of their own in injury time through Darren O'Donovan. Still, Beale hit back with their fourth goal to seal their Munster success.
Goleen will campaign in the junior A ranks this year, having won the Carbery and county confined junior B titles in their memorable 2024 campaign.
Scorers
Beale: R Stack 1-2 (1f); B O’Neill 1-2 (1m); C Toomey 1-1; E Daly 1-0; D Toomey 0-2; E Tydings (m), I Mannix (45) 0-1 each.
Goleen: M O’Reilly 0-7 (6f); D O’Donovan 1-1; P Reidy, T Cullinane 0-1 each.
Beale: J Downey; A O’Connor, J Griffin, J Finch; S O’Sullivan, F Toomey, S O’Connor; R Stack, D Toomey; B O’Neill, C Toomey, J King; E Daly, E Tydings, I Mannix.
Subs: P Holly for S O’Connor (ht), P Blake for A O’Connor (41), P Collins for King (44), C McSweeney for O’Neill (52), R Mulvihill for Tydings (57).
Goleen: R Kennedy; P Collins, J O’Driscoll, Michael Sheehan; R O’Callaghan, P Sheehan, P Reidy; Matthew Sheehan, T Cullinane; J Coughlan, D O’Driscoll, P O’Regan; E Healy, M O’Reilly, P Scully.
Subs: M O’Donovan for Michael Sheehan (inj, 15), D O’Donovan for Scully (ht), A Sheehan for Matthew Sheehan (inj, 35), A Barry for O’Callaghan (50), S O’Leary for O’Regan (58).
Referee: K Guina (Limerick).
