KEVIN O’Donovan was the star of the show as he drove O'Donovan Rossa’s U15s to victory in the U15 Division 1 county final replay against Macroom in Clonakilty.
The highly-fancied Macroom team had scored 35 goals in their previous ten games and were unbeaten for the season. Rossas recalibrated from the drawn game two weeks previously with Tom McCarthy tasked with marking marquee inside forward Ronan Duggan, while full-back Jamie Donelan marked the influential Michael Ó Duinn. Danny Collins proved highly influential at centre-back and set the tempo of the game from the outset.
After 15 minutes, it was just 0-1 apiece, which reflected the rock-solid defending of Evan Daly, Fionn O’Regan, and Cillian Crowley. Macroom’s Michael Creegan combined well with Donagh Moss in a tight game, with Rossa leading at half-time by two points, 1-4 to 1-2.
Rossas' midfield combination of Niall Hodnett and Kevin O'Donovan proved to be a different class in the second half. The linking of goalkeeper Fionan Herlihy with Kevin O'Donovan was a game-changer. O'Donovan drove at Macroom, scoring some exceptional points and leading by example; he finished the game with eight points having scored 1-7 in the drawn final. The exceptional defensive work from Niall Hodnett allowed Daragh Long into the danger-zone, and he capitalised with five points. Rossas scorers were Kevin O'Donovan (0-8, 2f), Daire Long (0-5), Niall Hodnett (1-0) and Bobby Carstairs (0-1).
Rory Allan played a captain’s role, distributing the ball with pinpoint accuracy. Rossas' inside line of Bobby Carstairs, Daragh Crowley, and Daniel McCarthy posed plenty of problems for the Macroom full-back line.Macroom’s Dylan O’Shea and Dan Ó Liatháin impressed in the second half and worked tirelessly for Macroom. Eli Harte and Ryan Hegarty put in a huge effort, with Rossa winning an exciting game by 1-14 to 2-7.The Rossa management acknowledged the wonderful performances of Mark Fitzgerald, Daire Bohane, Diarmuid Bohane, Aiden Brownie, John O'Regan, Jamie Dowdall, and Martin Keohane in the previous championship games.
John Crowley presented the cup to Skibb’s joint captains Rory Allan and Tom McCarthy.
