AGB overcome brave Kilcoole
AGB KILCOOLE 6-03 2-03
ARKLOW Geraldines held off a spirited challenge from Kilcoole to take the Under-13 ‘C’ football crown in Ballinakill on a dry, but altogether chilly Sunday afternoon.
It was a fast tempo game with brilliant skills in both attacking and defending on show.
Arklow were quickest into gear as Tiernan Gahan registered an early goal and AGB built up an eight-point lead midway through the first half.
Kilcoole had some brilliant footballers on show themselves and battled back into the game. Goals from Charlie Frawley and Alec Dutton had them right in it with just 15 minutes to go. But in the end it was Arklow who finished the strongest and three late goals gave them a deserved victory, albeit with a somewhat flattering scoreline.
The game started at a frenetic pace. Neither side was giving up an inch. There were hard but fair challenges right from the get go.
Conor Gahan dispossessed a Kilcoole counterpart and from the resultant attack the ball was swiftly worked to wing-forward Tiernan Gahan.
The tricky number 10 stepped inside and buried the leather low to the net, giving AGB the perfect start.
Arklow were strong in defence, and despite some good Kilcoole play they couldn’t seem to get past the half forward line early on as the likes of Jack Flusk and Paul Moore were meeting them with stern resistance.
This allowed AGB build up early pressure and scoring opportunities.
The first point of the game came with 12 minutes on the clock. Brian Hurley and Adam O’Leary exchanged passes around the 45, before the latter took off and darted towards goal.
O’Leary looked like he was about to get penned in but did well to turn and fist back to the waiting Patrick Shaw, who duly curled over from 25 yards.
Arklow soon extended their lead with another major as Aaron O’Brien finished brilliantly to the top corner after being expertly picked out by Brian Hurley.
Hurley was having a big influence on the game. He was finding space around the 45 and unlocking the Kilcoole defence some exquisite passing or taking on their backs himself.
If Kilcoole were to get back in it they would have to limit his supply.
Slowly but surely, Kilcoole clawed their way into the game. Craig Davies made a lung-bursting solo run up the left wing before delivering a high ball towards goal. The ball found Charlie Frawley. His effort was top corner bound but denied by an acrobatic Denis O’Reilly save.
O’Reilly was again called upon soon after as he tipped away a Louis Thomas shot.
Kilcoole finally got the goal their play deserved on 20 minutes though, as Alec Dutton found the bottom right corner after good work from Sam Butler.
Charlie Frawley added a second, to leave just two points separating the sides, with a ball rifled in from the right which deceived everyone.
Brian Hurley had the final say of the half however. He brilliantly finished to the top right corner to leave five points between the sides at half time.
The start of the second half proved to be somewhat of a stalemate with neither side registering a score in the opening 12 minutes upon the restart.
You got the sense that if Kilcoole could get the first goal or string a couple of scores together it could go down to the wire.
Conor Healy thought he had the first point for AGB but his effort was waved wide after some discussion.
Kilcoole did register the first score of the second half after 42 minutes as Charlie Frawley converted a free off the ground from inside the D.
Kilcoole came close to getting a goal a couple of times with Frawley, Davies and Micheal Shannon lofting in dangerous balls but each time Arklow managed to clear their lines and, despite their dominance in the second half’s opening Kilcoole could only muster a single point.
That proved costly, and when AGB’s purple patch came they made them pay in full. Brian Hurley finished off a flowing move past the helpless Ben Campbell and from the resultant kick-out Arklow won a free, which Hurley converted and all of a sudden a four point lead became eight.
Conor Gahan delivered a sumptuous low ball, which found Adam O’Leary and the corner-forward made no mistake to goal from close range. Arklow sealed the victory with a well taken goal from substitute Fionn Henry, who had a fine game when introduced, and despite some late Kilcoole pressure the gap was too wide to make up with not enough time.
A deserved victory for Arklow but the score line didn’t do Kilcoole justice and if they had taken their chances at certain times it could have been a very different game.
Best for Kilcoole were Craig Davies, Seán Byrne and Charlie Frawley while the whole AGB back line, along with goalkeeper O’Reilly were hugely impressive while Brian Hurley was the star man up front.
Scorers - AGB: Brian Hurley 2-2 (0-2 F), Adam O’Leary 1-0, Aaron O’Brien 1-0, Tiernan Gahan 1-0, Fionn Henry 1-0, Patrick Shaw 0-1.
Kilcoole: Charlie Frawley 1-1 (0-1 F), Alec Dutton 1-0, Sam Butler 0-1, Jack Collier 0-1.
TOMACORK MICHAEL DWYERS 3-3 1-7
AS this game entered added time at the end of the second half Tomacork mentors made one final throw of the dice.
They were two points in arrears when they moved centre back James McGing to full-forward in a last gasp move to pull the game out of the fire.
James got one opportunity and turned defeat into victory when he lashed home the winning goal. While the game continued for another minute or so the final whistle brought great jubilation to the Tomacork players contrasting with desolation for Michael Dwyers, who had been so cruelly denied at the end.
Played in glorious sunshine on a good hurling sod for November in Ballinakill on Sunday, this U15 hurling final took a little while to open out.
A strong chilly breeze favoured Tomacork but it took them a good while to settle into the game.
Brian Keogh opened the Dwyers account in the second minute and ten minutes had elapsed before the impressive Tom Moran put the Western side two points ahead.
Tomacork were pressing but were also wayward in their shooting. Eoin Kavanagh, Owen Young and centre-back James McGing were showing well at this stage but were getting little reward for their efforts.
Eoin Kavanagh broke the deadlock when he scored the first goal of the game after seventeen minutes.
Kavanagh added a point five minutes later. Jake Kelly reduced the gap to a point as halftime approached.
Owen Young struck twice for Tomacork just before the break. First he pointed and then provided his team with a cushion of a fivepoint lead when he scored the games second goal.
The half-time score stood at 2-2 to 0-3 in favour of Tomacork.
Michaels Dwyers would have the help of the strong breeze for the second half but they needed to improve on their shooting.
Both sides battled manfully in the second half. Eoin Byrne got Dwyers off to a good start with the first point of the half but a pointed free from Eoin Kavanagh restored the five-point gap.
The Western side’s half backs Brandan Ryan, Brian Keogh and Ben Burke came strongly into the game.
With Tom Moran, Darren Birmingham, Jake Kelly, Jack Grace and full forward Brian Keogh, who was now playing further outfield, all putting in a sterling performance, the flow of play was strongly in the direction of the Tomacork defence.
However, Tom Collins, Conor Wafer and Dylan Farrell were very solid and cleared an amount of ball from their goal area.
In front of them, James McGing was having an inspired game at centre back. While Jake Kelly had pointed for Dwyers in the sixth minute, twenty minutes had elapsed before their next score.
Jack Grace and Tom Moran pointed in quick succession but it was looking likely that Michael Dwyer’s would need a goal to save the game.
When Brian Keogh delivered that goal with four minutes left the Western side must have felt that they would get over the line.
However, McGing rescued Tomacork with that last gasp goal. The final score was 3-3 to 1-7. Martin Fitzgerald presented the trophy to the victorious Tomacork side.
James McGing received the Wicklow People Man of the Match award.
Scorers - Tomacork: Eoin Kavanagh 1-2, Owen Young 1-1, James McGing 1-0.
Michael Dwyers: Brian Keogh 1-1, Jake Kelly 0-2, Tom Moran 0-2, Jack Grace 0-1, Eoin Byrne 0-1.