Éire Óg see off ‘Bullogue

most to keep them in the hunt until the dying minutes was goalkeeper Finbarr Foley.

He brought off three brilliant saves in the first half, at the end of which Aghabullogue led by 1-8 to 0-6, their goal coming from Ian Barry-Murphy in the 10th minute. It was a stunning strike by the Aghabullogue corner forward, and it enabled them to hit the front for the first time at 1-2 to 0-2.

Kevin Hallissey and Paul McDonagh had bagged the first two scores for Éire Óg before John Corkery and Matthew Bradley replied for Aghabullogue, who, thanks to Barry-Murphy’s goal Bradley’s accuracy from placed balls and Foley’s heroics between the sticks, managed to build up a five-point lead before the break.

Aided by a strong wind, however, Éire Óg were entitled to fancy their chances of making up the leeway in the second half, and they didn’t take very long to put Aghabullogue under pressure on the resumption.

After Keith O’Riordan got them off the mark with a point, Daniel Goulding touched home a long delivery from Dermot Herlihy to cut the game to the minimum inside 34 minutes.

Shrugging off that set-back, Aghabullogue gave as good as they got over the next 20 minutes when David Moynihan and John Buckley at the back, John Corkery at midfield, and Matthew Bradley in attack did most to sustain their challenge.

As a fascinating battle for supremacy unfolded between two highly committed and determined teams, the prospect of a replay loomed large as the clock ticked down, but Éire Óg, leading by a point, got the rub of the green when it mattered most, with a rare mistake by outstanding Aghabullogue ‘keeper Foley enabling them to seal the deal.

It was by no means unfitting,however, that Dermot Herlihy should have the satisfaction of delivering the killer-blow for Éire Óg, as he was constantly in the picture on the ‘40, making life difficult for Niall Buckley, who has been Aghabullogue’s defensive mainstay for several seasons, with his pace and industry.

Elsewhere, Éire Óg were particularly well served by midfielder John Cooper and defenders John Mullins and Fionn O’Rourke. Éire Óg’s next assignment will be against Midleton’s second team, and they will draw a lot of encouragement from this performance going forward.

Filled with hard, skilful and sporting exchanges, it was indeed a game to be savoured, and a credit to both sides.