Winning margin over Dominics not enough to get Buttevant into U-21 final

Buttevant 2-10 St Dominic’s 2-8

THE concluding game of the O’Sullivan/ Lewis (Mitchelstown) Under 21 BFC took place at Doneraile on Tuesday evening when Buttevant faced St. Dominic’s. With Clyda Rovers already through to the final their opponents would come from Charleville, Buttevant or St. Dominic’s.

A win or a share of the spoils for St Dominic’s would put them straight through the final. However this was not the case for Buttevant. They needed to win by 11 points to guarantee their place in the decider. A win by seven points by more would force a play off with Charleville.

In the end they managed to only win by a two-point margin and hence that was enough to see Charleville progress to meet Clyda Rovers in the final. In the meeting between Buttevant and St Dominic’s on Tuesday the sides were level at 0-1 each early on before Buttevant struck for the first goal in the ninth minute when Kevin Lenahan finished a penalty to the net after Ryan Fowley was brought down in the square. Fowley followed with a point soon to make it 1-2 to 0-1. However, St. Dominic’s refused to yield with Jack Coughlan, Damian Curran, Colm Whelton, John O’Sullivan, Stephen Condon, Jessie Walsh and Eric O’Donoghue thundering into the game.

Both teams traded a point before St Dominic’s were back in the hunt in the 22nd minute when Colm Whelton set up Jack Coughlan for a well taken goal 1-3 to 1-2. In the run up to the break both teams continued to kick a number of wides. The sides were level in the 27th minute when Jerome Fitzgibbon and Stephen Condon linked up well to release Jessie Walsh for a point.

At the otherend Buttevant moved in front again at the end of the normal time when Kevin Lenahan set up John O’Neill for a point. In injury time Christopher O’Toole and John O’Sullivan traded a free as Buttevant held a 1-5 to 1-4 interval lead.

On the changeover with so much at stake both teams threw caution to the wind. St. Dominic’s were denied an early goal scoring chance when the Buttevant keeper Ronan Donovan saved well from Stephen Condon with the rebound falling to Jessie Walsh who kicked over to force parity.

However, as the half went on Buttevant upped their efforts greatly. They kicked over two rapid points before they breached the St. Dominic’s defence for a second goal in the 38th minute when Jamie Whelan, Mark Lenahan and Gavin Carey combined well to set up the inrushing Ryan Fowley for a great goal 2-7 to 1-5. Further pressure saw John O’Neill set up Gavin Carey for a point to make it a six point game.

St. Dominic’s refused to give in and their challenge ignited once again and by the 51st minute the lead was back to three points when Eric O’Donoghue (2) and Jack Coughlan had points 2-8 to 1-8. Buttevant responded with a point courtesy of Mark Lenahan. At the other end St. Dominic’s created another goal scoring chance when the Buttevant keeper Ronan Donovan denied Jack Blackburne at the expense of a ‘45’.

In a close finish Buttevant came close to a third goal when Ryan Fowley attempt at goal was brilliantly saved by the St Dominic’s keeper Ciaran Murphy. In the closing moments St. Dominic’s continued to surge forward.

In the 59th minute Stephen Condon had their second goal that closed the margin to a point. St. Dominic’s pressed hard for the equalising point that would send them to the final but it was not to be with Buttevant completing the scoring in injury time with a Denis O’Sullivan point. However, it was also not enough for them with Charleville the overall victors on the night as they progressed to the final against Clyda Rovers.

BUTTEVANT: R Donovan, M Walsh, J O’Riordan, C Stanners, B O’Connor, J Whelan, N Crowley, D O’Sullivan 0-1, K Lenahan 1-3 (1-0 pen, 0-2f), C O’Gorman, J O’Neill 0-1, C O’Toole 0-1, M Lenahan, R Fowley 1-3, P Behan. Subs: G Carey 0-1 for C O’Gorman, J Ivory for C Stanners, O Noonan for N Crowley, D McAuliffe for M Walsh, S O’Callaghan for K Lenahan.

ST DOMINIC’S: C Murphy, P Kiely, D Mullins, C Dennehy, C Whelton D Curran, E Roche 0-1, J Coughlan 1-1 (0-1f), M Blackburne, J O’Sullivan 0-1f. E O’Donoghue 0-2 (1f), J Walsh 0-1, S Condon 1-1, J Blackburne, J Fitzgibbon 0-1. Subs: J Kiely for E Roche, J Roche for J O’Sullivan (blood), J O’Sullivan for J Roche,

REFEREE: Michael Sheehan (Liscarroll)