Lios Póil land Junior title after second half revival against Beale

IT wasn’t the moment that was the winning and losing of the match but considering the cosh they had been under in the second quarter of the first period, Garrett Noonan’s goal for Lios Póil right at the end of injury time was a table turner at the break. After going 27 minutes without a score and having to withstand some strong Beale pressure where they could have got in for more goals than Darragh Buckley’s 21st minute green flag, Lios Póil had a lot more to be confident about at the break in only trailing by 1-5 to 1-2 rather than by six points.

In what was a tough, uncompromising and physical game at times, it came down to score-taking in the end and although Beale had plenty of heart, determination and drive, ultimately their ability not to take numerous chances in the second period came against them. There was a tricky wind in Austin Stack Park on Saturday evening that was hard to judge. It wasn’t a major issue for Lios Póil inside the first seven minutes when Tom Kavanagh and Declan O’Sullivan scored the opening points but Kavanagh should really have added another one in the 10th minute when he fired a point come goal attempt straight at Sean Dee.

Killian Walsh O’Boyle (cleared by Lios Póil defender Ronan Griffin), Cormac Linnane and James McMahon had gotten sniffs at goal at the scoreboard end but it was Declan Bambury who put Beale on the scoreboard in the 14th minute following a great field from McMahon in the buildup. Between the 19th and 23rd minute it was all about Darragh Buckley however as he hit 1-3.

The goal came after a great burst by Linnane in the build-up which the Lios Póil defence had no answer for before Buckley fisted the ball into the top of the net. When Tom Joy made it 1-5 to 0-2 it looked a tall order for Lios Póil but they kept going until the short whistle. There was an element of patience in the move that saw Noonan power through for a goal that had the game right back in the melting pot.

Similar to the impact he had coming on as a sub against Castlegregory in the semi-final, Kieran ‘Cinn Ard’ O’Sullivan was introduced for the second period and he had a big role in giving Lios Póil another outlet.

Buckley and Linnane kept Beale ahead by 1-7 to 1-5 after 41 minutes but six consecutive scores for Lios Póil and six consecutive wides for Beale were telling in determining the eventual outcome.

Declan O’Sullivan levelled the game up in the 44th minute and had Lios Póil ahead by the 47th minute with three consecutive points for the corner-forward. Both sides hit the outside of the post in quick succession but the game was starting to slip for Beale come the final 10 minutes as a free from Cathal O’Sullivan and a Donnacha Higgins point in the 54th minute had Lios Póil ahead by three.

Beale lost Paul Collins to a second yellow card approaching injury time as Garrett Noonan scored a decent effort in the third minute of additional time to finish off the scoring before another effort tailed wide after. Darragh Buckley was the game’s top scorer with 1-5 but how Beale will wish they could have converted at least half of their missed chances in losing out like they did.

With Brian Rayle’s seasonal departure to America and Mike Jim Fitzgerald’s suspension, Lios Póil pulled off a pretty significant success, one that owed a lot to resilience in the face of adversity twice during the knockout stages.

The defeat will tough to take for a while for Beale but they did show there is something for them to build on going forward, but showing more composure in front of the posts will be a major part of what they need to do in trying to move on to the next level.

The number six had a lot to do with last Saturday evening and it’s fitting that Man-of-the-Match Declan O’Sullivan scored six points in his side’s win.