The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
McCarthy hat trick helps Na Gaeil to All-Ireland Club Junior football title
ALL IRELAND CLUB JFC FINAL Na Gaeil 3-20 Rathgarogue / Cushinstown 1-5
NA GAEIL put a shaky opening quarter behind them in some style to romp to a comprehensive 21-point victory over an outclassed Rathgarogue / Cushinstown outfit and become the tenth Kerry club to win the All-Ireland JFC title at Croke Park on Saturday afternoon.
If truth be told, the ‘real’ final was always going to be the epic semi-final encounter in Ennis two weeks previously where the Tralee side received the fright of their lives against Kilmaine before advancing in extra-time by the minimum of margins, and the mental and physical pummelling that Na Gaeil encountered that day was always going to stand to them in great stead.
So it proved to be on Saturday as their Wexford opponents failed miserably to continue producing monumental upsets (they had already ousted the Dublin, Meath and Monaghan champions on their path to the decider), despite a very promising first half for their prospects.
Even though they dominated possession, territory and the creation of scoring opportunities, Na Gaeil manager Donal Rooney must have been somewhat flabbergasted to find his men trailing (0-4 to 0-3) after 19 minutes. Wasting goal chances, running into cul-de-sacs and taking the wrong shooting options were all hindering their display.
Enter an unlikely figure. Captain Eoin Doody. Taking the game by the scruff of the neck, the Na Gaeil wingback kicked three points on-the-trot (two from play) to show the composure that had been hitherto lacking to steady the ship (0-6 to 0-4) and inspire his teammates, before what turned out to be the Achilles heel in the underdogs’ performance reared its ugly head to catastrophic effect.
Opting for treacherously dangerous short kick-outs from the outset (presumably to reduce the influence of Na Gaeil’s inter-county midfield partnership of Jack Barry and
Diarmuid O’Connor), Nicky
Sinnott diced with death one time too many in the 27th minute where Dara Devine picked his pocket to set Ian
McCarthy clean through on goal and the intelligent attacker made no mistake.
Two further points followed for the Kerry side before Rathgarogue / Cushinstown were given a glimmer of light before the interval when Damien Bourke was harshly judged to have fouled Tadhg Cody in the square, and the afore-mentioned Sinnott gave his fellow net-minder, Timmy Culloty, no chance with a textbook spot-kick finish.
Only four points up (1-8 to 1-4) at the break, having kicked eight wides to none from the Wexford men, there might have been a little blow of the hair-dryer from Rooney and his management team before the resumption. They would have demanded an increased focus and ruthlessness. By God did they get what they wanted!
Thundering out of the blocks, points by Mike Griffin, Diarmuid Herlihy and McCarthy soon followed before Na Gaeil struck for their second goal in the 37th minute. Jack Barry was the instigator with a quick free to the now rampant Herlihy, who tormented his marker before rocketing a shot off the bar, and there was ace poacher McCarthy to apply the finishing touch from the rebound.
Rathgarogue / Cushinstown were continuing to shoot themselves in the foot with their kick-out strategy and another five unanswered points from Na Gaeil ended the game as a contest after only 12 minutes of the second period (2-16 to 1-4).
A blistering scoring blitz of 1-8 from ten attempts at the post. The four-point lead at half-time was now extended to fifteen. Game over. Name on the trophy for Na Gaeil. Absolutely clinical and decisive.
For Rooney and his players, they could enjoy the luxury of sauntering through the final quarter, with the coup de grace provided by 43-year-old Paul Daly coming off the bench and scoring a point, with McCarthy sealing a deserved man-of-the-match award with his hat-trick goal in injury-time.
For Na Gaeil, a perfect day in every single respect. The perfect denouement to the season of their lives.
NA GAEIL: Timmy Culloty; Ryan O’Neill 0-1, Eoin O’Neill, Damien Bourke 0-1; Kieran O’Donovan, Andrew Barry, Eoin Doody 0-3 (0-1 free); Diarmuid O’Connor, Jack Barry 0-1; Dan O’Connor, Dan Goggin 0-1, Ian McCarthy 3-2; Dara Devine 0-3 (0-2 frees), Mike Griffin 0-3, Diarmuid Herlihy 0-3 Subs: Kieran Dineen for Dan O’Connor, 42, Jamie Lowham for Griffin, 46, Eoin Walsh for E O’Neill, 46, Darragh Reen 0-1 for Goggin, 48, James O’Connor for O’Donovan, 49, Paul Daly (0-1f) for Doody, 58
RATHGAROGUE/CUSHINSTOWN: Nicky Sinnott 1-0 (penalty); Paidi McGrath, Peadar Cody, Patrick Murphy; Brian O’Neill, Eoin Porter, Bryan Cody; Daniel Martin Carroll 0-1, Matthew Cody; Bernard Furlong, Daire Bolger
0-2 (frees), Tadhg Cody 0-1; Eric Cummins, Robert Murphy, Jason Dunne 0-1 Subs: Mark Power for O’Neill, 24, Ollie Bolger for McGrath, 36, Aaron Ryan for Cummins, 42, Luke O’Connor for Murphy, 55, Paddy Barron for D Bolger, 58, Jonathan Kelly for Sinnott, 58
REFEREE: Seán Lonergan (Tipperary)