Horeswood return to top flight in tight finish
Favourites survive a late scare to regain Senior status
HORESWOOD HAD to utilise all of the wits and know-how in their armoury in a tight finish before pipping Crossabeg-Ballymurn to make an immediate return to the top flight of club football in Innovate Wexford Park on Saturday.
This Amber Springs/Ashdown Park Hotels Intermediate championship final was a game of swaying fortunes, and clearly the victors’ seven-point haul without reply from the 25th minute to halftime proved crucial in edging the verdict by the same margin as in April’s group meeting.
Their unerring accuracy approaching the break pushed them clear by 0-13 to 0-5, and gave them a vital cushion that was needed when wind-aided Crossabeg-Ballymurn came strong on the re-start.
It was still looking good for Horeswood when they led by 0-16 to 0-12 coming into the last ten minutes, but then their rivals conjured a goal out of nothing and it made for a grandstand finish to a quite open and entertaining contest.
When Crossabeg-Ballymurn’s Mark O’Connor gave a pass to Robert Byrne, the full-forward caught the opposition by surprise as he turned swiftly and unleashed a first-time drive that beat Conor Swaine after striking the left post and flying across goal into the far corner.
The underdogs had momentum and the elements in their favour, and a glorious chance to reach Senior ranks for the first time ever in their seventh county final appearance in eight years, a journey that has brought them all the way up from Junior ‘B’.
Sadly for them, composure and finishing let them down badly when it was needed most, as they kicked four wides after that goal when Horeswood were hanging on for dear life.
The leaders were confined to rare breakaways, although one almost yielded a goal when substitute Darren Shannon shot low to the left and wide after exchanging passes with David Larkin.
They needed one of their more experienced players to get on the ball and create something, and that’s exactly what happened as the game moved into its three added minutes.
Team captain P.J. Banville, later named the official man of the match, took off on a solo run on the right wing at the Clonard end and didn’t stop until he earned a 20-metre free in a position that was ideal for left-footer Jamie Myler to slot over (0-17 to 1-12).
Crossabeg-Ballymurn did reply just 40 seconds later when Cormac O’Rourke kicked his third point after good work by Mark O’Connor and Paddy Devereux.
And they got one late chance to level it when defender Seamus Carroll had a pot-shot from 50 metres, but it resulted in his side’s eleventh second-half wide, and 16th in all, before they were left to reflect ruefully just seconds later on a missed opportunity.
The underdogs had started full of fire playing into the wind after losing the toss, with Cathal Devereux and Cormac O’Rourke kicking them ahead after just over two minutes.
P.J. Banville got Horeswood off the mark before a Mark O’Connor attempt on goal lacked power at the other end, while Declan Murphy opted for an equaliser rather than testing rival netminder Ben Turner in the fifth minute (0-2 each).
Jamie Myler (free) and Murphy – after a legitimate bone-shuddering challenge by Shane O’Hanlon on Paddy Devereux – pushed the New Ross District side ahead for the first time before Pádraig Foley replied after a solo run, and a brace of points from the deadly-accurate county Under-20 Seán Nolan made it 0-6 to 0-3 by the 20th minute.
Crossabeg-Ballymurn were up for this challenge though, and there was no reason to predict their late first-half collapse after Sam Kelly (free) and Mark O’Connor originally brought it back to a one-point game.
The fact that captain and fullback Oisín Foley had to take kick-outs put undue pressure on the team in general approaching half-time, with injured netminder Ben Turner later replaced at the break by Michael Eviston who took over re-starting duties.
However, by that stage Horeswood had established a considerably more healthy 0-13 to 0-5 advantage, after that late seven-point haul in five minutes plus the three added.
They had a lucky escape beforehand when Conor Swaine sent a kick-out straight to Paddy Devereux who bore down on goal but pulled his shot wide.
Two converted P.J. Banville frees then started the purple patch before David Larkin, Banville (free), Jamie Myler, Banville (play) and Seán Nolan widened that margin to eight by half-time.
Crossabeg-Ballymurn resumed with wind advantage, but four wides in the first six minutes, and just one point from a Sam Kelly free, wasn’t a very encouraging sign.
And while their rate of finishing did improve as the third quarter wore on, Horeswood still led by 0-15 to 0-10 entering the last 15 minutes after Seán Nolan picked off another two points amid similar scores at the town end from Mark O’Connor, Cormac O’Rourke, O’Connor again from a goal chance that flew over, and Paddy Devereux.
Indeed, Crossabeg-Ballymurn kicked five points without reply between the 41st and 48th minutes, with the last two in that sequence coming from Pádraig Foley and Sam Kelly (free) to reduce arrears to 0-15 to 0-12.
Substitute Michael O’Hanlon boxed a Horeswood point from a P.J. Banville cross from the right to relieve some of the pressure, but they were in a fight to the death after Robert Byrne grabbed that opportunist goal and gave Crossabeg-Ballymurn a fleeting taste of what the rise to Senior ranks might feel like.
Horeswood, who only kicked four wides compared to their rivals’ 16, have been in enough tight situations over the years to know exactly what’s required to pull through, and that was the case again as they just about survived.
In doing so, they bridged a 20year gap since their sole previous Intermediate title, having played exclusively in Senior ranks from then up to the end of last year and winning four championships in the process.
Then as now, that loyal and talented servant, Leigh O’Brien, was centre-back on the winning team while Darren O’Reilly, midfielder in 1998, was an unused substitute on Saturday.
Horeswood have a quick turnaround before meeting Kilkenny Senior champions Mullinavat, idle since the end of July, in their Leinster Club opener in New Ross on Saturday.
Manager Aidan O’Brien will be well versed in the habits of players like John Walsh, Oisín Knox, Adam Mansfield and captain Jamie Fennelly, all of whom played on various Good Counsel College teams over the years.
Horeswood: Conor Swaine; Kevin Parker, Barry Hearn, Seán Stafford; Eddie Shiely, Leigh O’Brien, Johnny Keating; Colin Nolan, Shane O’Hanlon; Ciarán Deely, Jamie Myler (0-3, 2 frees), David Larkin (0-1); Declan Murphy (0-2), P.J. Banville (capt., 0-5, 3 frees), Seán Nolan (0-5). Subs. - Michael O’Hanlon (0-1) for Deely (46), Darren Shannon for Shiely (54), also Eamonn O’Sullivan, Eric Banville, David Shannon, Gavin Murphy, Eoin Murphy, David Murphy, David O’Shea, Darren O’Reilly, Eddie Breen, Brendan Howlin, Brian Kehoe.
Crossabeg-Ballymurn: Ben Turner; Martin Redmond, Oisín Foley (capt.), Conor Barlow; Seamus Carroll, Ronan Devereux, Conor Devereux; Paddy Devereux (0-1), Pádraig Foley (0-2); Bill Eviston, Robert Byrne (1-0), Cathal Devereux (0-1); Cormac O’Rourke (0-3), Sam Kelly (0-3 frees), Mark O’Connor (0-3). Subs. - Andy Butler for Barlow (19), Michael Eviston for Turner, inj. (HT), Oran Maddock for Cathal Devereux (42), Eoin McDonald for Byrne (60), also Evan Kinlough, Matty Sludds, David Kehoe, Cian Lambert, Conor Gormley, Eoin O’Connor, Jack Fortune, Robert Murphy.
Referee: James Owens (Kilrush).