Carrigaline cruise to Junior B title

Carrigaline 3-16 | Belgooly 1-7

JJ Hurley

Carrigaline celebrate their victory in the SE Junior B Football Championship Final in Minane Bridge tonight. (Bernard Laverty)

A clinical Carrigaline outfit brushed aside a spirited Belgooly team in the Carrigdhoun Junior B Football Championship Final at Minane Bridge on Monday night.

Boasting a host of players from their Premier Intermediate hurling panel, Carrigaline had both hands on the trophy by half-time, leading 1-12 to 0-2.

It was a night of celebration for the Kelleher household, as Brian and Ronan accounted for a combined 1-10, with Ronan also collecting the Man of the Match award, sponsored by Declan O’Neill Carpentry and Fitted Furniture.

Belgooly, perhaps with one eye on their upcoming Ross Oil South East Junior A Final, struggled for accuracy in front of goal throughout the hour.

Carrigaline started brightly, Brian Kelleher opening the scoring after four minutes, followed by a fine effort from David Drake. Chris O’Sullivan responded with Belgooly’s first point, but by the 20th minute Carrigaline were in full control, leading 0-9 to 0-1 — four of those coming from the in-form Ronan Kelleher.

Further scores from Brian Kelleher, Oisín O’Connell and David Drake extended the lead to 0-11 to 0-2.

Ryan Long momentarily halted the onslaught with a hard-earned point, but Ronan Kelleher’s well-taken goal before the break left Carrigaline cruising at 1-12 to 0-2.

Belgooly's Ryan Long challenging Carrigaline's Alex Crowley (Bernard Laverty)

The second half proved more competitive as Belgooly began to find their rhythm.

Eoin Healy opened their account after the restart, but Carrigaline — led by the Kelleher brothers — maintained their dominance.

Belgooly came close to a goal on 37 minutes when Liam Óg O’Riordan forced a fine save from Michael Lynch, with Ronan Power unable to turn in the rebound.

Conor O’Donovan raised hopes with a point on 40 minutes, but those were dashed five minutes later when Danny Kelly rattled the Belgooly net.

To their credit, Belgooly responded well, hitting the next three scores — two from Healy and a goal from Long — to make it 2-15 to 1-6.

Carrigaline finished with a flourish, Seamus McHugh adding a late goal to cap off an impressive team display.

Long notched Belgooly’s final point, but there was no denying the Carrig men their silverware.

The only blot in the evening was an unfortunate shoulder injury to Carrigaline’s Stephen Dwane, who fell awkwardly late in the game.

Scorers

Carrigaline: R. Kelleher 1-5, B. Kelleher 0-5, D. Drake 0-4 (1f), S. McHugh 1-0, D. Kelly 1-0, H. Andrews, O. O’Connell 0-1 each.Belgooly: R. Long 1-2, E. Healy 0-3 (1f), C. O’Donovan 0-1, C. O’Sullivan 0-1.

Teams

Carrigaline: M. Lynch; S. McHugh, S. Murray, S. Browne; F. O’Connell, S. Dwane, H. Andrews; S. Vaughan, O. O’Connell; R. Kelleher, B. Kelleher, D. Greene; D. Drake, A. Crowley, D. Kelly.Subs: A. Brady for Drake (42), P. Ronayne for Kelly, C. Ryan for O’Connell (49), N. O’Keeffe for Greene (55), C. Landers for Andrews (58).

Belgooly: C. Crowley; F. Reynolds, D. Walsh, D. Cotter; C. O’Sullivan, N. O’Sullivan, R. Power; L. Óg O’Riordan, C. O’Donovan; E. Healy, R. Long, E. O’Donovan; J. O’Sullivan, G. O’Riordan, E. Corkery.Subs: S. Kiely for Reynolds, L. Walsh for Cotter (36), L. Collins for G. O’Riordan, E. Lynch for Corkery (50), B. Collins for O’Donovan, D. Tobin for J. O’Sullivan (56).

Referee: Brendan Barrett.

Seamus McHugh accepting the SE Junior B Football Championship Trophy from SE Chairman Myles Barry in Minane Bridge tonight, after tonight's victory in Minane Bridge (Bernard Laverty)