Crosshaven defeat Belgooly to secure Junior B final spot
Crosshaven and Belgooly faced off in wet conditions last night at Tracton GAA in the South-East Junior B Football semi-final.
Crosshaven dominated possession in the opening minutes, leaving Belgooly struggling to gain a foothold. Oisin Buckley managed to break through Belgooly's defense in search of a goal, but his shot drifted wide. With Liam Walsh down injured, Belgooly regrouped and began pressing the Crosshaven defense. However, their passing movement was intercepted by Senan Buckley, who turned play back toward the other end of the pitch. Shay Murphy then seized control to look for the opening point; his shot deflected off Belgooly goalkeeper Shane Corkery and went out for a 45-meter kick with just over five minutes played.
Taken by Darragh, the long ball struck the crossbar and dropped in behind Corkery into the net for a goal. Buoyed by the momentum, Senan Buckley quickly added a point to raise the white flag. Conor O’Donovan responded with Belgooly's first point of the match, but Redvers McGrath struck back to extend Crosshaven’s lead.
Belgooly fought back with successive points from O’Donovan and Nathan Fitzgerald before David Cotter restored Crosshaven’s advantage. Eoin Healy then converted a free for Belgooly, and shortly before the break, Joe O’Sullivan closed the gap to two points. Crosshaven held a 1-04 to 0-05 lead at halftime.
Belgooly set a high tempo early in the second half, raising their intensity to put Crosshaven under pressure. O’Donovan opened the second-half scoring, and although Healy missed a chance to equalize when his 45 went wide, Fitzgerald leveled the scores moments later for the first time in the match.
Murphy attempted to restore Crosshaven’s lead, but his shot was deflected by Corkery; S. Buckley reacted quickly to rebound the loose ball into the net to give Crosshaven the lead once again. Belgooly’s Conor Redmond answered with a point before Fionn Mansfield extended Crosshaven's advantage. Healy reduced the margin with another point, and shortly after, fired past Ray Foley in the Crosshaven goal to put Belgooly ahead for the first time in the game.
With time running out and a place in the final on the line, tensions mounted. Crosshaven appeared to be slipping out of contention after Healy widened Belgooly's margin. However, O. Buckley scored two consecutive points for Crosshaven to level the match once more. Darragh Cogan then restored Crosshaven's lead, and a spectacular two-pointer from O. Buckley sealed a hard-fought victory and secured their spot in the South-East Junior B Football Championship final against Ballygarvan.
Crosshaven: R. Foley, M. Breen, R. McGrath, E. Lynch, L. Walsh, P. Cotter, F. Mansfield, D. Cogan, S Buckley, O. Merchant, D. Cotter, O. Buckley, S. Murphy, J. Fitzgerald, P. Murphy, L. McCarthy, D. Dransfield
Belgooly: S. Corkery, L. Collins, D. Walsh, L. Walsh, E. O'Donovan , N. O'Sullivan, C. O'Sullivan, L. O'Riordan, C. O'Donovan, J. O'Sullivan, E. Healy, N Fitzgerald, C. Redmond, R. Long, R. Power
Ref: Brendan Barrett, Shamrocks
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