Diarmuid Ó Murchús Claim First County Title with Second-Half Surge

Diarmuid Ó Murchús 1-12 (1-2-8)  Newcestown 0-9 (1-0-9)

(JJ Hurley)

Diarmuid Ó Murchús celebrating their first county title tonight in Bishopstown

Diarmuid Ó Murchús claimed their first county title with a powerful second-half performance as they defeated Newcestown in the Fé 18 D1 Football final at Bishopstown on Saturday night.

Trailing by a single point at the interval, the Carrigdhoun side upped the ante in the second period, led by the influential Oisín Buckley.

However, the real turning point came after 35 minutes, as David Cotter ran through the Newcestown defence to smash the ball past Mark Kelleher in the Newcestown net.

In the opening 30 minutes, the Carrigdhoun outfit had Ray Foley and Sam Glossip to thank for avoiding a similar fate, as they both intervened to prevent certain goals.

It had been advantage the Carbery side, who opened the scoring thanks to Patrick Twomey after four minutes.

Callum Mulcahy levelled the tie after six minutes, but Newcestown were out in front on ten minutes thanks to Flor Kenneally and Sam Long.

A brace from Cian Lynch had the sides all square before two Diarmuid Kelly points made it a two-point game on 24 minutes.

A David Herlihy point a minute later resulted in the bare minimum between the sides, and that’s the way it stayed going in at the break.

The opening score of the second half came from Buckley, as Tadgh O’Sullivan gave Newcestown the advantage again.

However, Cotter’s cool finish to the opponents’ net handed the initiative to his side as they raced into a 1-12 to 0-7 lead after 49 minutes, which included two two-point scores from Shane O’Flynn and Herlihy.

The remaining 11 minutes proved to be a nervy affair for their travelling supporters, but Ó Murchús stood firm, including an important catch from goalkeeper Foley and a goal-line block from the defence from a Kenneally free.

Despite not scoring for the remainder of the contest, as Long and Luke Dollery fired over, the Carrigdhoun men were well deserving of their victory on the night.

Scorers for Diarmuid Ó Murchús:D. Cotter 1-0, C. Lynch (1f), D. Herlihy (1 2pt), S. O’Flynn (1 2pt) 0-3 each, D. Buckley 0-2, C. Mulcahy 0-1.

Newcestown:S. Long (1f), C. Kelly 0-2 each; P. Twomey, F. Kenneally, T. O’Sullivan, L. Dollery, H. Canty 0-1 each.

Teams:

Diarmuid Ó Murchús: R. Foley; D. Josephy, B. O’Mahony, S. Glossop; Shane O’Flynn, O. Auzins; D. Kelly, D. Herlihy; S. Buckley; D. Cotter, O. Buckley, Donal Herlihy; C. Mulcahy, C. Lynch, R. Considine.Subs: F. McSweeney for R. Considine, C. McCarthy for C. Mulcahy.

Newcestown: M. Kelleher; E. Sexton, O. Callan, N. O’Sullivan; J. Coomey, D. O’Mahony, H. Flanagan; F. Kenneally (c), H. Canty; T. O’Sullivan, S. Long, S. Allen; R. O’Neill, P. Twomey, O. Kelly.Subs: D. O’Sullivan for S. Allen, D. McSweeney for S. Long, L. Dollery for R. O’Neill.

Referee: C. Maher (Buttevant).

Joint captains David Herlihy and Senan Buckley collecting the sides first county title