Brave Cocks go down fighting
Jack McDonald releases the ball in the second half for the Fighting Cocks Photo: Pat Ahern
Grangenolvin were deserving winners of this Leinster Junior Football Championship title at SETU Carlow Campus on Sunday when they edged out the Carlow champions in what turned out to be a tight game.
Playing with the wind in the opening half, the eventual winners got off to a perfect start as Conaill Bergin knocked over two points and Nathan Doyle raised a white flag. Tomas Cullen also had the ball in the net but his effort was ruled out for a square ball.
An Aaron Dowling 13th minute free got the home side off the mark but Grangenolvin were unstoppable in that opening thirty minutes. They put pressure on the Cocks kick-out and while they didn’t make full use of the ball, they still led 1-9 to 0-1 at the interval. The three-pointer came in the fifteenth minute when Bergin glided in at the end of a passing movement to shoot low and hard past a helpless Darragh Byrne in the home goal.
The Cocks hit the ground running in the second half as Billy Molloy knocked over a point and William Kelly registered a two-pointer. When Cillian Fagan took on the defence and slid the ball under the advancing keeper for a goal, the game was there for the taking.
Grangenolvin refused to panic and instead took the initiative. The Cocks kept themselves in the game with two tremendous blocks to keep their opponents from scoring. Yet Brian Cullen raised a vital white flag for the Kildare side.
Even an Aaron Dowling two-point free didn’t act as inspiration for the Cocks. Grangenolvin replied with single points from Oran Bergin and Cullen cancelling out Dowling’s accuracy.
With four minutes left, the Cocks threw everything they had at their opponents in a bid to rescue their cause. Dowling and Fagan both pointed. The visiting defence responded and squeezed a forward line, who had built a reputation for itself throughout their victorious campaign in Carlow and subsequently in Leinster. Yet the champions in waiting had enough of the ball to kill time as they used a combination of youth and experience to see out the game with that little bit to spare.
Conal Bergin 1-2, Oran Bergin 0-3, Nathan Doyle 0-2, Brian Cullen 0-2, Fionn Bergin 0-2 (fs), Timmy Doyle 0-1.
Aaron Dowling 0-4 (1-2pf 2fs), Cillian Fagan 1-1, William Kelly 0-2 (2p), Billy Molloy 0-1.
Conor McMahon; Gavin Ivory, Lewis Gannon, Lee Doyle; Paul Huntington, Dylan Costigan, Brian Cullen; Cillian Bergin, Conaill Bergin, Keith McGloin, Tomas Cullen, Fionn Bergin; Timmy Doyle, Oran Bergin, Nathan Doyle.
Subs: Ross Dooley for McGloin (38), Aaron Phelan for T Doyle (44), James Gannon for T Cullen (52), Johnny Lawlor for Cillian Bergin (60), Danny Cullen for Cullen (60).
Darragh Byrne; Conor Ruane, James Hickey, Dylan Ruane; Billy Molloy, William Kelly, Billy Nolan; Cormac McElligott, Liam Sheppard; Trevor Watchorn, Jack McDonald, Emmet Moran; Cillian Fagan, Alan Quigley, Aaron Dowling.
Subs: Mattie Dowling for Watchorn (39), Glenn O’Rourke for Quigley (38), Matthew E Hayden for Molloy (52).
Colm McCullough (Louth)
