Fr Dalton’s take title on the whistle

Fr Dalton's 0-15, Delvin 1-11

A free from midfielder Ciarán Clear right on the sound of the full-time whistle gave Fr Dalton’s a one-point victory over Delvin in the Junior B hurling final, after a game which was hard-fought in Rochfortbridge last Sunday afternoon.

Both sides came in hoping to take the silverware but in the end, it was the green and gold of Eamonn Gallagher’s side who triumphed – the Ballymore manager winning in his first season at the helm. Victory brought great celebrations when the crowd eventually realised the game was not a draw (the lack of scoreboard not helping matters in a tight affair).

Early trading of scores from Dalton’s Michael Murray and Delvin’s Ciarán Fenlon (free) suggested plenty of ticking over on the imaginary scoreboard but it did not really materialise as the combination of the second-half weather and some misfiring kept things relatively low. Strong fielding and defending from the likes of Brian Herward and Liam O’Neill at either end also helped in that facet. With the scores level just after the opening ten, Fr Dalton’s went on a good streak, hitting eight in total to Delvin’s four.

The pick of those were a trio of long-rangers from Clear before the end-to-end action brought further points. Heading towards the break, Delvin’s seeking passes into the forward line were being mopped up, particularly by Brian McCabe who was returning those balls with interest back to his own forward line. A foul on Ivan Smyth earned Fr. Dalton’s a free which Clear converted. At the interval, the scoreline of 0-11 to 0-6 in favour of Fr Dalton’s was probably a fair reflection of the hurling on show.

But Delvin were not going down easily. Inside the opening sixty-seconds, Enda Newman, looking for a point from out wide, saw the sliotar hit the net and the green flag was aloft to suddenly reduce arrears to two. Incredibly, Stephen Reilly in the Delvin goals denied Jack Duncan from close range. The game lulled slightly for a period as Steven Cassidy was carried off injured. Dalton’s found their first of the half over ten minutes into proceedings from Smyth’s free before surviving several goalmouth scrambles. When Clear put them four ahead, things were looking more secure until Delvin rattled as many in reply. Two frees from Fenlon bookended a stunning point from Enda Newman and a fine point from Ross Gaffney – 1-10 to 0-13.

Heading to the final ten, Gallagher’s side went back in front. This time, it was Smyth who pointed the free after Conor McNeill had been fouled. Delvin had chances to level, with two frees being missed within the space of a few minutes. Both the Fenlon brothers had attempts but neither could equalise as time ticked towards the sixty-minute mark. Paddy Kelly was teed up by Jack Forde but his effort drifted wide at the near post – having hung for what must have felt like an eternity for the Delvin support.

With time at the discretion of referee Caymon Flynn, Ciarán Fenlon managed to level from a free to the delight of the supporters. The drama was not done there, however. Liam O’Neill deciding to try and avoid the extra-time in the rain burst up the line only to be fouled after he passed. Clear stepped up and despite the crowd right at his back and the pressure of an entire season on his shoulders, he watched as his effort drifted inside the post enough to give his side the title.

Scorers: Fr Dalton’s: C Clear 0-6 (3 frees), I Smyth 0-5 (4 frees), J Duncan 0-2, M Murray, A Watson 0-1 each.

Delvin: C Fenlon 0-7 (6 frees), E Newman 1-1, R Gaffney 0-2, A Fenlon 0-1.

Fr Dalton’s: Kian Maloney; Seán McCabe, Liam O’Neill, Andrew Slevin; Luke Smyth, Brian McCabe, Shane Fahy; Ciarán Clear, Dylan Murtagh; Michael Murray, Ivan Smyth, Kieran Finnerty; Jack Duncan, Conor McNeill, Adam Watson. Subs used: Shane Kincaid for Slevin (half-time), Evan Finerty for Watson (59).

Delvin: Stephen Reilly; Sebastian McPherson, Brian Herward, Francis McGrath; Oisín Kelly, Liam Carolan, Jack Forde; Ross Gaffney, Aaron Fenlon; Seán Hoctor, Paddy Kelly, Enda Newman; Ciarán Fenlon, Conor Ward, Steven Cassidy. Subs used: Patrick Poynton for Cassidy (injured, 40), Adam McCormack for Ward (54).

Referee: Caymon Flynn (St Brigid’s).

Examiner's Eye on the game

Man of the match

Ciarán Clear (Fr Dalton’s): Ciarán Clear was head and shoulders above the rest – physically and otherwise! The tall midfielder fought hard and took his scores expertly.

Score of the match

Enda Newman’s point with ten minutes to go was fantastic and really brought the crowd to life.