Resilient Delvin reach final as Crookedwood fall short

Delvin 1-19, Crookedwood 2-15

It was a case of so near yet so far as Crookedwood came within a whisker of defying the odds, but in the end if was Delvin who won the battle in Senior B and head to the divisional decider as 0-10 from Darragh Clinton set them on their way in a cold St Mary’s Rochfortbridge GAA on Sunday last.

With both sides needing a result to guarantee either a final or semi-final, the Wood left the venue knowing they had chances and on another day some better decision making may have helped.

For Delvin, sturdy performances from back to front, particularly both Ennis men, Clinton, and Francis McGrath helped them take the slender win.

It was Dean Ennis who got things going with a lovely score early on before Clinton tapped over a routine free soon after. In between, Crookedwood felt aggrieved as Barry O’Mara saw his free waved wide unjustly. Ciarán Fenlon found his range before the ball was in the net as Josh Coll’s high lobbing effort into the mix landed in the net with several bodies leaping to catch. Delvin added another three points before the 20th minute as Eoin Carolan, Killian Murphy, and Clinton all struck. The Wood did have some joy before the half ended but it all stemmed from O’Mara and his astonishing free-taking ability with four, five, and six all coming off the placed-ball routine.

The half ended with plenty of drama. Ciarán Fenlon’s point and Clinton’s free were cancelled out and more by a brilliant piece of thinking and accuracy from Shane McGovern. The Crookedwood half-forward defying logic to drill perfectly to the bottom corner of the net beyond the bodies. At the break, Delvin were ahead by 1-9 to 1-7 as both sides seemed content, despite Crookedwood not scoring from play.

Clinton and O’Mara (free) hit a point each in a quick start to the half. Patrick Clune, Francis McGrath, and Adam Ennis were rock solid at the back and Alan Cox, Clinton (3 frees and one from play), and Fenlon all built the lead up greater.

Crookedwood's main scoring source continued to provide as O’Mara hit two more frees. Heading to the final six minutes and down 1-18 to 1-12, the Wood needed something special. It came with minutes left when McLoughlin put the ball in the net beyond Adam Mitchell.

Clinton and O’Mara, once again, swapped points heading to the final minutes. Still three ahead, Delvin looked a little nervous as the hit-and-hope balls began. O’Mara would fire over a 65 and then another from play and suddenly the gap was two.

When McLoughlin pointed the crowd decibels level rose as the Wood supporters knew they had a chance. With time up and bodies out on their feet, McLoughlin managed to field a longball inside. However, his head-down bulldozing approach was rightly refused by referee Seán Carroll. It would be the final chance as Delvin hung on by the skin of their teeth. For Crookedwood, the journey of 2024 ends.

Scorers – Delvin: D Clinton 0-10 (0-6 from frees), J Coll 1-1, C Fenlon 0-3, D Ennis 0-2, A Cox 0-1, E Carolan 0-1, K Murphy 0-1.

Crookedwood: B O’Mara 0-14 (0-13 from frees, 0-1 from a '65'), B McLoughlin 1-1, S McGovern 1-0 (from a free).

Delvin: Stephen Reilly; Patrick Clune, Francis McGrath, Óisín Kelly; Alan Cox, Adam Ennis, Sean Hoctor; Patrick Farrington, Aaron Fenlon; Dean Ennis, Josh Coll, Darragh Clinton; Eoin Carolan, Killian Murphy, Ciarán Fenlon. Subs used: Fintan Cox for McGrath (50).

Crookedwood: Adam Mitchell; John Kiernan, Kevin Orme, Séamus Savage; Damien Grifferty, Feichín Óg Brennan, Adam Bate; Ronan Scally, Michael Davitt; Enda Murray, Shane McGovern, Matthew Ryan; Lorcan O’Mara, Brian McLoughlin, Barry O’Mara. Subs used: Edward Nally for Murray (half-time), Noel Yourell for L O’Mara (36), Cathal Bawle for Grifferty (45).

Referee: Jimmy Greville (Raharney)