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 a hard-fought Westmeath Junior B hurling final in Rochfortbridge last Sunday afternoon.

Both sides came in hoping to take the silverware but in the end, it was the Fr Dalton's second team who triumphed. 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 scores were traded by Michael Murray of Fr Dalton’s and Delvin’s Ciarán Fenlon (free) but the combination of the weather and some misfiring from both sides kept the scoring rate relatively low. Strong fielding and defending from the likes of Brian Herward and Liam O’Neill at either end also played a part in this regard.

With the scores level just after the opening ten minutes, Fr Dalton’s then 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 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 the Ballymore side a free which Clear converted.

At the interval, the scoreline read 0-11 to 0-6 in favour of Fr Dalton’s which was probably a fair reflection of the hurling on show.

But Delvin were not prepared to go down easily. Inside the opening 60 seconds of the second half, an effort from Enda Newman, seeking a point from out wide, saw the sliotar hit the net and the green flag was held aloft to suddenly reduce arrears to two.

Stephen Reilly in the Delvin goals made an incredible save to deny Jack Duncan from close range. The game went into a slight lull for a period as Steven Cassidy was carried off injured.

Fr Dalton’s got their first score of the second half over ten minutes into proceedings from Smyth’s free, before surviving several goalmouth scrambles. When Clear put the green and gold outfit 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 into the final ten minutes, Eamonn 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 60-minute mark. Paddy Kelly was teed up by Jack Forde but his effort drifted wide at the near post – having hung in the air 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 Delvin 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 on his shoulders, he watched as his effort drifted inside the post enough to give his side the title.

Player of the match: Ciarán Clear was head and shoulders above the rest – physically and otherwise! The tall midfielder fought hard and took his scores expertly.

Scorers - Fr Dalton’s: C Clear 0-6 (3 frees), I Smyth 0-5 (4f), J Duncan 0-2, M Murray and A Watson 0-1 each. Delvin: C Fenlon 0-7 (6f), 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 Finerty; Jack Duncan, Conor McNeill, Adam Watson. Subs used: Shane Kincaid for Slevin (half-time), Evan Finerty for Watson (59 mins).

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 mins), Adam McCormack for Ward (54).

Referee: Caymon Flynn (St Brigid’s).