Aherlow Gaels 2-8 Eire Og/Sean Treacys 1-4
Aherlow Gaels are the McGrath Oil West Tipperary Under 21 B football champions for the third time, following their seven-point victory over the Eire Og/Sean Treacys combination at a cold and damp
Dillon Quirke GAA Grounds, Clonoulty.
In a game played before a small but enthusiastic crowd, the winners were far more clinical in attack, with Liam Carew putting in a huge shift.
Two goals inside the opening quarter was the foundation for this victory, while goalkeeper Joe Howard denied the combination with two top-class saves during the opening half. They were solid down the spine, with captain Diarmuid Looby pivotal in the centre of their defence. Cillian Barlow and Darragh O’Brien worked the middle third to good effect while in attack Sean Bourke and Gary Quirke combined well with man of the match Liam Carew.
Eire Og/Sean Treacys were always chasing the game and their inability to put away a few goal chances, two in particular during the opening thirty minutes, didn’t help their cause. They battled well, however, with Larry Collins and James Butler always posing a threat in attack.
Aherlow Gaels won the toss and it took them just two minutes to open their account when Darragh O’Brien and Liam Carew combined to set up Max Reardon for a point. Both sides found the harsh conditions troublesome but good work by Sean Bourke in attack, when, after showing well for a long ball from midfield, he planted a cross in front of the in-running Liam Carew, who blasted a low shot to the corner of Brian Hammersley’s net for the opening goal after eight minutes.
Eire Og/Treacys were off target from a couple of placed balls before Larry Collins opened their account three minutes later following a jinking run down the centre. The second major for Aherlow came when Sean Bourke capitalised on hesitancy in the combo' defence to overturn a defender before blasting to the roof of the net. This gave them a six-point advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Liam Carew found the target from a placed ball before Gary Quirke fisted over from close range to put eight between the sides.
The ten minutes before the break was probably Eire Og Treacys best period. Tom O’Dwyer did great work to set up James Butler for the combo’s opening goal chance but Joe Howard turned the goal-bound shot over for a minor. Sixty seconds later Howard again came to the rescue when he saved brilliantly from Colm Kennedy, who had been put through by James Butler.
The goal eventually came on 23 minutes when a free kick by Darragh Kelly was kept in play by James Butler before he blasted a shot past Howard. This brought them within four points of Aherlow Gaels, with all to play for in the second half. The half-time score was Aherlow Gaels 2-3, Eire Og Treacys 1-2.
Aherlow Gaels were quickly into action after the restart, with Liam Carew at his very best. He kicked three points inside the opening four minutes, two from open play, to put his team seven to the good.
Both sides found the worsening conditions hard to cope with as the scores dried up. Eire Og/Treacys pulled two points back coming up to the end of the third quarter, one from a Darragh Kelly free and one from play from the always threatening Larry Collins. Diarmuid Looby had the last say when he closed out the scoring before referee Paddy Russell sounded the long whistle.
Following the game West Chairman Andrew Fryday presented the Michael Crowley Cup to the victorious captain, Diarmuid Looby, while also complimenting both sets of players for producing an entertaining game in such difficult conditions.
Scorers: Aherlow Gaels: Liam Carew (1-5, 3 frees), Sean Bourke (1-0), Max Reardon (0-1), Gary Quirke (0-1), Diarmuid Looby (0-1).
Eire Og/Sean Treacys: James Butler (1-1), Larry Collins (0-2), Darragh Kelly (0-1 free).
Aherlow Gaels: Joe Howard, Niall O’Shea, Morgan O’Brien, Tomás O’Shea, Mark Flanagan, Diarmuid Looby (captain), Paddy Chapman, Darragh O’Brien, Cillian Barlow, Max Reardon, Gary Quirke, Sean Bourke, Tadhg O’Brien, Liam Carew, Paudie Bourke.
Subs: Fionn O’Grady for Max Reardon (HT), Tom Bradshaw for Tadhg O’Brien (HT), Shane O’Brien for Paudie Bourke (36), Tom Howard for Niall O’Shea (53), Conor Grogan for Morgan O’Brien (55).
Eire Og/Sean Treacys: Brian Hammersley, Colin Heffernan, Brian Nolan, Adam O’Dwyer, Eoin Sheldon, Darragh O’Brien (captain), Scott Ryan, Darragh Carr, Colm Kennedy, Liam Crosse, Darragh Kelly, Tom O’Dwyer, Larry Collins, Cillian Kennedy, James Butler.
Subs: Max Carroll for Colin Heffernan (HT), Daniel Kelly for Cillian Kennedy (39), Adam Kelly for Liam Crosse (55), Michael Furlong for Scott Ryan (55).
Referee: Paddy Russell (Emly).
