County Junior B Football Championship final will be an all-West Tipperary affair

Galtee Rovers 2-12 Kilsheelan Kilcash 1-4

Galtee Rovers qualified for their first County Junior B Football Championship final since 2015 when they overcame the challenge of Kilsheelan Kilcash in the semi-final at Golden on Friday night.

The West runners-up, who were contesting their second semi-final in three years, were in control from the start and carried a big punch in their forward division.

From the start they controlled the pace of the game, played the more attractive football, and had the players who were able to convert their possession onto the scoreboard.

The Egan brothers, plus Chris Higgins in attack, were always a handful for the Kilsheelan defence and the addition of Colin Morrissey, back from injury, early in the second half only added to Kilsheelan’s problems.

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To their credit, the South men battled to the end against superior opposition and finished on a high with a Ben Smith major on sixty minutes, after he split open the Galtee defence with a run from midfield.

In a game played on a damp night before a small crowd, Galtee Rovers, launched their first attack after two minutes, and Tony Egan kicked over the opening score after being put through by Chris Higgins.

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Conor Davin Murphy had the sides on level terms by the fourth minute, but Galtee pushed on when Egan converted a placed ball.


The opening goal came on ten minutes when Chris Higgins found the net, soccer-style, after a good build-up down the stand side. Conor Grant came to Kilsheelan’s rescue three minutes later when he saved, at the expense of a 45, from a Higgins close-range shot.

Ben O’Connell pulled one back for Kilsheelan at the start of the second quarter when he converted a free that had been moved forward for dissent. Galtee won possession directly from the kickout and Shane Egan finished a move, involving his brother Tony and Dermot McCarthy, to stretch the lead out to four.

Eddie Sweeney cut the deficit to three but Galtee finished the half when Tony Egan kicked a brace of points, one from a free, to leave the score 1-5 to 0-3 at the short whistle.

Kilsheelan needed a good start to the second half but it was Galtee who hit the ground running when Dermot McCarhy finished a move with a goal, which more or less put the game out of reach for the South men. Tony Egan added a point when he got onto a crossfield ball and Shane Egan put ten points between the sides after forty minutes.

Colin Morrissey, who was returning following an injury, kicked two good points as Galtee moved up a gear. But Kilsheelan battled on and finished with a late rally, adding a point from Tadhg McGuire and a goal from Ben Smith at the death.

This win for Galtee sets up for a repeat of the West final, which was won by Golden Kilfeacle a few weeks ago.

Scorers: Galtee Rovers: Chris Higgins (1-2), Tony Egan (0-5,2f), Dermot McCarthy (1-1), Shane Egan (0-2,1f), Colin Morrissey (0-2).

Kilsheelan Kilcash: Ben Smith (1-0), Tadhg McGuire (0-1), Eddie Sweeney (0-1), Ben O’Connell (0-1), Conor Davin Murphy (0-1).

Galtee Rovers: Eoin Gallagher, Eoin Brennan, Davy Byron, Tadhg Gubbins, Eoghan Byrnes, Sean Gubbins (captain), Danny Ryan, Kevin Power, Dermot McCarthy, Cian Collins, Jim Quirke, Ger Quinn, Tony Egan, Chris Higgins, Shane Egan.
Subs: Josh O’Dwyer for Ger Quinn (HT), Colin Morrissey for Jim Quirke (37), Jack Magner for Danny Ryan (44), Fionn Kelly for Tony Egan (48), John Peters for Shane Egan (53).

Kilsheelan Kilcash: Conor Grant, Daire Murphy, Darragh Kelly, Leon Roche, Shane Egan, James Geraghty, Tadhg McGuire, John O’Dwyer, Lucas Shiel, Kevin Kirwan, Paul Denn, Ben O’Connell, Eddie Sweeney, Conor Davin Murphy, Cian Roche.
Subs: Mark Ryan for Eddie Sweeney (37), Ben Smith for Ben O’Connell (37), Martin Keyes for Conor Davin Murphy (50), Ben O’Connell for Tadhg McGuire (55).

Referee: Donie Horan (Éire Óg Annacarty Donohill).