Golden Kilfeacle beat Borrisokane to qualify for Tipperary intermediate football final

A brace of first half goals by midfielder Shane O’Connell set Golden-Kilfeacle up for a clear-cut win over a disappointing Borrisokane in the  Tipperary Water county intermediate football championship semi-final at Templemore, 2-11 to 0-5

They will meet Moyne-Templetuohy, conquerors of Rockwell Rovers, in the final

The attendance at the game included county football manager Liam Kearns but he cannot have been over-impressed by the very moderate fare on offer though both his county panellists, Josh Keane fo Golden and Philip Austin, the Borrisokane captain, had fine games.

O’Connell’s goals were the crucial scores that knocked the heart out of the Borrisokane challenge. Though they battled on gamely for three quarters of the hour, the head dropped inthe closing period as Golden turned on the style, picking off points with great confidence.

Borrisokane went into the game  buoyed up by a quarter-final win over Clonmel Commercials but from the word go they were on the backfoot  as Shane O’Connell scythed through the Borrisokane defence for a Golden goal after only two minutes.

Philip Austin was doing his best to get Borris going and he pointed to frees to keep them in the hunt. Coming to the break, Golden were ahead 1-3 to 0-2 when O’Connell punished a misdirected kick-out, and handling errors in the Borrisokane defence, with Golden’s second goal and an interval lead of 2-3 to 0-2.

It was going to take a big Borrisokane effort to change things around and to their credit, with the breeze backing them, they outpointed Golden, 3 to 1 in the opening twelve minutes of the second half to be five points adrift. The possibility of a Borrisokane rally in the closing quarter loomed but never materialised.

That was  as good as it got for Borriokane. From here to the finish it was all one-way traffic as Golden picked off their points with a confidence that suggests they will take beating in the final.

It was an important win for  a Golden-Kilfeacle club that has struggled in recent years with the prospect of a return to senior ranks a huge incentive for them facing into the final. While Josh Keane was the “go-to-man”, operating at midfield, Aidan O’Connell, Shane O’Connell, Daithi Bargary, Ronan Hayes (until injured), and Andy Byrnes all played significant roles in this win.

Borrisokane never really got going and are capable of much better than they showed here. Their cause was not helped by an early injury to Brian Davis but even with the full muster, they looked to be some distance behind their rivals. There was too great a reliance on Philip Austin and while he worked extremely hard, frequently dropping back in defence seeking possession, the back-up to sustain a serious challenge was not there. Shane Stapleton, Seosamh Cleary, Peter McSherry, and Gordon Harding worked very hard also.

Scorers Golden – S O’Connell(2-0), S O Halloran(0-2), A Ryan, J Hayes, J Wade, A Byrne, B Heffernan, S Stapleton, T Byrnes, A Byrnes(0-1 each);

Borrisokane scorers – P Austin (0-4,3fs), G Harding(0-1),

Golden-Kilfeacle – Killian Hayde; Jonathan Wade, James McCarthy, Daithi Bargary; Andy Byrnes, Aidan O’Connell, Cian O’Connell; Shane O’Connell, Josh Keane; Niall Heffernan, Ronan Hayes, Sean Hayes; Shane Stapleton, Tom Byrnes, Seanie O’Halloran; Subs – Alex Ryan for R Hayes(42mins), James Hayes for T Byrnes(50mins), Niall Fogarty for S Hayes(57mins), Johnny Colohan for S O Halloran(59mins);

Borrisokane – Enda Brennan; Eddie O’Dwyer, Cathal Dooley, Conor Forde; Shane Nevin, Peter McSherry, Brian Davis; Shane Stapleton, Seosamh Cleary; Gordon Harding, Philip Austin, Conor Gavin; Michael Heenan, Colm Larkin, Liam Cleary; Subs – Stephen Gavin for Davis(18 mins), Dylan Power for Heenan(h/t), Gary Ryan for C Gavin(40 mins), Gary Power for Stapleton(50mins), M Kelly for Larkin(57 mins), Seamus Moriarty for Forde(58mins);

Ref – Seamus Delaney, J K Brackens.