Boherlahan make amends for last year with hard-fought win in county final

Boherlahan/Dualla 3-8 Ballylooby/Castlegrace 2-6

Midway through the second half, when Boherlahan/Dualla conceded a penalty, converted by Ballylooby/Castlegrace’s William Dunne, and their wing forward Charlie Ryan was black-carded for the foul, it looked as if the fourteen players of the Mid Tipp side were facing a difficult final quarter.

The pull-back on Ben Carey saw Ryan sin-binned for ten minutes and Dunne’s well-struck penalty tied the score at 2-3 to 1-6, both Boherlahan goals coming in the first half of the FBD Insurance County Junior A Football Championship Final at Bansha on Saturday.

But the extra man failed to benefit Ballylooby/Castlegrace, and instead it was Boherlahan/Dualla who proceeded to score the next 1-4 without reply and claim their first county junior football title in thirty years, and make up for the disappointment of last year when they lost the decider to Carrick Swan.

Three minutes after the dismissal, the impressive Patrick Gahan was fouled on another of his runs through the centre and Eoin Moloughney kicked a brilliant two-point free. Within a minute Euan Ryan extended the lead with a fine point, and then Jake Canny set up Moloughney for his second goal of the game. Before Charlie Ryan returned to the field, Moloughney pointed another free for a 3-7 to 1-6 lead – that was 1-4 from Boherlahan/Dualla while down to fourteen players.

A second Ballylooby/Castlegrace goal four minutes into added time, substitute Conor Lonergan shooting home from close range following a lofted ball into the square from Chris O’Donnell, was too late to alter the outcome, and the Mid side wrapped up the scoring in the 66th minute from a Moloughney free.

It was a deserved win for Boherlahan/Dualla, who trailed just once, when Ben Carey from a free opened the scoring for the South champions in the second minute. The Boherlahan response was swift. Following a foul on David Clarke, a Moloughney free came back off the post and Niall O’Dwyer reacted fastest to shoot to the net.

William Dunne from a free had Ballylooby’s second point of the half, following a foul on Carey, before sloppy play in defence from Ballylooby allowed Charlie Ryan to give Boherlahan a 1-1 to 0-2 lead.

Ballylooby responded in style with two in a row to draw level, Dylan Morrissey hitting their first from play in the 14th minute, with Dunne and Paddy Kenneally involved in the build-up, followed by a Dunne free.

But Ballylooby were to score only once more in the second quarter, a great point from Chris O’Donnell in the 29th minute. In that time, Boherlahan added 1-1.

The scoreboard was ticking over slowly, with wides from play and frees on both sides, but Jake Canny finally found the target for Boherlanan for the lead point in the 23rd minute. They followed up with a Moloughney goal three minutes before the break, when he finished off a fine move with a low shot past Sean Lonergan in goal.

Boherlahan led 2-2 to 0-5 at the break and that remained the score until the 10th minute of the second half, when Boherlahan were penalised for over-carrying, and William Dunne pointed the free for the first score of the half. They had the chance to add to their total when substitute Filip Mikasewski was wide on an advantage, and then when play was called back for the free, Dunne’s free dropped short into keeper Darragh Lacey’s hands.

Boherlahan made them pay with one of the scores of the game, Martin Paul O’Dwyer and Tomás Ryan involved in the build-up before Moloughney kicked a sweet point for a three point lead, 2-3 to 0-6 in the 46th minute.

Ballylooby’s levelling goal followed a minute later from William Dunne’s well-struck penalty, and they looked poised to drive on with Charlie Ryan’s black card giving them a man advantage.

But perhaps with the memory of last year’s final defeat to Swan providing the incentive not to lose again, it was Boherlahan who grabbed the initiative to outscore the south side 1-5 to 1-0 in the last 13 minutes. Eoin Moloughney’s two-point free proved as inspirational to them as Dunne’s penalty was to Ballylooby. Moloughney’s second goal of the game two minutes later sealed the deal.

Moloughney’s 2-5, with two goals from play and an inspirational two-point free, was central to Boherlahan/Dualla’s win on a day when every score was hard-earned. He also played a part in the first goal when his free came back off the woodwork for Niall O’Dwyer to find the net.

Patrick Gahan was a constant threat through the centre with his probing runs; team captain Brian Carrigg was rock solid at the heart of the defence, with big performances also from Tomás Burke and Cathal Darcy.

Ballylooby/Castlegrace’s 2-6 total, with just 1-2 from play, was never likely to be enough to win a county title, and they will be disappointed at how they lost the initiative when William Dunne’s penalty brought them level midway through the second half.

Dunne, Ben Carey and Dylan Morrissey were their main threats upfront; Chris O’Donnell was an impressive playmaker in the middle third, with team captain Brendan Walsh, Gearoid Hurley and Jack Owens strong in defence.

Scorers: Boherlahan/Dualla: Eoin Moloughney 2-5 (1x2ptf, 2f), Niall O’Dwyer 1-0, Jake Canny, Charlie Ryan, Euan Ryan 0-1 each.

Boherlahan/Dualla: William Dunne 1-3 (1-0 penalty, 3f), Conor Lonergan 1-0, Chris O’Donnell, Dylan Morrissey, Ben Carey 0-1 each.

Boherlahan/Dualla: Darragh Lacey; Ned Ryan, Tomás Burke, Cathal Darcy; Tomás Ryan, Brian Carrigg, Martin Paul O’Dwyer; Niall O’Dwyer, Gerard O’Dwyer; Charlie Ryan, Patrick Gahan, Jake Canny; Eoin Moloughney, Euan Ryan, David Clarke.

Subs: Mark Downey for Clarke (38), Eugene O’Dwyer for Niall O’Dwyer (40), Niall Manton for Euan Ryan (62), Michael O’Connor for Ned Ryan (63), Aaron Toomey for Gahan (63).

Ballylooby/Castlegrace: Sean Lonergan; Gearoid Hurley, Shane O’Brien, Brendan Walsh; Jack Owens, David O’Halloran, Chris O’Donnell; Patrick Doyle, Greg Nugent; William Dunne, Donncha Reidy, Dylan Morrissey; Patrick Hennessy, Ben Carey, Paddy Kennelly.

Subs: Conor Lonergan for Hennessy (38), Filip Mikasewski for Doyle (42), Jack Keating for Reidy (49), Brian O’Donnell for O’Halloran (56).

Referee: Seamus Delaney (JK Brackens).