Heartbroken Goleen fall at county final hurdle, again

Douglas 1-12 

Goleen 2-7

NOEL HORGAN REPORTS

BIDDING to collect a first county junior B football championship title in their fourth final since 2019, it goes without saying defeat in the (inter-divisional) decider at Páirc Uí Rinn on Sunday was extremely hard to swallow for Goleen.

What made their loss to Douglas particularly unpalatable, however, was that Goleen looked the more likely side to prevail for most of a keenly-contested contest, not least after a cracking goal from Darren O’Donovan propelled them into a four-point lead three minutes into the second half.

They had stretched their advantage to five at the three-quarter stage, and they were still four to the good, 2-7 to 1-6, after Michael O’Reilly pointed inside the last ten minutes.

Goleen's Padraig Reidy heads for goal.

It was notable at the same time that Douglas had begun to apply the bulk of the pressure entering the last quarter, increasing it on the run-in to notch six unanswered points and snatch the laurels for Goleen’s grasp in a gripping finale.

To say the Carbery kingpins were devastated at the finish would be an understatement, and manager Shane O’Neill struggled to pinpoint the reason for their dramatic fade-out in the last quarter.

‘Unfortunately, we didn’t build on the lead, we seemed to tire a bit, maybe because a few of the lads had the flu during the week,’ he suggested.

‘Douglas, on the other hand, appeared to get their second wind, and once they smelt blood, they really went for it.’

Bantry native O’Neill, at the helm for the first time this season, accepts it won’t be easy for Goleen to recover from their latest county final defeat, but he’s satisfied they’ll be ready to again challenge strongly for county championship glory in 2024.

‘These lads are a very resilient bunch, so I’m hopeful they can regroup in the new year, and have another go at it,’ he said.

Quickest to settle, Douglas bagged the first two points, but Goleen replied with scores from Shane O’Leary, Michael O’Reilly (free) and O’Leary again before O’Reilly made it 0-4 to 0-2 in the 24th minute.

The South-West side had established firm control at the back at that stage, with Jack O’Driscoll very solid at full back, and the dynamic Patrick Sheehan excelling on the left wing. Matthew Sheehan and Tadgh Cullinane were both to the fore at midfield, as was industrious wing-forward Jake Coughlan, while O’Leary and O’Reilly carried an obvious threat in the inside line.

Having inspired immense confidence between the sticks from the outset, it was ironic that a mistake by Goleen’s Ronan Kennedy, who struggled to deal with a speculative delivery from Douglas wing-back Cathal Myers, should lead to a Steven O’Sullivan goal for the Seandun champions in the 27th minute.

O’Sullivan’s strike was quickly negated by Goleen’s Michael O’Reilly, who pounced to knock the ball home after a slick raid involving Daniel O’Driscoll, Shane O’Leary and Darren O’Donovan saw the latter bring the best out of Douglas custodian Padraic McCarthy. At the interval, Goleen weren’t flattered to lead by 1-4 to 1-2.

Although Evan Collins drew first blood for Douglas on the turnover, Goleen’s prospects really took on a rosy hue after full-forward O’Donovan, fed by Patrick Sheehan, smartly eluded his marker to deliver an unstoppable shot to the net in the 33rd minute.

Firmly in the driving seat following that boost, Goleen remained there until the trend of the play took a remarkable swing in favour of the city side midway through the second half.

Sprung from the bench shortly before half time, the lively Harry Quilligan gave the Douglas attack a fresh impetus, while Evan Collins was inspirational after being switched from full-forward to the half-back line for the last quarter. As Douglas monopolised possession, it seemed as if erratic shooting (they had six wides in the second half) might prove their undoing, but it was a luxury they were able to afford, with Evan Collins and Eoin O’Flynn sharing the scores that sealed Goleen’s sorry fate in stoppage time.

Scorers

Douglas: E Collins 0-6 (2f); S O’Sullivan 1-0; E O’Flynn 0-3 (1f); H Quilligan 0-2 (1f); G O’Sullivan 0-1.

Goleen: M O’Reilly 1-4 (2f); D O’Donovan 1-0; S O’Leary 0-2; D O’Driscoll 0-1.

Douglas: P McCarthy; S O’Rourke, C O’Donoghue, D Sheehan; C Myers, D Curtin, D O’Callaghan; O Mulrooney, G O’Sullivan; E O’Flynn, M Dolan, C Deasy; D McCarthy, E Collins, S O’Sullivan.

Subs: H Quilligan for Dolan (24), C Donlon for O’Donoghue (37), E McAuliffe for McCarthy, M Howell for Curtin (42), S O’Leary for S O’Sullivan (46).

Goleen: R Kennedy; E Healy, J O’Driscoll, M Sheehan; P Collins, P Reidy, P Sheehan; M Sheehan, T Cullinane;  A Sheehan, D O’Driscoll, J Coughlan; S O’Leary, D O’Donovan, M O’Reilly.

Subs: T Reidy for Collins (49), P O’Regan for Cullinane (53), M O’Driscoll for Coughlan (60).

Referee: A Murphy (Killeagh).