Santry the hero as Castlehaven win epic county football final

Dohenys 1-12

Castlehaven 1-12

(Castlehaven win 30m free shootout aet)

AFTER the most incredible battle, Castlehaven are Cork LGFA county junior A champions after a titanic tussle with West Cork rivals Dohenys at MTU on Saturday afternoon.

This epic went all the way to a 30-metre free shoot-out after the teams couldn’t separated in normal time or extra time.

Still, after five frees each in the shoot-out they were still tied together. In sudden death Castlehaven’s Aideen Santry became the Haven hero after holding her nerve to score the winning free in, incredibly, the 12th round after an absorbing clash.

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? @CorkLGFA JAFC County Final
?⚪ @CastlehavenGAA 1-12
⚪? @DohenyLadiesGFC 1-12
⏱️30 M SHOOTOUT #CorkGAA #CorkGAA2021 #CORKLGFA

Haven win but only after 12 rounds of frees pic.twitter.com/fBXtndylMk

— Cork's RedFM Sport (@BigRedBench) November 13, 2021

Dohenys had led 1-4 to 1-2 at half time in normal time, Cork star Melissa Duggan with their goal that answered a goal for Haven from Grainne O’Sullivan.

Early in the second half Dohenys led 1-6 to 1-2 but Castlehaven battled back with points from Grainne O’Sullivan, Rachel O’Driscoll and Hannah Sheehy to trail by one at the second water break, 1-7 to 1-6. In a tense final quarter two frees from Katie Cronin for Castlehaven earned a draw, 1-8 apiece, and forced extra time.

At half time in extra time Dohenys led 1-11 to 1-10 thanks to points from Katelyn Sheehan and Michelle Murphy. Grainne O’Sullivan levelled the game before Sinead O’Connell nudged Dohenys in front. Mairead O’Driscoll then came up trumps with a late leveller, 1-12 apiece. It sent this county final to a 30-metre free shoot-out that went all the way to sudden death before the Haven emerged as champions.

This is, remarkably, their third county title in a row. They have now won junior C, B and A in successive seasons.