Super Saints win county hurling title eight days after capturing football crown

St Oliver Plunkett’s 2-20 

Ballyclough 0-13

NOEL HORGAN REPORTS

IN contrast to the football final the previous weekend, St Oliver Plunkett’s endured little or no anxiety when accounting for Ballyclough in the Co-op Superstores confined junior B hurling championship decider to complete a historic double at Páirc Uí Rinn.

It was a pillar-to-post win for the Ahiohill men, who never had their lead trimmed to less than four points after putting five on the board before the Avondhu side got off the mark in the 13th minute.

Plunkett’s were leading by 0-7 to 0-3 before their first goal arrived, courtesy of Conor McCarthy in the 25th minute, and the deal looked done and dusted when Michael Collins, fed by McCarthy, bagged their second five minutes later, stretching their advantage to 11 points in the process.

To say Plunkett’s comfortably held the whip-hand for much of the first half would be putting it mildly, and, needless to say, their manager Barry O’Driscoll was thrilled with what they produced before the break.

‘We got off to a good start, and we had told the lads going out to keep up the pressure if we got on top early on. In fairness, they did that in spades,’ remarked O’Driscoll.

‘It was our best performance of the campaign, because we had been playing in patches all year, but it all kinda clicked for us today, so we’re delighted.’

Brothers Barry, Niall, TJ, Eddie and Conor O'Driscoll celebrate Plunkett's victory.

Michael Keohane led Plunketts’ early charge from corner forward, posting their first three scores, but he wasn’t lacking able accomplices up front where Padraig Healy, Conor McCarthy and Cian McCarthy were regularly seen to good effect as well. Roy O’Driscoll and David White both made their presence felt at midfield, while Ronan McCarthy, Niall O’Driscoll and the evergreen Eddie O’Driscoll caught the eye most often in a defence that looked rock-solid as a unit.

A precision cross from Cian McCarthy created the opening for Conor McCarthy’s goal, which put Plunkett’s firmly in the driving seat nearing half time, and the Michael Collins’ strike that followed clearly left Ballyclough with a major uphill battle on their hands.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for Plunkett’s after that, however, as Ballyclough posted the last three scores in the first half to turn over trailing by 2-9 to 0-7.

Padraig Healy and flawless free-taker Cian McCarthy shared the first two points in the second half before Ballyclough enjoyed their best spell during the third-quarter when it took a couple of superb saves by Plunkett’s custodian Jamie O’Neill to prevent the Avondhu side from making significant inroads on the deficit.

As it was, Ballyclough, trailing by 2-13 to 0-12, were still in with a shout before Plunkett’s reasserted their authority in no uncertain manner during the last ten minutes.

‘Our goalie has been beaten just twice in the entire championship, and he came up trumps for us again today,’ noted Barry O’Driscoll. ‘He made two important saves to keep us on track, but you never expect to get anything easy in a county final, so Ballyclough were always likely to come back at us at some stage.’

Maybe Plunkett’s were guilty of resting on their laurels to a certain extent, but, whether or which, they finished the match in complete control, with Cian McCarthy, Michael Keohane, Padraig Healy and substitute Sean Gazdar on target as they outscored Ballyclough by seven points to one on the run-in.

In the final analysis, it was a comprehensive victory – Plunkett’s first since making the breakthrough at this level in 2002.

It means that, just a year after dropping down a grade, they’ll return to junior ‘A’ ranks next season, and O’Driscoll is hopeful they’ll be able to acquit themselves admirably in West Cork.

‘We are under no illusions about how tough the West Cork championship is, but we have a nice blend of older and younger fellas, who have shown massive commitment to get their due rewards today,’ he said.

‘We’d like to think there’s better to come from them.’

Scorers

St Oliver Plunkett’s: Cian McCarthy 0-9 (7f, 1 65); M Keohane 0-6; Conor McCarthy, M Collins 1-0 each; P Healy 0-3; D White, S Gazdar 0-1 each.

Ballyclough: D Finnegan 0-4; T O’Neill 0-4 (2f, 1 65); D O’Neill, S Buckley, E Kelleher, A Finnegan, J O’Mahony 0-1 each.

St Oliver Plunkett’s: J O’Neill; E O’Driscoll, G McCarthy, C Dullea; B Walsh, N O’Driscoll, R McCarthy; R O’Driscoll, D White; Conor McCarthy, M Collins, S O’Donovan; M Keohane, Cian McCarthy, P Healy.

Subs: S Gazdar for White (42), D McCarthy for Collins (45), S White for O’Donovan (53), TJ O’Driscoll for N O’Driscoll (60), S Crowley for Walsh (60).

Ballyclough: C O’Neill; M Buckley, T Healy, S Walsh; A Finnegan, D O’Neill, J O’Mahony; M O’Callaghan, C Moynihan; D Ludgate, E Kelleher, S Buckley; T O’Neill, D Finnegan, J Moynihan.

Subs: K McDonnell for C Moynihan (ht), S O’Leary for O’Callaghan (53), E O’Connor for J Moynihan (57).

Referee: N Fahy (Brian Dillons).