Barryroe 2-10

Castlemagner 0-9

NOEL HORGAN REPORTS

It was tense, it was tight, but the bottom line is Barryroe achieved the desired result in the McCarthy Insurance Group Junior A Football Championship encounter with Castlemagner in Whitchurch last Sunday.

It means the Carbery champions are in action again next Sunday, November 15th when they face Aghinagh in the county semi-final (4pm) in Páirc Uí Rinn.

While they remained in front until the finish after a cracking goal from Ryan O’Donovan made it 1-2 to 0-2 in the 20th minute, the Carbery kingpins couldn’t afford to breathe easily until the closing stages of a dour quarter-final tie.

Indeed, they might have been hard-pressed to hold out against a doggedly determined Castlemagner outfit had not ‘keeper Liam Colbert deflected a shot from the losers’ corner-forward Evan Magner outside the posts in the 54th minute.

Leading by 2-6 to 0-8 then, Barryroe’s advantage wasn’t reduced to less than four points on the run-in, but it took three scores – shared by Olan O’Donovan, Luke Murphy and Ryan O’Donovan – in stoppage time to eventually put some daylight between the sides.

It was a hard-earned victory, achieved with more sweat than swagger, but credit to Barryroe for the manner in which they came through what amounted to a stern test of their resolve.

Manager Norman Fleming agreed it wasn’t a game calculated to please the so-called football purists, but he was obviously delighted with the way Barryroe rose to the occasion.

Ryan O'Donovan fires home Barryroe's opening goal. (Photo: Martin Walsh)

‘I thought we were sluggish enough in the first half, but we ran at Castlemagner a bit more in the second half, which was great to see. It was a tough game, it wasn’t pretty by any means, but we were prepared for a hard battle today,’ he revealed.

‘Castlemagner are after winning four Duhallow titles in a row, so they have plenty of experience, and we had been out (against St Mary’s) last weekend, although the lads, in fairness, knuckled down hard to training during the week.

‘It goes without saying they’ll do the same ahead of the county semi-final against Aghinagh, and we’re eagerly looking forward to that,’ the Barryroe boss remarked.

The teams shared four points during a tentative opening quarter.

Barryroe ‘keeper Colbert proved equal to a couple of Castlemagner shots at goal early on before Ryan O’Donovan made a major breakthough. Closely shadowed by Castlemagner defender Aaron O’Keeffe, it was the first time O’Donovan managed to elude the leech-like attentions of his marker, and he duly made the most of an opportunity resulting from a measured delivery into the danger zone by Mike Collins.

Barryroe's Luke Murphy applies the pressure on a Castlemagner player. (Photo: Martin Walsh)

After Seán Holland quickly added a point to stretch the gap to four, it seemed as if Barryroe were ready to stamp their authority on the proceedings.

Castlemagner had other ideas, responding with scores from ace free-taker Cormac O’Sullivan and an absolute peach of a point from Evan Magner before Ryan O’Donovan made his mark for Barryroe again.

Fed by his cousin Olan, who was quickest to make an impact up front in the first half, O’Donovan slotted over a point in the 27th minute, tacking on another from a '45, which helped Barryroe to a 1-5 to 0-5 lead at the interval.

They were still a goal to the good when they dealt another major blow to Castlemagner’s ambitions.

Again Ryan O’Donovan was involved, completing a move begun by centre-back David O’Sullivan with a smart lay-off to Dermot Dineen, who fisted the pass to the net from close range.

The Barryroe team that defeated Castlemagner. (Photo: Martin Walsh)

Now 2-6 to 0-6 to the good, it seemed as if Barryroe were fIrmly of course for victory.

But Cormac O’Sullivan kicked a two-point free in quick reply for Castlemagner before Evan Magner’s effort to rekindle the Duhallow’s side’s hopes in earnest was foiled by Liam Colbert at the expense of a ‘45.

Colbert certainly did his bit between the sticks for the winners, who were also particularly well served by O’Sullivan and Conn Dineen in a tightly-knit rearguard that limited Castlemagner to just three points from play. Dineen and Tomás Ó Buachalla both put in a solid shift at midfield, while Ryan O’Donovan, Luke Murphy and Olan O’Donovan achieved most overall in attack.

OUR STAR: Due to the close attention of his marker, Ryan O’Donovan probably didn’t get on the ball as often as he would have liked, but his quality shone through. That he was the game’s most influential player is beyond dispute.

Scorers

Barryroe: R O’Donovan 1-5 (1 45, 2f), D Dineen 1-0, O O’Donovan, S Holland 0-2 each, L Murphy 0-1.

Castlemagner: Cormac O’Sullivan 0-7 (1 2ptf, 4f), B O’Driscoll, E Magner 0-1 each.

Barryroe: L Colbert; M Walsh, S O’Riordan, J Moloney; C Dineen, D O’Sullivan, D Moloney; D Dineen, T Ó Buchalla; L Murphy, M Collins, A McSweeney; R O’Donovan, S Holland, O O’Donovan.

Subs: J Collins for Holland (36, inj), D McCarthy for O’Sullivan (47), A Fanning for McSweeney (56).

Castlemagner: T McAuliffe; C Murphy, D Murphy, A O’Keeffe; A O’Leary, T Fitzmaurice, J O’Rahilly; Conor O’Sullivan, B O’Driscoll; D Linehan, C Cronin, S Cronon, Cormac O’Sullivan, C Jones, E Magner.

Subs: J O’Riordan for S Cronin (34), Cillian O’Sullivan for C Cronin (42), E O’Sullivan for Jones (53), D Lucey for O’Keeffe (57).

Referee: A Hyland (Kilworth).