Lone Shark wrote:I see Birr taking this by about 5.
Not that I'm bragging mind .....
Report here.
Birr 2-10 Shannonbridge 2-5
There weren’t too many souls who entered Doon on Saturday evening expecting Shannonbridge to take this title, the Bridge entering as clear underdogs coming to the conclusion of a junior championship which had seen some very impressive performances from a quite talented Birr team. After ten minutes even the most ardent of Shannonbridge followers were feeling a bit uneasy, as their team had fallen behind by 0-3 to no score, not one of their inside forwards had yet taken possession of a ball, and Birr were moving the ball swiftly and precisely, even if their shooting was anything but precise. From then on until the last 10 minutes, we saw exactly why Shannonbridge had earned their place in this final. Physical superiority, hunger to win loose ball, and the nous and coolness that only comes from experience all came to the fore as they first cancelled out the early deficit with a point from Anthony Kelly and a goal from Shane Kelly, but continued throughout to hang on in a game where they clearly lacked the class of their opponents. The goal was typical of what this team relied on – the ball was tenaciously won by Chris Duffy, who then sprinted past Simon Whelahan, and delivered into the full forward line. Shane Kelly got in behind Conor Egan, and under pressure that bordered on fouling, he struck a shot that was not the most crisp ever seen but was a testament to scorer’s instinct.
Their purple patch was rounded off by another score by Pat Joe Kelly, before Birr came back into the game themselves with a good run. Wides continued to feature, but their young wing forwards were an attacking threat throughout the game, and a point from each - Lonergan’s coming from a free - levelled matters. They then got their first goal of the game, clouded in so much controversy it was picked up on by Met Éireann. Martin Skeffington took a ball on around 35 metres out, and looked to have overcarried, but ended up playing it on to Seán Ryan. Ryan drew the last defender and handpassed in to Liam Power, who sidestepped the keeper. The keeper then did what the rules of the game allow him to do, but really shouldn’t – wrap his arms around Power and deliberately foul him in front of an open goal, leading to an obvious penalty decision. This is an anomaly of the current rules which needs to be addressed with a mandatory red card for players who do this, because in the meantime it is the most clear case of the fouling team benefiting in the game. The best recent example of this was in the league match in Parnell Park this year between Dublin and Mayo where Cluxton fouled to prevent a goal, and the penalty ended up being saved. In this case though, while still in Coughlan’s grasp, Power then appeared to play the ball with his hands into the net, which was incorrectly allowed. A justice of sorts, though many of the rules of the game were broken in the passage of play. This left Birr a goal to the good, and looking very good to go on and win.
One of the main reasons Shannonbridge were struggling was that a lot of good ball that went into the full forward position was being easily gobbled up by Willie Coffey. Hubert Darcy has been a stellar servant of Shannonbridge football down the years, but this standard is clearly more than he’s able to match in the deep winter of his career. He was replaced on 25 minutes by Declan Kelly, who scored 1-1 before half time, a scrappy goal and good point, to leave the half time score at 2-3 to 1-5, after a half which had seen both teams have two clear periods each in the ascendancy.
The danger for Birr was that Shannonbridge would succeed in keeping the game alive until the death, as the Bridge lads would always trust themselves in a close finish. Players like Anthony Kelly and Mick Devine have been around the block, and know what’s needed in that sort of situation. Birr’s unusual mix of up and coming players, exiles, and hurlers might be better ball players, but needed to get away from Shannonbridge and force their opponents to open out the game and speed it up. They never managed to do this, and with 10 minutes to go the score was 1-7 to 2-5. It was very easy to believe at this stage that Shannonbridge’s name was on the cup, as their lead of a point was by no means a refelction on the game. Birr had continued to miss scorable chances – they finished with ten wides, in contrast to a mere three for Shannonbridge – and were denied a freak goal when an underhit shot from 35 metres out by Stephen Brown was missed by the keeper and bounced up off the ground and hit the underside of the crossbar and deflected away to safety. Brown was guilty of underhitting the ball throughout the game, costing his side both scores and possession, and he certainly never came close to playing to the high standards he reached in the semi final against Edenderry.
The game was all set to be seized on by either team, and it after the heroics of Declan Kelly in the first half, it was a Birr substitute who stepped up and made the difference this time. Paul Molloy took a pass around twenty metres out on the left hand side of the goals when a loose ball bouncing around had left the defence at sixes and sevens, ran in to shooting range and hit it low to the net. The relief felt by the Birr team, management and supporters was palpable, and they finally were in a position where they could play without fear. Two points from play and one from a free by Stephen Lonergan rounded off the scoring, though Shannonbridge did forego a couple of easy point scoring opportunities towards the end in order to hunt for goals. The goals never came, and the clock ran dry, leaving Birr victorious.
Based on this season, Birr will not be one of the top four or five contenders for next years intermediate crown, but by the same token, neither will they be a front runner for the drop. They have several players who could feature for the county at various grades, and it’s a good sign for Offaly football that they will be playing their club football at a higher level. Verney and Ryan in particular should not have to wait too long, as under 21 selectors will surely take note of both players with next Spring in mind. For Shannonbridge, whose senior team have not come close to reaching the knockout stages in Offaly football for some time now, the best thing to come out of this is that some of these players should move up to senior ranks next year to bolster their ailing senior counterparts.
Teams:
Birr: Declan Ryan; Keith Hehir, Willie Coffey, Conor Egan; Michael Verney, Joe O’Loughlin, Simon Whelahan; Clifford McDonnell (0-2), Barry Whelahan; Seán Ryan (0-2), Liam Power (1-0), Stephen Lonergan (0-6, 0-3 frees); Alan Corboy, Stephen Brown, Martin Skeffington.
Subs: Paul Molloy (1-0) for Alan Corboy, Niall Claffey for Martin Skeffington.
Shannonbridge: Kieran Coughlan; Kieran Norton, Alan Gunning, Enda McCoy; Mark Maloney, Mick Devine, Colm Kenny; Darren Finn, Philip Egan; Chris Duffy, Anthony Kelly (0-2, frees), Rory O’Connor; Shane Kelly (1-0), Hubert Darcy, Pat Joe Kelly (0-2).
Subs: Declan Kelly (1-1) for Hubert Darcy, Darren Egan for Colm Kenny, Karl Kelly for Chris Duffy, Paul Maloney for Mick Devine.
Referee: Paul Jordan 
snigger snigger- mmmm food for thought that.............. 