Causeway Comp 2-9
The Kerry side were aiming for a clean sweep of provincial and All-Ireland senior and junior titles, but they came up against a superbly drilled Banagher side.
From the off the Offaly side were the dominant team, with Ethan Mannion and Ciaran Kelly pointing from play. Their supremacy was confirmed after 11 minutes when Trevor Moran found the back of the net from a 21-yard free.
Causeway found the going tough against the breeze and didn’t manage to score from play in the opening half, relying on frees from Brendan Brosnan and Shane Dunne for their scores. Banagher had no such problems, with Kelly, Sean Dolan and Pat Camon to the fore and the Offaly side enjoyed an eight-point half-time lead.
Padraig Boyle opened Causeway’s account from play soon after the break and while the Kerry side improved, Banagher maintained control. When Ciaran Kelly pulled low to the net after 46 minutes to extend his side’s lead to a hefty 11 points, the game appeared all but over.
However, Causeway came roaring back with two goals in three minutes beginning in the 53rd minute from Daniel Collins and Boyle and only a superb double-save from goalkeeper Conor Clancy prevented a third.
Banagher’s nerves were finally eased a minute from time as Stephen Quirke finished to an empty net after a flowing move, with Moran and man-of-the-match Aidan Treacy adding the extra gloss to the final scoreline.
Scorers — Banagher: T Moran 1-4 (1-1f, 0-1 ’65), C Kelly 1-3, S Quirke 1-1, E Mannion, S Dolan, A Treacy 0-2f (0-2 each), P Camon, J O’Connor, S Kenny 0-1 each.
Causeway: S Dunne 0-5 (4f), P Boyle 1-1, B Brosnan 0-3 (0-3f), D Collins 1-0.
Banagher College — C Clancy; N Wynne, S Og Lyons, A Kelly; K Burke, A Treacy, S Gardiner; J O’Connor, P Camon; S Kenny, C Kelly, S Dolan; S Quirke, T Moran, E Mannion. Subs: R Wynne for C Kelly (53), P Looby (Capt) for Mannion (57), L Dolan for O’Connor (60).
Causeway Comprehensive — N Leen; B Murphy, C McCarthy, D Fitzell; T Maunsell (Capt), B Brosnan, M O’Regan; T Barrett, M Delaney; D Collins, A Fealy, E O’Connor; S Dunne, P Boyle, L Fitzell. Subs: M O’Halloran for Murphy (22), R Heffernan for L Fitzell (h-t), Jon Silles for Maunsell (41), T Casey for Fealy (56).
Ref — M Wadding (
