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Top-tier hurling calls back to Charleville. Last year, they played at the highest level for the first time since 1952, and are back after their dramatic one-point win in the Co-Op Superstores Cork SAHC final in a windswept Páirc Uí Chaoimh today.
Both teams were undefeated in this year’s championship. Both received a goodbye to the semifinal. And both gave it their all in a tremendous decisive.
The hurricane wind blowing straight across the field made it the proverbial game of two halves.
P. O’Neill has a nine-point advantage at halftime. Charleville achieved parity with seven minutes remaining and took the lead. O’Neill’s fourth goal to death came too late.
It’s no wonder, then, that it was Father O’Neill, with the elements on his back, that brought the show to the road. They put a 1-5 unanswered on the board in the first 10 minutes. The goal came from a brilliantly executed penalty by Declan Dalton after he was brought down.
Darragh Fitzgibbon opened Charleville’s account in the 13th minute from a free kick following a foul on Andrew Cagney, and it had a settling effect. They shot over the next two points courtesy of Mark Kavanagh and Daniel O’Flynn.
The momentum returned to the path of P. O’Neill, four at a trot: Liam O’Driscoll achieved his third, Dalton (2) and Rob Cullinane pushed nine up, three minutes before the break.
The East Cork men held that margin midway (1-11 to 0-5), signing on a Dalton point, bringing their first-half tally to 1-5.
Charleville set out to cut the deficit in the second half. They scored 1-6 against one of P. O’Neill. Daniel O’Flynn’s player-of-the-match switch at forty worked very well for Cork’s north side – he scored four big points. Fitzgibbon’s goal came from afar, the wind fooled Colin Sloane into O’Neill’s goal.
Billy Dunne and Jason Hankard scored the P. O’Neill’s goal, and in the second water break they were ahead, 3-12 to 1-14.
Charleville was working tirelessly and was ahead five minutes from the end when Gavin Kelleher split the posts. Once again, his bench played an important role. James O’Brien and Tim Hawe scored crucial points to stretch the lead to four points in stoppages.
Dunne’s second goal failed to save O’Neill’s, Charleville captain Alan Dennehy accepted the Jim Forbes Cup on behalf of his brave teammates.
D Fitzgibbon 1-8, (0-4 free), D O’Flynn (0-6), A Cagney (0-3), J O’Brien and T Hawe (0-2 each), G Kelleher and M Kavanagh (0-1 each).
D Dalton (1-7, 1-0 feather, 0-2 65, 0-1 free), B Dunne (2-1), J Hankard (1-0), L O’Driscoll (0-3), K O’Sullivan and R Cullinane (0-1 each).
C Collins; D Butler, J Meade M O’Flynn; A Dennehy (captain), J Buckley, F Cagney; D. O’Flynn, G. Kelleher; J O’Callaghan, D Fitzgibbon, J Doyle; D Casey, M Kavanagh, A Cagney.
C O’Carroll for J Doyle (20 inj), J O’Brien for D Casey (half time), J Barry for D Butler (47), T Hawe for M Kavanagh (49), C Buckley for J O’Callaghan ( 60).
C Sloane; M Millerick (J-Capt), S O’Connor, E Motherway; J Barry, M O’Keeffe, T Millerick; K O’Sullivan, Joe Millerick; R Cullinane, P McMahon (J-Capt), J Hankard; L O’Driscoll, D Dalton, B Dunne.
P Butler for Joe Millerick (41), E Conway for K O’Sullivan (54), John Millerick for T Millerick (56).
Colm Lyons (Nemo Rangers).
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