Castlehaven 1-7
Duhallow 0-9
A dramatic goal by substitute Shane Nolan two minutes from time handed fourteen-man Castlehaven their first Cork SFC final triumph since 2003 in Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday afternoon.
The West Cork club looked to be in trouble when Duhallow edged ahead by 0-8 to 0-7 in the 57th minute courtesy of substitute Jack Cott when he split the posts.
But despite suffering the setback of seeing wing-back Chris Hayes sent-off for a second yellow card in the 43rd minute, they kept battling and were rewarded when Nolan, the son of former Cork football selector Jim Nolan, raised the green flag.
The score arrived after Cork senior Mark Collins point attempt for Castlehaven fell short and Nolan showed his opportunism to steal in ahead of Duhallow goalkeeper Kevin Murphy and fist the ball to the net.
Duhallow pounded the Castlehaven rearguard in injury-time but a point from Cork senior Donncha O’Connor was all they could muster as Castlehaven held on for their fourth county title after claiming earlier wins in 1989, 1994 and 2003.
The triumph was achieved in a largely drab encounter before 6,170 supporters as Castlehaven managed to avenge last year’s final loss to third-level outfit UCC. The game was evenly-contested in the opening quarter with the teams tied at 0-2 apiece before Duhallow made a surge to land points through wing-back Padraig O’Leary and attacker Niall Fleming.
Castlehaven fought back quickly courtesy of Damien Cahalane and Brian Hurley as they landed points from a free and play respectively. The half then concluded with county players Donncha O’Connor (Duhallow) and Mark Collins (Castlehaven) swapping scores to leave the teams tied at 0-5 apiece at the interval.
The standard of play deteriorated in the second-half in damp and overcast conditions. O’Connor and Collins fired over early points for their respective sides but the game stayed tied at 0-6 apiece until the 50th minute as a scoring drought ensued.
Eventually Duhallow broke the impasse courtesy of Matthew Dilworth and with Hayes having been dismissed for Castlehaven, the divisional team looked poised to kick for home.
Castlehaven’s Shane Nolan celebrates scoring a goal. Pic: INPHO/Ken Sutton
Yet Castlehaven ploughed on with Collins tying the game in the 52nd minute and even despite falling behind when Cott scored for Duhallow, they were rewarded for their determination when Nolan grabbed that priceless goal.
Castlehaven have little time to celebrate this game as they now advance to the Munster club championship. Next Sunday afternoon they will face Dromcollogher-Broadford, who were crowned Limerick senior football champions after a final replay victory over Newcastlewest in the Gaelic Grounds last Friday night.
The quarter-final clash is to take place at a Cork venue with Clonakilty the most likely location.
