Dunnamaggin 1-17
Castleblayney 1-13
Kevin O’Brien reports from Croke Park
DUNNAMAGGIN ARE ALL-Ireland JHC club champions after being pushed all the way by Castleblayney in today’s decider.
Castleblayney looked on the verge of a major upset when they led by 1-11 to 1-8 after 38 minutes, but Dunnamaggin outscored their opponents by 0-8 to 0-3 before the finish to claim the victory.
38-year-old Noel Hickey collected his 10th All-Ireland medal at Croke Park, after winning nine Celtic Crosses at the venue during his illustrious Kilkenny career.
The Kilkenny side were red-hot 1/66 favourites heading into this tie and struggled for long spells against a determined Castleblayney outfit.
Castleblayney are managed by Jimmy Lacey, a native of Ballyragget in Kilkenny. They’ll be extremely dissapointed after this defeat but can be proud of their efforts in Croke Park.
It was no small achievement for the Monaghan outfit to push Dunnamaggin so close. Eamonn Kennedy’s side are ranked as the 25th best club in Kilkenny.
Dunnamaggin roared into a 1-3 to 0-3 lead after John Fitzpatrick’s brilliant 14th-minute goal. But Castleblayney, the three-time Ulster junior champions, forced their way back into the game with Fergal Rafter unerring on frees.
Brian McGuigan smashed in goal before the interval to give the underdogs a surprise 1-9 to 1-6 half-time lead.
Castleblayney went with Brian Flanagan as a seventh defender in the second period in an attempt to shut down the Dunnamaggin attack.
But the Kilkenny team powered to victory down the home straight, with player of the match John Fitzpatrick in electric front up front. Ronan Coffey and Thomas Maher chipped in with scores as Dunnamaggin ran out the deserved victors.
Scorers for Dunnamaggin: Thomas Maher 0-7 (0-4f, 0-1 65), John Fitzpatrick 1-3, Ray Cody 0-2, Ronan Coffey 0-2, Darren Fitzpatrick, Darragh O’Keeffe, Eoghan Kearney (f) 0-1 each.
Scorers for Castleblayney: Fergal Rafter 0-9 (0-6fs, 0-165), Brian McGuigan 1-1, Hugh Byrne 0-2, Cormac McNally 0-1.
Castleblayney
1. Paddy Collins
2. Eoin Leonard
3. Jim McHugh
4. Colin Merrick
5. Aaron Kenny
6. Peter Treanor
7. Cormac McNally
8. Brian Flanagan
9. Paddy Finnegan
10. Hugh Byrne
11. Mark Treanor
12. Brian McGuigan
13. Fergal Rafter
14. Craig Callan
15. Pauric Malone
Subs:
17. Fintan Finnegan for Malone (54)
Dunnamaggin
1. Seaghan O’Neill
2. Mark Heffernan
3. Noel Hickey
26. Victor Costello
5. Michael Cody
6. William Phelan
7. Andrew Fitzpatrick
8. Darren Fitzpatrick
9. Eoghan Kearney
10. Thomas Maher
11. John Fitzpatrick
12. Darragh O’Keeffe
13. Ronan Coffey
14. Ray Cody
18. Conor Hoban
Subs:
4. Jack Brett for Heffernan (37)
15. Ian Walsh for Fitzpatrick (46)
Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway).
