Araglin edge out battling Kilbrin
Had the north Cork side lost this game, they would have had only themselves to blame. Leading 1-1 to 0-2 after 15 minutes while playing into the strong wind, full-forward Peter O’Loughlin missed a sitter from five metres, his shot thundering off the crossbar.
A couple of minutes later John Condon was denied a goal by a superb save by Kilbrin keeper John Sheahan and three minutes later O’Loughlin was denied again by the butt of the upright.
The misses made for a most exciting contest, as the Duhallow side wasted chances to win the game, kicking four wides in the closing minutes from scoreable positions.
Araglin, who lost this final to Dripsey in 2005, deserved their victory. In Tom Lyons and Dave Browne they had the best two players on view. Lyons was the dominant figure at midfield and some of his high fielding wouldn’t look out of place on a bigger stage.
Browne led the Araglin attack superbly and had a hand in most of the scores. James Kearney was excellent at full-forward and his four-point contribution was crucial to his side’s victory.
Kilbrin, beaten in the 1996 final, lost no caste in defeat. Goalkeeper John Sheahan made a number of brilliant saves, Pádraig O’Callaghan was rock solid at full-back, Edwin Casey at centre-back played himself to a standstill and Daniel O’Sullivan showed his prowess as a scoring forward; accounting for 1-5. Araglin played with the strong wind in the opening half but it was Kilbrin who made the early running, helped by a great goal by Daniel O’Sullivan.
They held that advantage up to the 22nd minute when Dave Browne and James Kearney combined to put Peter O’Loughlin in for a goal which helped his side to a 1-7 to 1-4 half-time lead.
It should have been at least two more goals but the crossbar and upright denied O’Loughlin his hat-trick and one wondered if their three-point lead would be sufficient as they turned to play into the wind.
The impressive Dave Browne edged Araglin a point further ahead early in the second half before Tom Brennan finished an excellent Kilbrin move to the net to throw the issue wide open. The Duhallow side was in full flow and points by Kearney and Daniel O’Sullivan (2) had the sides level for the first and only time at the three- quarter stage and the game was there for Kilbrin to win. However, despite being well on top, they couldn’t push home their advantage and kicked three wides in a row before Pat Buckley edged Araglin in front.
The tension and excitement, both on and off the field, was at fever pitch as James Kearney put two points between the sides with six minutes to play. There was still plenty of time left for Kilbrin to salvage a draw but the best they could do was a late point by Daniel O’Sullivan as Araglin held on for a victory they just deserved.
Scores for Araglin: J. Kearney 0-5 (0-2 free); P. O’Loughlin 1-1; D. Browne 0-3; S. Allen, P. Buckley 0-1 each.
Kilbrin: D. O’Sullivan 1-5 (0-5 frees); T. Brennan 1-0; K. Sheahan, A. Nash 0-1 each.
ARAGLIN: J. Kenneally; J. Kearney, S. O’Doherty, P. Hickey; T. Kenneally, P. Kenneally, M. Kearney; S. Russell, T. Lyons; K. Fitzgerald, D. Browne, S. Allen; J. Condon, P. O’Loughlin, J. Kearney.
Sub: P. Buckley for O’Loughlin.
KILBRIN: J. Sheahan; N. Cronin, P. O’Calalghan, P. Dennehy; J. Cashman, E. Casey, Anthony Nash; Adrian Nash, J. O’Callaghan; D. O’Sullivan, T. Brennan, K. Sheahan; L. Daly, E. O’Riordan,P. Aherne.
Subs: C. Carroll for Cashman; David O’Sullivan for O’Riordan; P. Egan for Aherne.
Referee: P. Downey (Inniscarra).
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