Christy O'Connor: The greatest two-point kicking exhibition we have seen
Steven Sherlock of St Finbarr's kicks a two point score from a free during the AIB Munster GAA Football Senior Club Championship final match between Dingle and St Finbarr's at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
In the moment, with absolutely everything on the line, Dylan Geaney wanted the shot at immortality. His brother Conor looked at him and said no. Dylan’s shooting form from distance was smoking hot but the last-second free suited a left-footed kicker more. Conor Geaney felt he was entitled to have a go. He wanted it. And nailed it.
When the brothers briefly spoke amongst the chaos and delirium in the immediate aftermath, Dylan told Conor that one of his outrageous two-point efforts earlier in the second half was a ball he’d aimed for the edge of the square. By that stage it appeared as if Dingle would need a second goal to have any chance of rescuing this match. But they didn’t need green when orange eventually proved to be gold.
Three of Dingle’s last six scores were two-pointers but they were even more precious and valuable considering the audacity and quality of the Geaney brothers’ execution given the perilous position Dingle had found themselves.
This was a breathtaking, captivating and enthralling match but it will enter Munster football folklore as the two-point final after Conor Geaney’s winning score and Steven Sherlock’s long-range kicking masterclass. From 14 attempts, from play and placed balls, Sherlock ended with an astonishing tally of 0-16.
The new rules do inflate scoring totals but to put that number into clearer context, Luke Loughlin’s 1-17 was the highest individual score in the 2025 inter-county championship. That was an astonishing display but it was in Westmeath’s Tailteann Cup rout of Antrim across 70 minutes in May, whereas Sherlock shot the lights out in a 60-minute epic decided by the last kick. In December.
Of Sherlock's eight two-point attempts, he nailed six, but one of those missed chances dropped short and resulted in a point for Brian Hayes after Dingle goalkeeper Gavin Curran punched the ball away as it neared the crossbar. The pick of the bunch was the two-point free Sherlock nailed in the second half close to the sideline on the 20-metre line just outside the arc.
It was staggering shooting but it was that kind of an afternoon. Nine of twelve two-point attempts were converted. It would have been 10-13 if the referee hadn’t already blown for a free a split-second before Tom O’Sullivan iced a two-pointer close to the sideline in front of the Ryan Stand in the second half. Dylan geaney landed the resultant free from outside the arc but the referee Chris Maguire called it back because Mikey Geaney still hadn’t left the field after Paul Geaney had been brought back on.
Dylan Geaney bagged 0-6 from his last four shots but his two two-pointers were outlandish scores in the circumstances.
During the inter-county championship, the most two-pointers scored in a single game was the 13 registered in the Leinster quarter-final between Meath and Offaly. The match with the highest percentage of two-pointers was the Division 1 league match between Galway and Donegal in March when 57 per cent of scores came from two-pointers. Yet that game was played in a hurricane when aiming for an orange flag was often a more realistic option than going for a white flag.
There weren’t as many two-pointers scored yesterday but considering the context, circumstances, high-wire drama and incredible pressure, this was the greatest exhibition Gaelic football has seen since the introduction of the new rules. It was a devastating way for St Finbarr’s to lose but it was still almost fitting that such an epic match was decided by the ultimate clutch two-pointer.
It was that kind of an afternoon.
Early on in Saturday’s Leinster’s hurling in Croke Park, the pattern of a provincial decider involving Ballyhale Shamrocks looked set to follow a familiar trend. The Shamrocks were ahead by five points after just eight minutes. And when Ballyhale start well in provincial finals, they usually go on and win - and win well. The Shamrocks had won five of their previous eight Leinster finals by eight or more points.
Yet this Ballyhale team is not as good as those past sides, while St Martin’s have routed expectation to such a degree this season that they turned convention on its head to make the unimaginable real.
Ballyhale had thrown an early curveball at St Martin’s by how they were stretching the play across the field and using Richie Reid as a highly productive out-ball option, but St Martin’s tweaked their shape and set-up shortly afterwards. Jake Firman was hugely effective in the middle third, the outstanding Jack O’Connor was more effective in a withdrawn role, but St Martin’s intensity and physicality went through the roof. From the 18th minute until half-time, the Wexford side outscored Ballyhale 0-7 to 0-1.
Even when a second Ballyhale goal midway through the second half sucker-punched St Martin’s, they never wavered in their belief and bravery in how they continued to stick to their principles and work the ball out of defence and through the lines.
They were tactically smart too but, similar to how they sacked the All-Ireland champions Na Fianna, St Martin’s came up with the crucial last two scores after Richie Reid had put Ballyhale ahead entering additional time.
Going to the wire was almost the way it had to be to beat a team that doesn’t lose Leinster finals. Ballyhale found a way to row back a raging tide but they were eventually swamped by a side that went deep into their souls and incredible reserves of resilience and stamina.
It was a brilliant squad performance but the O’Connor’s – Jack and Rory and their first cousin Barry – once again led the charge. Of St Martin’s total of 0-24, the O’Connors either scored or assisted 0-17. They also had secondary assists for another 0-2.
St Martin’s had 12 more shots (36-24) but Ballyale’s two goals and a highly impressive conversion rate of 79 per cent enabled them to override St Martin’s greater volume of possession. However, St Martin’s greater conditioning, physicality and ability to cover ground enabled them to absorb everything the Shamrocks threw at them.
St Martin’s kept throwing punches before Ben Stafford landed the final haymaker in the dying seconds to knock Ballyhale out cold.
Some 26 minutes into Saturday evening’s Leinster football final, Athy’s Colm Moran was hounded out of possession close to goal and Ballyboden instantly initiated the counter-attack. A devastating long footpass from Ross McGarry caught out the Athy defence and Ryan Basquel got inside the cover and smuggled the ball past goalkeeper James Roycroft.
Athy couldn’t say they didn’t see it coming. Boden’s previous five scores had come off turnovers when Athy had been in possession. Boden had shown their devastating potential in their transition play against Tullamore seven days earlier but their immense athleticism and running power was even more of a weapon in Croke Park. Across the 60-plus minutes, Boden mined 1-11 from turnovers, with a significant share of those attacks beginning close to their own goal when Athy were in possession.
Ballyboden were extremely efficient and economical and would have won by far more if they hadn’t taken their foot off the gas. They only coughed up possession on 12 occasions. Boden’s conversion rate was 67 per cent. They had outstanding individual performances from Colm Basquel, Ross McGarry, Cein D’Arcy and Ryan O’Dwyer but Boden were in a different class to Athy from the outset of the second half.
Boden just overran Athy in the third quarter, concussing them with a barrage of scores in a forest fire of intensity and aggression. The game was over after Boden’s second goal from Paddy Dunleavy in the 44th minute.
Job done for a Dublin club in Leinster. Again.
