Douglas delight as gallant Goleen frustrated again

Late rally by Douglas men sees Goleen denied a Junior B championship for the fourth time

Douglas' joint captains Odhran Mulrooney and Conor O'Donoghue raise the Jim Cronin Cup after defeating Goleen in the Cork JBFC final at Pairc Ui Rinn. 

Cork JBFC final: Douglas 1-12 Goleen 2-7.

MORE Cork Junior B Football Championship final heartbreak for Goleen as a late Douglas comeback snatched Sunday's final from the west Cork club, who have now lost four finals in five years in the grade.

In truth, Goleen were the better outfit for the majority of the contest but Douglas finished strong, scoring seven of the final eight scores to bring silverware to the south side of Cork city. 

The key to Douglas' late revival was the impact they got off the bench, and improved second-half performances from the likes of Evan Collins and Eoin O'Flynn. Harry Quilligan added some badly needed punch and pace to their attack after his introduction. The trio in question contributed ten of Douglas' 12 points.

Goleen looked to be in the driving seat when a wonderful solo goal from Darren O'Donovan seven minutes after the break put them four points to the good (2-4 to 1-3). O'Domnovan was the star turn for Goleen and it was a goal worthy of winning any county final. However, Douglas finally shook off the lethargy and cut down on the mistakes that blighted them in the first period to eat in the deficit.

The city side had opened the game impressively with two quick scores but Goleen would respond with a couple of points their own inside ten minutes from O'Reilly and O'Donovan. Michael O’Reilly claimed his second point for Goleen giving the boys in black and amber a two-point advantage (0-4 to 0-2) as the final struggled to catch fire. 

That all changed in the final five minutes of the half. First a speculative effort from Douglas' Cathal Myers dropped short and Daniel McCarthy parried the effort into the path of his team-mate Steven O’Sullivan who finished for the game's opening goal. 

Douglas' lead lasted all of two minutes, Shane O’Leary’s effort for Goleen was parried into the path of Michael O’Reilly who looked to be in the square but after consultation with the umpires, his fisted goal was allowed stand, putting Goleen back in the driving seat, 1-4 to 1-2.

Both teams kicked it up a gear in the second half, on foot of a few changes in the case of Douglas. Full-forward Evan Collins popped over a fine score but the Goleen response was emphatic as O'Donovan ran from outside the 45, slaloming his way through the Douglas cover the billow the net. The large Goleen contingent sensed that, finally, this was to be their day, and perhaps the players began to see the finishing line at that point. 

Douglas were struggling to wrest control of the game from Goleen, but gradually they shook themselves and the likes of Donncha O'Callaghan, Odhran Mulrooney and Cathal Deasy began to take control of things.

Inside forward Harry Quilligan, introduced just before the break, was proving an effective focal point for Douglas, cutting through the heart of the Goleen defence. O'Flynn and Collins also found their shooting boots, and by the 50 minute mark, Douglas were firmly in charge.

Three quick-fire scores on the bounce from Deasy, Collins and Quilligan brought them to within a point with five minutes of normal time remaining. Eoin O’Flynn’s fine left-footed effort on 58 minutes drew the teams level and Collins capped a fine second half effort with the long range point that put Douglas ahead for the first time. O'Flynn - one of a crop of Premier MFC winners from last year - tapped over the insurance point in the final moments as Goleen slumped to the turf in frustration again.

Scorers for Douglas: E Collins (0-5, 2f), S O’Sullivan (1-0), E O’Flynn (0-3, 1f), H Quilligan (0-2), G O’Sullivan and C Deasy (0-1 each).

Scorers for Goleen: M O’Reilly (1-4), D O’Donovan (1-2), S O’Leary (0-1).

DOUGLAS: P McCarthy; S O’Rourke, C O’Donoghue, D Sheehan; C Myers, D Curtin, D O’Callaghan; O Mulrooney, G O’Sullivan; E O’Flynn, M Dolan, C Deasy; D McCarthy, E Collins, S O’Sullivan.

Subs: H Quilligan for M Dolan (28), C Donlon for C O’Donoghue (36), E McAuliffe for D McCarthy (36), M Howell for D Curtin (42), S O’Leary for S O’Sullivan (46).

GOLEEN: R Kennedy; E Healy, J O’Driscoll, M Sheehan; P Reidy, P Collins, P Sheehan; M Sheehan, T Cullinane; A Sheehan, D O’Driscoll, J Coughlan; S O’Leary, D O’Donovan, M O’Reilly.

Subs: T Reidy for P Collins (49), P O’Regan for T Cullinane (53).

Referee: Arthur Murphy (Killeagh).