Bride Rovers claim Senior A crown after dramatic comeback win over Castlelyons
Bride Rovers' Brian Roche takes on Castlelyon's Colm Spillane. Pic: Eddie O'Hare
A stunning comeback, stinging cruelty.
For two East Cork neighbours separated by less than five kilometres of road, the respective full-time emotions were planets apart.
When Castlelyons midfielder Eoin Maye struck his second point on 53 minutes, the men in black stood six clear. 2-14 to 1-11.
Having responded to the concession of Adam Walsh’s lead goal on 36 minutes with green flags of their own from David Morrison, on 42 minutes, and Leon Doocey four minutes later, Castlelyons, coached by Cork U20 manager Noel Furlong, had one hand on the silver pot.
Their captain - the superb Colm Spillane - never got to climb the steps. Castlelyons never scored again beyond Maye’s white flag. They were instead floored by a Bride Rovers 1-4 burst that swung the game in as dramatic fashion as you can imagine.
Tipp native Jamie Peters began the 11th hour comeback. They initially went hunting green. Brian Roche had three separate goal shots smothered and blocked. He was fouled when striking the third of those, Adam Walsh converting the consequent free.
The goal that truly returned them to contention was beyond fortuitous. Paddy O’Flynn’s half point attempt, half delivery bounced into the net on 58 minutes. The deficit cut to the minimum.
Bride Rovers were now banging down the neighbours door. After three successive chances failed to bring an equaliser, sweeper Cillian Tobin, from his own 45-metre line, leveled matters 46 seconds into injury-time.
The winner arrived just under a minute and a half later. David Barry delivered Bride Rovers’ opener, he also delivered their closer. The Rathcormac and Bartlemy men, who lost their topflight status in the 2020 regrading, will wear Premier Senior status in 2026.
Whatever both sides got up to in the seven days between the drawn and replayed fixtures, it involved very little shooting practice. The dismal striking-at-goal of last weekend continued apace here. And frustratingly so.
The one area where both fell down last week had not been rectified. Not even close.
Both sides had tallied four wides apiece by the eighth minute. The wide count was six to five in Castlelyons’ favour by the 11th minute. By the 22nd minute, this second instalment of the Senior A final had borne witness to 16 wides (nine to Castlelyons, seven to their neighbours).
Even though it was Castlelyons whose wide count climbed higher from the end of the first quarter, it was their opponents who engineered the more cut and dry opportunities early doors.
And while David Barry, Adam Walsh (free), and Cormac O'Sullivan sent them into a three-point lead by the ninth minute, Paddy O’Flynn and Shane O’Connor were already guilty of registering poor, poor misses. A Conleith Ryan goal opening also came to nought owing to a superb piece of defending by Castlelyons full-back Colm Barry. Colm McCarthy would later block a Cormac O’Sullivan goal strike.
Castlelyons had clocked seven wides before their 15th minute opener from centre-back Niall O’Leary. An Alan Fenton free on 20 minutes brought them level at 0-4 apiece.
Anthony Spillane’s white flag on 22 minutes represented the first time Castlelyons hit the front in either the drawn or replayed fixtures. The lead was short-lived. Less than a minute, in fact. Brian Roche turned and sped away from Cork teammate Niall O’Leary.
Bride Rovers would fail to add to their account for the remainder of the half. Castlelyons, with a breeze behind them, needed to put a modicum of distance between themselves and the crowd just over the road. Eoin Maye, twice, Alan Fenton, and Shane Moroney sent them back down the tunnel 0-9 to 0-5 in front.
It was a lead they lost, reclaimed, and swelled before a finish that will take some time to wash from the system.
When falling behind at the death, they did have legitimate claims for an equalising free, but referee Mark Maher judged there to have been no foul on Leon Doocey. A third county final defeat in six seasons.
A Walsh (1-7, 0-6 frees); P O’Flynn (1-1); D Barry (0-2); C Tobin, J Peters, S O’Connor, B Roche, C O’Sullivan (0-1 each).
L Doocey (1-1); A Fenton (0-3, 0-2 frees); D Morrison (1-0); E Maye, K O’Leary, A Spillane (0-2 each); S Moroney, C Spillane, N O’Leary, J Kearney (0-1 each).
C Hogan; E Roche, D Cashman, C Tobin; J Ahern, C Hazelwood, S O’Connor; J Peters, C O’Sullivan; P O’Flynn, B Roche, A Walsh; K Kearney, C Ryan, D Barry.
R O’Connell for K Kearney (40); J Mannix for O’Sullivan (53).
J Barry; D Spillane, C Barry, C Spillane; S Moroney, N O’Leary, C McCarthy; J Kearney, E Maye; S Cotter, A Fenton, L Doocey; K O’Leary, D Morrison, A Spillane.
B Spillane for Morrison (56).
M Maher.
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