Grangenolvin hold off Fighting Cocks rally to claim Leinster junior title

Kildare's Grangenolvin led by 11 points at the break but Carlow's Fighting Cocks rallied in the second half to close the gap

Conall Bergin scored 1-2 for Grangenolvin in the victory over Carlow's Fighting Cocks. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Leinster Club JFC final: Grangenolvin (Kildare) 1-12 Fighting Cocks (Carlow) 1-8 

Kildare side, Grangenolvin, were deserving winners of this Leinster Junior Football Championship title at SETU Carlow Campus on Sunday when they edged out the Carlow champions in what turned out to be a tight game.

Playing with the wind in the opening half, the eventual winners got off to a perfect start as Conall Bergin knocked over two points and Nathan Doyle raised a white flag. Tomas Cullen also had the ball in the net but his effort was ruled out for a square ball.

An Aaron Dowling 13th minute free got the home side off the mark but Grangenolvin were unstoppable in that opening 30 minutes. They put pressure on the Cocks kick-out and while they didn’t make full use of the ball, they still led 1-9 to 0-1 at the interval. The three-pointer came in the fifteenth minute when Bergin glided in at the end of a passing movement to shoot low and hard past a helpless Darragh Byrne in the home goal.

The Cocks hit the ground running in the second half as Billy Molloy knocked over a point and William Kelly registered a two-pointer. When Cillian Fagan took on the defence and slid the ball under the advancing keeper for a goal, the game was there for the taking.

Grangenolvin showed tremendous resolve at this stage. They refused to panic and instead took the initiative from their rivals. It was the turn of the Cocks' defence to raise their game and with two tremendous blocks, they showed that they were intent on going the full way. Yet Grangenolvin stole a point via Brian Cullen.

Even an Aaron Dowling two-point free didn’t unhinge away momentum. They had the answers with single points from Oran Bergin and Cullen cancelling out Dowling’s accuracy.

With four minutes left, the Cocks threw everything they had at their opponents in a bid to rescue their cause. Dowling and Fagan both pointed. The visiting defence responded and squeezed a forward line, that had built a reputation for itself throughout their victorious campaign in Carlow and subsequently in Leinster. Yet the champions in waiting had enough of the ball to kill time as they used a combination of youth and experience to see out the game with that little bit to spare.

Scorers for Grangenolvin: Conall Bergin 1-2, Oran Bergin 0-3, Nathan Doyle 0-2, Brian Cullen 0-2, Fionn Bergin 0-2 (fs), Timmy Doyle 0-1.

Scorers for Fighting Cocks: Aaron Dowling 0-4 (1-2pf 2fs), Cillian Fagan 1-1, William Kelly 0-2 (2p), Billy Molloy 0-1.

GRANGENOLVIN: Conor McMahon; Gavin Ivory, Lewis Gannon, Lee Doyle; Paul Huntington, Dylan Costigan, Brian Cullen; Cillian Bergin, Conall Bergin, Keith McGloin, Tomas Cullen, Fionn Bergin; Timmy Doyle, Oran Bergin, Nathan Doyle.

Subs: Ross Dooley for McGloin (38), Aaron Phelan for T Doyle (44), James Gannon for T Cullen (52), Johnny Lawlor for Cillian Bergin (60), Danny Cullen for Cullen (60).

FIGHTING COCKS: Darragh Byrne; Conor Ruane, James Hickey, Dylan Ruane; Billy Molloy, William Kelly, Billy Nolan; Cormac McElligott, Liam Sheppard; Trevor Watchorn, Jack McDonald, Emmet Moran; Cillian Fagan, Alan Quigley, Aaron Dowling.

Subs: Mattie Dowling for Watchorn (39), Glenn O’Rourke for Quigley (38), Matthew E Hayden for Molloy (52).

Referee: Colm McCullough (Louth)