Watch and read: City giants Glen Rovers stand tall once more after 10-year gap
The silverware will go across the Christy Ring bridge. The celebrations will follow in footstep to Blackpool. Glory to the Glen. A city giant stands tall once more.
Three years after losing their topflight status, the Glen have returned to the winners' enclosure in Cork. A 10-year gap bridged to their last success. A 28th title in total. No fifth consecutive final defeat to their fiercest rivals.
A final that took its sweet time to click and flow was ultimately settled by the sterling contribution of the Glen’s 22-year-old corner-forward Eoin O’Leary.
Arriving into Sunday as their top-scorer from play with 3-11, he stitched 2-2 onto this already impressive season compilation.
His opening green flag in the 37th minute rubber-stamped the Glen’s reassertion upon the change of ends. The opening half had finished with a Barrs four-in-row. The second of that quartet, in the 30th minute, was the first time the Barrs stood level with their Northside opponents. The third of that quartet in first-half stoppages, from Ben Cunningham, was the first time the Barrs led this final.
The Barrs' 0-12 to 0-10 half-time lasted all of three second-half minutes.
A pair of fouls on the constantly threatening corner-forward pair of O’Leary and Simon Kennefick enabled Patrick Horgan to tie matters.
The opening goal thereafter stemmed from a William Buckley point attempt that came back down off the post. The subsequent delivery deep into the Blackrock End was missed by Seán Daly. O’Leary tore in and provided a smart, batted finish.
A superb Hoggie point from the South Stand sideline, followed by another from the 38-year-old from the placed-ball, had Tomás Mulcahy’s charges four in front in - 1-16 to 0-15 - entering the final quarter.
The second-half success of their inside line in turning so much possession into flags, coupled with Rhys Dunne’s breakout display at midfield and the sufficient muting of so many of the Barrs’ headline acts, pointed to a final quarter of the Glen pulling further away.
The Barrs wouldn’t allow such. This rivalry delivers nothing of a straightforward variety.
Ethan Twomey came with five second half points. Sub Aidan Barry was on the mark.
The gap was halved to two when Dunne found O’Leary inside the cover and completely unmarked on 54 minutes. The finish was the final note in a superb individual campaign.
William Buckley, Ricky Barrett, and Ben Cunningham (free) reduced the deficit to three in the final injury-time minute of three.
A Twomey delivery into the danger area broke to Buckley. He weaved around the sea of green, black, and gold. The sliotar somehow stayed out.
All the ingredients were lined up on the counter for a classic, or at least something very close to a classic.
A pair of city giants. A first-coming together on the concluding Sunday in 38 years. A rake of present and former Cork acts. Heavyweight matchups at either end. Hayes on the taller Downey. Hoggie on the eldest Cahalane. A sideline of highly respected coaching pedigree and household names in the main bibs.
Wayne King threw in possession and it quickly became apparent quality was an absent ingredient. The strange flatness emanating from the packed stands - 19,041 the attendance - was reciprocated by shocking shooting on either side.
Simon Kennefick’s 11th-minute wide brought the Glen’s start to one successful effort from play from nine attempts. There was Eoin O’Leary’s second minute point, a blocked Lee Quilligan attempt, Kennefick’s off-the-crossbar goal drive, and six wides.
The Glen were so dominant. Rob Downey won the first ball in between himself and Hayes. Eoin Varian did likewise in the first contest between himself and Buckley.
The Glen were also so terribly wasteful. They’d managed a point and four wides - inside the opening three and a half minutes - before the Barrs ever took aim at the Blackrock End. The misfiring was contagious.
Corner-back Seán Daly’s dropped-short attempt at the end of the first quarter had the Barrs at one successful effort from play from seven opportunities.
The wide count at the end of the first quarter was six to the Glen and five to the Barrs. Eight scores dwarfed by 11 wides. The first-half wide count would finish up at 15 (nine to Blackpool, six to Togher).
Centre-back Ciarán Doolan was the Barrs’ first scorer from play. The clock showed 13 minutes. They were somehow within a point, 0-4 to 0-3.
A pair from Hoggie on 17 and 18 minutes - the first of those for a foul won by Micheál Mullins - shoved the Glen 0-7 to 0-4 in front. It was the largest their lead had grown to.
Their lead was again three on 24 minutes, half-forwards Brosnan and Mullins writing a 0-9 to 0-6 scoreline.
Brian Hayes had belatedly entered proceedings by this juncture. His first possession didn’t arrive until the 20th minute. From his first two possessions and an overhead swing, he delivered three points. He’d not score, though, in the second period. Hickey repelled his goal effort early in the second period.
The goat has once again broken loose on Grand Parade. The Glen have once again won the county.
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P Horgan (0-11, 0-8 frees); E O’Leary (2-2); R Dunne (0-3); D Brosnan (0-2); S Kennefick, M Mullins (0-1 each).
B Cunningham (0-6, 0-5 frees); E Twomey (0-5); B Hayes, W Buckley (0-3 each); S Cunningham (0-2); C Doolan, A Barry, C Walsh, R Barrett (0-1 each).
C Hickey; E Varian, R Downey, A Lynch; L Horgan, E Downey, L Coughlan; R Dunne, C McCarthy; D Brosnan, M Mullins, L Quilligan; S Kennefick, P Horgan, E O’Leary.
B Moylan for Quilligan (36); D Noonan for McCarthy (55); A O’Donovan for Dunne (60).
S Hurley; S Daly, D Cahalane, J Burns; E Finn, C Doolan, C Cahalane; C Walsh, E Twomey; J Wigginton Barrett, B Cunningham, J O’Kelly; S Cunningham, B Hayes, W Buckley.
A Barry for C Walsh (36); J Cahalane for O’Kelly (38); R Barrett for Cunningham (53).
W King.
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