Knocknagree (Cork) 3-13 Multyfarnham (Westmeath) 3-9
Cork champions Knocknagree survived a late goal rush to lift the All-Ireland Club JFC title at Croke Park.
A stylish attacking display in the first half laid the foundations as the picked holes in Multyfarnham’s defensive set-up.
Man of the match Fintan O’Connor and Michael Mahoney both hit the net midway through that opening period to give the Munster champions a firm hold on the contest.
Midfielder Padraig Collins set the tone for an early spell of dominance by the Cork men when he charged through to score straight from the throw-in. By the fourth minute, they were three ahead, with Eoghhan McSweeney and John F Daly both punching the ball between the posts.
Collins and Donagh Moynihan drove the Munster champions on from the central area, and while Multyfarnham pulled a couple of points back through full forward Max Brady, their opponents were by far the more polished side.
Corner back Gary O’Connor displayed delightful skills to create a score for James Dennehy, and they struck a savage double blow with two goals in the space of a minute. Michael Mahoney, who lined out at corner back but operated entirely in the opposition half while pushing up on sweeper Ian McGovern, played a major role in both strikes.
First he combined with McSweeney and Matthew Dilworth to send Fintan O’Connor in for a confident finish past Henry Reilly in the 13th minute.
And straight from the kick-out, Mahoney himself finished low to the net from McSweeney’s assist.
The Westmeath men rallied for Anthony McGivney to bring a fine save from Patrick Doyle, and as he looked certain to punch the rebound to the net, defender Karl Daly intervened, opting to palm the ball over his own crossbar.
Brady was Multyfarnham’s only scoring threat, hitting all but one of his side’s five first half points, but he did force another quality save from Doyle before the break.
By that time, however, Knocknagree had moved into a 2-8 to 0-5 lead, with Anthony O’Connor, Fintan O’Connor and Daly adding points.
James Greene and Paul Heavin stood firm at the back for Multyfarnham, frustrating the Corkmen in the early stages of the second half, with Ronan Wallace pressing high up the field in a bid to get his side back in the game, the sweeper system finally abandoned.
And their new-found adventure paid off when Wallace and Mark Reynolds linked up to send skipper David Wallace through to smash home a brilliant goal on 45 minutes.
They had left themselves with two much to do, however, and the Munster champions were able to tag on scores through Anthony O’Connor, Fintan O’Connor and Dennehy.
And despite losing full forward Anthony O’Connor to a second booking in the 55th minute, allied to a late Multyfarnham goal rush, they saw the game out, adding a third goal late on when goalkeeper Doyle sent a ’45 straight to the net.
Sub Mark Fallon applied a spectacular finish for Multyfarnham with two stoppage time goals, but they were unable to stop the Rebels.
Knocknagree: P Doyle (1-00, ‘45); M Mahoney (1-00), P O’Connor, G O’Connor; D Cooper, K Buckley, K Daly (0-01, own pt); D Moynihan, P Collins (00-1); J Dennehy (0-02), J Daly (0-03), E McSweeney (0-02); M Dilworth, A O’Connor (0-02), F O’Connor (1-03).
Subs: S Daly for P O’Connor (31), A Sheehan for Cooper (40), T Long for Dennehy (53), C White for McSweeney (58), T Cooper for Collins (59), J Carroll for G O’Connor (61),
Multyfarnham: H Reilly; S Moran, P Heavin, J Greene; T McGivney, R Wallace (0-01, f), S Rock; B McLoughlin, A McGarvey; M Reynolds, D Loughrey, C Madden; I McGovern, M Brady (0-06 (4f), D Wallace.
Subs: M Fallon (2-00) for T McGivney (h-t), A Loughrey for McLoughlin (41), E Feerick (0-1) for Brady (53), G Feerick for Madden (53), D Kelly for Loughreay (65).
Referee: B Tiernan (Dublin)
