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Strong Second Half Display Seals Minor B Title for Ferbane/Belmont

Ferbane/Belmont 3-9 .........Shinrone 2-7

(Report: Courtesy of John O'Callaghan, Tullamore Tribune, 27 th October 2011)

Ferbane/Belmont captured the Offaly Minor B Hurling title when a strong second half performance saw off the challenge from Shinrone in a game played in wet conditions at St Brendan s Park, Birr on Saturday last, October 22nd. Shinrone looked to be in a strong position when they only trailed by a point at half time having faced a strong wind, but Ferbane/Belmont were the better team in the second half and while Shinrone pushed late to try and resurrect their challenge, Ferbane/Belmont held out to win by five points. Conditions for were difficult for both sides. Rain earlier in the day had left the pitch soft and a strong wind blew into the town end, which Ferbane/Belmont had advantage of in the first half. Torrential rain just at the end of the first half and through the half time break further worsened conditions and probably took a bit of the sting out of the wind, which seemed to switch more crossfield afterwards, and that didn't help Shinrone either.

Ferbane/Belmont got a good start and a fifth minute goal helped them to a 1-4 to 0-1 lead midway through the first half. Shinrone got back into the game with a 21st minute goal but Ferbane/Belmont replied with a second goal three minutes later. However when Shinrone goaled again three minutes before half time to leave them just a point down, 2-5 to 2-4, at the interval, the odds certainly seemed to favour Shinrone. A goal three minutes into the second half lifted Ferbane/Belmont and 12 minutes into the half they had stretched their lead to seven points. Shinrone were now facing an uphill struggle and although they reduced the lead slightly they were unable to get close enough and Ferbane/Belmont held on to take their first title since 2000. The third quarter proved to be the decisive period of the game. It was expected that Shinrone would make use of the elements after the break but they registered a couple of early wides and then Ferbane/Belmont struck for their third goal. They dominated the game for the 10 minutes after that as Shinrone struggled to make an impact and built up that seven point lead. However Ferbane/Belmont failed to score for the last 18 minutes of the game and missed a couple of good chances to put a seal on the victory. Shinrone cut a couple of points off the lead but they failed to score over the final 12 minutes as the game remained completely scoreless for that period. Shinrone never looked like getting the goal that might get them back into the game in that spell.

The first half was closely fought and the better hurling was played in that half . Despite playing against the wind Shinrone looked dangerous in that half and must have felt at half time that the game was theirs for the taking but they failed to play with the same cohesion in the second half. Ferbane/Belmont came out strongly at the start of the second half and quickly showed that they weren't going to lie down. They battled hard for every ball and their defence gave very little away after the break. Shane Mooney made some vital saves while in defence James Nally, Jack Egan, Ciaran Cahill and Stephen Wren all contributed significantly to the success. David Kelly and Brian Grehan did well around the middle of the field while in attack Leon Fox was the scorer in chief with 2-5 (1-2 from play) and Darragh Corbett also showed great hurling ability while Joe Maher and Eoghan Lowry worked hard. Shane Sampson kept Shinrone in the game with some fine saves while Daniel Doughan, Seamus Hoctor and Joseph Cleary did a lot of work in the defence. Conor Doughan battled hard around midfield while Jason Sampson was their best forward, notching 2-4 from play. However he was the only one of the starting forwards to score with midfielder Conor Doughan and sub Jordan Fogarty their only other scorers.

Leon Fox opened the scoring for Ferbane/Belmont after two minutes and he was also involved in the build up to the first goal after five minutes. His shot was saved by Shane Sampson and Dean Hogan's follow up efforts were also blocked before Darragh Corbett netted from close range. Jason Sampson scored Shinrone's first point after seven minutes and shortly after Conor Smyth had a shot from an angle well saved by Shane Mooney. Leon Fox then scored three points in two minutes, one a fine point from the left and the other two frees, to put them 1-4 to 0-1 in front midway through the half. Jason Sampson ended a long run with a point before Conor Doughan added another, Darragh Corbett scored a great point from the left wing but Shinrone then found the net after 21 minutes. Darragh Cleary's free was kept in play by Adrian Cleary and Jason Sampson fired the ball to the net. Three minutes later Ferbane/Belmont were awarded a 20m free and Leon Fox elected to go for goal and his shot found its way to the net. Shinrone struck back and Jason Sampson scored a point before collecting a cross from Conor Doughan and burying his shot in the net to leave Shinrone just a point down at half time, 2-5 to 2-4.

Just 17 seconds after the restart Darragh Corbett pointed for Ferbane/Belmont. Shinrone had a couple of wides before Ferbane/Belmont goaled again. Joe Maher and Darragh Corbett linked up and the latters' high ball was flicked to the net by Leon Fox. Sub Jordan Fogarty cut in from the right to point for Shinrone bur Ferbane/Belmont responded and Joe Maher pointed. Darragh Corbett then ran on to a pass from Brian Grehan but Shane Sampson pulled off a fine save from first time shot. Eoghan Lowry added a point from play and Leon Fox pointed a free to stretch the lead to seven points but then missed a simple free to add to the lead. Jordan Fogarty pointed a free at the other end and Jason Sampson added another point with 12 minutes left to cut lead to five. However they missed a couple of frees and other chances after that as their points tally rose to 10 and Ferbane/Belmont held on to win by five points.

The scorers: Ferbane/Belmont: Leon Fox (2-5, 1-3 frees), Darragh Corbett (1-2), Joe Maher and Eoghan Lowry (0-1 each). Shinrone: Jason Sampson (2-4), Jordan Fogarty (0-2, 0-1 free), Conor Doughan (0-1)

Teams: Ferbane/Belmont: Shane Mooney, James Nally, Jack Egan, Stephen Wren, Ciaran Cahill, Darren Kelly, David Kelly, Brian Grehan, Eoghan Lowry, Joe Maher, Dean Hogan, Darragh Corbett, Leon Fox. Sub: Merrick Daly (for Darren Kelly, 41 mins) Shinrone: Shane Sampson, Shane Carroll, Daniel Doughan, Seamus Hoctor, Joseph Cleary, Damien Murphy, Darragh Cleary, Conor Doughan, David McAuliffe, Conor Smyth, Jason Sampson, Adrian Cleary, Niall Cleary. Subs. Jordan Fogarty for D. McAuliffe, Declan Cleary for Shane Carroll, Eoin Carroll for Darragh Cleary, Carl Stringer for Conor Smyth.

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