Leinster IFC: Allenwood dazzle their way provincial glory
AIB Leinster Club Intermediate Football Championship Final 2023
Allenwood 4-12
Scoil Ui Chonaill 3-5
Allenwood were crowned Leinster Intermediate champions after an incredible victory and performance against Dublin’s Scoil Ui Chonaill on Saturday in Parnell Park.
After a point each in the first five minutes, these sides gave up pretending this was going to be just a normal game.
Allenwood, as they were multiple times in the first half, were cut open by a long ball and then an incisive hand-pass.
After brief confusion over a mark, Shane Costello slipped through his Scoil Uí Chonaill teammate Colm Geraghty. The full-forward finished tidily into the net to give his side a 1-1 to 0-1 lead after six minutes and silence the raucous Allenwood crowd.
That lead would last no more than 40 seconds as Eoin Bagnall came from the forward line to win Luke Anderson’s resulting kick out. The ball would pass through multiple Allenwood hands in the midst of a swift counter-attack before finish-
ing as it started, in the possession of Eoin Bagnall.
In a similar vein to what had occurred at the other end just moments before, Bagnall was slipped through and finished ruthlessly to ignite the crowd once more.
A point at either end would come next as both Eoin Bagnall and Emmet Rogan knocked over free-kicks for their respective sides.
Long and quick balls into the forwards were causing Allenwood all kinds of problems in the opening half and it would be their undoing for their second goal concession.
A direct ball in on top of Padraig Conlon was won well by the Scoil Uí Chonaill corner-back, who was a long way from the position he was listed at. Conlon palmed the ball down to teammate Kevin Cagney who was making a burst from deep.
Cagney didn’t over-think the clear goal chance and simply went for power. Allenwood stopper Luke Anderson got a hand on the midfielder’s effort, but was unable to keep it out of the net.
Less than a minute later and Scoil Uí Chonaill were in again. A last ditch attempt to overturn possession with a slapping motion was enough to justify a penalty in the referee’s eyes, much to the dismay of many in attendance.
With a chance to go six points clear, the Dublin side’s goalkeeper came up for the spot kick. Captain Andy Bunyan would push his effort left and wide of the mark, something which was no doubt made all the more painful as the Allenwood ‘keeper dived the opposite direction. The score remained 2-2 to 1-3 after 16 minutes.
Allenwood would respond well to the let-off with a point at the other end from Arron Dunne. However, the Kildare men were still struggling with their opponents fast kicking in transition. Scoil Uí Chonaill notched two points in as many minutes to extend their lead, a margin which would be cut back to three by a fine Darragh Malone point from distance.
The Allenwood sideline knew they needed to make a change at the back. They introduced Mark Delaney, who would have started if fully fit, on the 25 minute to switch things up.
However, Delaney would make a huge difference in the attacking sense and after less than 60 seconds on the pitch was bearing down on goal having been sent through by Johnny Byrne.
Delaney drove an unstoppable effort into the back of the net off the underside of the crossbar to draw the sides level.
Eoin Bagnall added another point to his tally, before setting up the final goal of the first half.
Bagnall curled an effort from range off the post and the ball dropped into the waiting arms of Arron Dunne. Dunne, who squandered a goal chance just a couple of plays prior, hit his effort low, hard and crucially, into the net.
The goal was the last score of the first half as Allenwood went in leading at 3-5 to 2-4 after a breathless opening half an hour.
Allenwood’s exceptional level of performance would change the tone of this game in the second half however. The Kildare champions turned chaos to control and disarray to dominance.
The introduction of Mark Delaney, as sensational as his goal was, was a defensive-minded tactical tweak and one that worked excellently. Delaney was an enormous part of Scoil Uí Chonaill being unable to get the same joy they’d experienced for much of the first half. Both he and Allenwood management deserve huge credit for that fact.
Points from Billy Maher and Darragh Malone would keep the score-board ticking as Allenwood built their lead early on.
Allenwood’s captain Billy Maher was electric throughout this game and he gave the opposition's full-back Martin Tierney a torrid time on a number of occasions.
Tierney, a Kerry man, won’t have had many tougher afternoons in Leinster, or Munster, than having Allenwood’s pacy wing-forward driving at him.
The next couple of points would also be Allenwood’s as Arron Dunne moved his tally to 1-2 for the afternoon with a well-taken free.
The following point would generate one of the biggest roars of the afternoon as Billy Maher off-loaded the ball to Johnny Byrne. Byrne, a local hero across two sports in Kildare, curled over an exceptional effort to move Allenwood into an eight-point lead with 44 minutes on the clock.
The leading side would notch 0-4 before Scoil Uí Chonaill registered a score in the second half and it took them 17 minutes to do so as Allenwood smothered their opponents attempts to get out.
Not long after the Dublin side got off the mark in the second half, so did Johnny Doyle. The county legend who led his club side to Kildare Senior Championship glory in 2004 produced a moment of magic that all in attendance could take home with them with an excellent point from range.
It would have been a travesty not to see the main man knock one over in this historic win, as the 45 year-old Doyle swivelled his hips to earn some space out wide and curled over an exceptional effort that was absolutely worth the wait.
The final moment of jeopardy would come six minutes from the end as the Dublin side got their second penalty of the game.
This time, Emmet Rogan stepped up and converted, but it was still a mountain to climb at 3-12 3-5 with 54 minutes on the clock.
In case there was any anxiety surrounding a turning of the tide, Eoin Bagnall turned on the style once again as he notched an excellent point from distance to quell the nerves.
Bagnall would add another less than a minute later as he reached what would be his final total of 1-5 in this Leinster Intermediate decider.
Nonetheless, Scoil Uí Chonaill were now pouring men forward and in a similar fashion that you see so often, Allenwood punished them on the counter-attack.
County final hero Jake O’Brien would set up the final goal of the game as he off-loaded possession to his captain Billy Maher who found the net in fine fashion.
Billy Maher’s next significant action would be to lift the cup for his side as they progress to the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship.
Allenwood’s fairytale continues as they become Leinster champions.
SCORERS
Allenwood: Eoin Bagnall 1-5 (0-2 frees), Arron Dunne 1-2, Billy Maher 1-1, Mark Delaney 1-0, Darragh Malone 0-2, Johnny Byrne 0-1, John Doyle 0-1.
Scoil Ui Chonaill: Emmet Rogan 1-1 (0-1 frees), Kevin Cagney 1-1, Colm Geraghty 1-0, Brendan Murray 0-1, Robert Kennedy 0-1, Andy Bunyan 0-1 (0-1 frees).
TEAMS
Allenwood: Luke Anderson; Fionn Moran, Sean Moran, Brendan Hanafey; Gavin Malone, Darragh Malone, Ronan Guilfoyle; John Doyle, Rory Moran; Arron Dunne, Johnny Byrne, Billy Maher; Cormac Denagher, Eoin Bagnall, Eric Judge. Subs: Mark Delaney for Gavin Malone (25 minutes), Colm Moran for Eric Judge (49 minutes), Jack O'Brien for Cormac Denagher (52 minutes), Darren Judge for Arron Dunne (54 minutes), David Byrne for Billy Maher (58 minutes.
Scoil Ui Chonaill: Andy Bunyan; Brian Moloney, Martin Tierney, Padraig Conlon; Aaron McCrea, Brian Fleming, Shane Costello; Kevin Cagney, Niall Doherty; Emmet Rogan, Ryan Keane, Brendan Murray; Neil O'Flynn, Colm Geraghty, Robert Kennedy. Subs: Evan Doyle for Niall Doherty (Half-time), Conor Coady for Ryan Keane (Half-time), Conor Dixon for Neil O'Flynn (39 minutes), Brendan O'Connell for Brendan Murray (54 minutes).
Referee: Fintan Pierce (Offaly)