Sharper Durrow outpoint Ferbane to capture Junior B football crown

Tullamore Court Hotel Junior 'B' Football Final

DURROW 0-15

FERBANE 2-5

DURROW showed greater sharperness to outpoint Ferbane to claim a hard earned four point victory in the Offaly Junior B Football Final played at Tubber on Sunday.

Durrow were full merit for the victory but they were made to fight all the way by a dogged Ferbane side, who just stuck in the game all the way and pushed their opponents to the final whistle.

The margin may have only been four points but Durrow played the better football over the hour but just couldn't put their opponents away completely and the outcome was in the balance until the final moments. The guile and experience of the Ferbane side kept them in the contest when Durrow could have been well out of reach and Durrow couldn't relax until the final whistle sounded.

From the very start Durrow set out their stall and they scored the first six points without reply and seemed well on their way to a comfortable victory. But in the space of three minutes the whole complexion of the game changed as Ferbane hit back with 1-2 to cut the gap to the minimum and Durrow were happy to add a couple of late points in the first half to go in leading at the break by three points, 0-8 to 1-2.

Durrow had edged four points clear in the second half when Ferbane struck for a second goal after 41 minutes and the lead was down to a single point again. That was still the gap with seven minutes to go as Durrow missed some chances of both goals and points but they finished the stronger outpointing their opponents 0-4 to 0-1 in the remaining minutes to claim the title.

Over the hour Durrow were the better team. They were lively and full of energy but on occasions they chose the wrong option or overplayed the ball. They had a couple of goal chances in the second half that could have put the game to bed but in fairness they were denied by fine saves by Ferbane goalkeeper Darragh Spollen. But they didn't give up and their efforts were rewarded with those late points which ensured their victory.

Ferbane looked in danger of being overrun in that first half. It took them 20 minutes to get their first score but all of a sudden they added a second point and then a goal and they were right back in the contest. They worked very hard but didn't have the same scoring options that Durrow had. The two goals were very well worked and kept them in the game but they only managed a single point from play with the other four coming from frees.

In contrast 13 of Durrow's 15 points came from play and seven different players contributed to those 13 points. It was one of the big differences between the sides and had they managed to take any of their goal chances they would have made the closing minutes a bit more comfortable for themselves.

Cameron Evans, Eoin Boland and Darragh Wyer were prominent in the Durrow defence, Joe Maher had an excellent game at midfield while in attack Aaron Maher, Liam Clavin and Jack Molloy did most of the damage.

Ferbane never gave up and William Commins, Damien Egan and George Murray worked hard in defence, Declan Boylan tried hard at midfield while in attack Darragh Keenaghan bagged the two goals and Colin Egan, Paddy Moore and Brian Grehan also got on a lot of ball.

Durrow started brightly and Joe Maher and Liam Clavin got them off the mark in the first three minutes. Liam Clavin added a second after nine minutes and Conor Wyer had them four ahead midway through the half. Ferbane offered little in attack up to this point and Durrow continued to tack on the points with Aaron Maher and Joe Maher adding a quickfire double to put them six clear after 18 minutes.

Ferbane finally got off the mark after 20 minutes when Declan Boylan pointed a free. Brian McEvoy added another and then Paddy Moore caught a high ball, quickly transferred to the inrushing Darragh Keenaghan and he fired a low shot to the net and the gap was down to a single point. They had a couple of more chances shortly after with Mark Cahill making one fine run but steering his shot just wide of the posts. Shane McDermott pointed two frees for Durrow and they went in leading by 0-8 to 1-2.

Durrow had an early goal chance in the second half when James Scully and Liam Clavin set up Aaron Maher but his close range shot came back off the crossbar. The ball was worked back out to Oisin Boland and he kicked a good point. Declan Boylan replied with a free for Ferbane but Joe Maher finished a good move with another Durrow point.

Eleven minutes into the half Ferbane found the net for the second time. Aaron Maher, Mark Cahill and Paddy Moore were involved in the build up with the latter making a decisive run and handpassing across goals for Darragh Keenaghan to finish to the net. Jack Molloy and Declan Boylan (free) exchanged points and the gap was still a single point as the game entered the final quarter.

Durrow then had a couple of great goal chances. On a quick breakaway Jack Molloy sent Aaron Maher away but his shot was brilliantly saved by Darragh Spollen. Minutes later James Scully had an effort from close range but it was also blocked at the expense of a '45'. With seven minutes left Jack Molloy took a pass from Joe Maher and pointed and straight from the kick out Joe Maher won the ball again and transferred to Jack Molloy who kicked another point. Sub Cian Doyle then kicked another to stretch the lead to four and although Declan Boylan got it down to three again, Aaron Maher slotted over the last point to ensure that Durrow collected the trophy.

MATCH ANALYSIS

THE TEAMS

DURROW: Joe Smyth; Alan Slattery, Cameron Evans, Luke Waters; Eoin Boland, Darragh Wyer, Oisin Boland; Niall McDermott, Joe Maher; Conor Wyer, Aaron Maher, Shane McDermott; Liam Clavin, James Scully, Jack Molloy. Subs. Cian Doyle (for Alan Slattery, 47 mins), Paul Troy (for Cameron Evans, 60 mins).

FERBANE: Darragh Spollen; David Wren, Michael Wren, George Murray; Mark Nugent, Damien Egan, William Commins; Georgie Digan, Declan Boylan; Brian McEvoy, Colin Egan, Darragh Keenaghan; Paddy Moore, Brian Grehan, Mark Cahill. Subs. Darren Kelly (for Mark Nugent, 37 mins), Ronan Cassidy (for Mark Cahill, 57 mins), John Dooley (for Paddy Moore, 58 mins), Shane Coughlan (for David Wren, 60 mins).

REFEREE: Chris Dwyer (Clara).

MAN OF THE MATCH

All the main contenders were on the Durrow side. Aaron Maher and Jack Molloy deserve mention but I've gone with midfielder Joe Maher. He was involved in the action from the very start and was very industrious all around the field. He scored three points from play and directly set up a number of other points in a fine all round performance.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Ferbane's first goal was a really well worked goal. Paddy Moore fielded a high ball in, quickly transferred to Darragh Keenaghan heading goalwards and he drilled a low shot to the far corner of the net for a lovely goal.

REFEREE WATCH

Chris Dwyer did a good job overall. He explained his decisions well to the players and was particularly hot on penalising overcarrying. Durrow expressed their frustrations with some of his decisions with the free count going against them, but while there might have been a couple of questionable decisions, on the whole he got the bulk of them right.

WHAT’S NEXT

Durrow finish the season as Junior B champions and will progress to the Junior A championship in 2025. Ferbane will be left to lick their wounds and try again next season.

VENUE WATCH

Tubber did a good job hosting the game. After overnight and early morning rain the pitch was slippy and that did lead to a number of errors in handling on both sides and players losing their footing. Tubber had everything else in good order.

STATISTICS

Wides; Durrow 7 (4 in first half) Ferbane 4 (4 in first half)

Yellow Cards: Durrow 2 (Joe Maher, Shane McDermott) Ferbane 3 (Declan Boylan, George Murray, Damien Egan.

Black Cards: None.

Red Cards: None.

THE SCORERS

Durrow; Joe Maher and Jack Molloy (0-3 each), Liam Clavin, Aaron Maher, Shane McDermott (both frees) (0-2 each), Conor Wyer, Oisin Boland, Cian Doyle (0-1 each).

Ferbane; Darragh Keenaghan (2-0), Declan Boylan (0-4, all frees), Brian McEvoy (0-1).