Tullamore retain crown with second half tour-de-force
TULLAMORE really went to town on a Ferbane/Belmont side who just lost their way in the second half of this clash and came up against what was a really well organized, disciplined and explosive Tullamore side who really are exciting footballers, great for the club, worrying for the rest of the county.
EJ-Access Solutions Under 13 Football Championship final
Tullamore 10-12
Ferbane/Belmont 3-6
The Tullamore men raced into the lead early on and had three points on the board through Jamie Hoey twice, along with Conor Horkans effort.
Ferbane/Belmont could have been level in the fifth minute as they looked like they were in on goal only for a crucial intervention from Caiden Hogan to keep them out. They did manage two points from the boots of Oisin Kenny and Clyde Buckley, one of which was cancelled out through an Eoghan Stewert effort in the tenth minute of what was a frantic affair.
Conor Buckley and an excellent long range Danny White point saw the sides exchange white flags before the game's opening goal came after Oisin Kenny broke through the Tullamore defence before finishing to the back of the net.
Proceedings were all square by the end of the opening quarter before full forward Conor Horkan was very unlucky not to have raised his sides first green flag as his effort went past James Egan in the Ferbane/Belmont goals before going just wide.
Jackie Rohan was quickest to react to a Cillian Humpheries' save at the other end of the field moments later finishing to the back of the net, a goal that was quickly cancelled out when Jamie Hoey finished well for his first of the afternoon leaving things all square with seven minutes of opening half action remaining.
Two frees from the leg of Joey Butler pushed the west Offaly outfit back infront before the dangerous Horkan and a fine effort by centre back Danny White left things at a stalemate by the half way mark.
Surprisingly, things didn’t continue from where they left off in the second period and it was complete dominated possession from the men in blue and white and this was flagged inside the opening ninety seconds of the half when Martin Ward finished a super effort to the top corner of the net quickly followed by a lovely Robbie Dolan effort from a very tight angle.
Hoey added a lovely close range point to his tally before Oisin Kenny got a much needed one for his side in the sixth minute of this half.
Two more goals came for Ward, a fine soccer style effort along with another cracking finish from Dolan ultimately sealed the deal for their sides by the tenth minute of the second half.
Jack McDermott sent Hoey through a few minutes later and the Tullamore sharpshooter made no mistake in rattling the net before the same man pointed well for the Blues.
Hoey turned provider when he took a short free to McDermott whose shot was initially blocked before breaking to Sam O’Beirne who pulled the trigger putting the ball into the top corner of the net for a well deserved goal.
To their credit the Ferbane/Belmont men tried hard to get down the field but the work rate from the capital town team ensured that scores were going to be extremely hard earned and earn one they did in the fifty-fifth minute when team captain Clyde Buckley burrowed his way through the defence finishing well to the back of the net for what was to be a consolation score.
Ward and Howy combined well for the latter to slot over a lovely point before he slotted home two more goals along with Robbie Dolan getting in for his hatrick crowing a fantastic display for Tullamore as they were crowned champions.
MATCH ANALYSIS
MAN OF THE MATCH
Jamie Hoey (Tullamore): On a day that Tullamore really went to town, especially throughout the second half of this final, there are a number of contenders for the accolade, all from the victors side. Few more so than centre back and forwards Danny White and Martin Ward respectively, leading from the front, creating chances and chipping in with scores.
Caiden Hogan was solid as a rock at full back for Tullamore with some lovely tackling and breaking the ball away on numerous occasions.
Eoghan Stewert got through a mountain of work in the middle of the park while Jack McDermott linked the play between defence and attack excellently all day,
Robbie Dolan and Conor Horkan contributed handsomely with scores at stages in the game.
The nod here goes to Tullamore corner forward Jamie Hoey who finished the day with a tally of 4-5, 4-4 of which came from play, really driving the Blues to victory.
THE SCORERS
Tullamore: Jamie Hoey 4-5 (1f), Robbie Dolan 3-0, Martin Ward 2-1, Conor Horkan 0-4, Sam O’Beirne 1-0, Eoghan Stewart 0-1.
Ferbane/Belmont: Oisin Kenny 1-2, Clyde Buckley 1-1, Jack Rohan 1-0, Joey Butler 0-2 (frees), Conor Buckley 0-1
THE TEAMS
Tullamore: Cillian Humphrey; Noah Kennedy, Caiden Hogan, Tom Walsh; Owen Walsh, Danny White, David Guiney; Kristian Svidersks, Eoghan Stewert; Jackie McDermott, Martin Ward, Sam O’Beirne; Jamie Hoey, Conor Horkan, Robbie Dolan. Subs: Darragh Fitzsimons for Horkan (44), Conor Gratton for Kennedy (44), Rory Smyth for Ward (58), Paidi Boland for Tom Walsh (58), Xavier Cwiacz for O’Beirne (58).
Ferbane/Belmont: James Egan; Jackie Samuals, Oisin Kenny, Charlie Bracken; Ethan Kelly, Luke Kelly, Ultan Keenaghan; Mark O’Shea, Clyde Buckley; Joey Butler, Jackie Rohan, Conor Buckley; Adam Kelly, Barry Cullinan, Oisin Kenny. Subs: Seamus Taylor for O’Shea inj (19), Conor Buckley for Taylor (44), O’Shra for Cullinan (50).
Referee Noel Cooney
REFEREE WATCH
Noel Cooney did a great job here. He had a full complement of umpires and arranged linesmen before throw in. He explained all his decisions to the players and handled the game well.
Over all he wasn’t a factor in winning or losing this clash
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Martin Ward and Robbie Dolans goals at the start of the second half gave Tullamore the platform to push on and cruise home to victory.
VENUE WATCH
On a beautiful day for a game Faithful Fields was in pristine condition. There were plenty of stewards on hand, kudos to the clubs involved who provided parents to volunteer on the day. Programmes were on hand, anthem played and scoreboard in operation.