Ferbane edge out Birr in low scoring and tight contest

FERBANE 0-7

BIRR 0-6

FERBANE claimed the Offaly Junior B football title when they edged out Birr by a single point after a very tight and closely fought final played in Cloghan on Saturday.

There was very little to separate the teams throughout but Ferbane showed experience and guile in the closing stages to frustrate Birr and see out the game and they did just about enough to claim the victory.

Birr will be very disappointed with the result as they had enough opportunities to win the game but they wasted an awful lot of ball in the second half, kicking some very poor wides, and they were punished for that in the end.

Ferbane led by a point at half time having had first use of the wind, which was blowing from the road goals. They didn't really get into their stride in that first half and Birr would have been happy enough with their position at half time.

With the wind behind them Birr began the second half well but couldn't find the target. The wides mounted up and Ferbane began to grow in confidence. Ferbane managed the ball much better the longer the game went on. They were patient and kept possession, playing the ball back and across the field, frustrating Birr, and Ferbane's patience paid off as two of their second half points came at the end of long periods of possession where they just kept the ball and waited for the right opportunity to shoot.

Birr could have learned from that but they didn't and too often took on a shot when it wasn't really on or a colleague was in a better position and the longer the game went on, the harder it became for them. They did level the game with 11 minutes left but almost immediately conceded a free which Ferbane pointed to retake the lead and that was one of the differences between the sides. Even in the dying minutes when a point was needed to level it up, Birr weren't composed enough in their build up and their shot selection was poor and their chance of an equaliser went with it.

It was a bit frantic all round in the closing minutes but Ferbane didn't panic and kept the ball when they had the opportunity and that was sufficient to secure victory. Both sides had won their semi-finals by a single point and again there was nothing in it in this game and such are the fine margins between success and heartbreak.

Goalkeeper Ronan Cassidy did well for Ferbane and made a couple of fine stops in the second half. David Wren, Liam Cooper and William Commins were busy in defence and Georgie Digan became more effective at midfield the longer the game progressed. Amazingly none of the Ferbane attack scored, five of their points coming from midfielder Declan Boylan (four frees) and the other two from defenders, but Conor Gleeson was very effective at corner forward winning a lot of ball and some crucial frees, while Donal Flynn and sub David Cox also won a lot of possession.

Donal Ryan had a good game at full back for Birr and Brendan Murphy and Michael Verney did well on the half line. Padraig Watkins worked hard around the middle of the field while Stephen Lonergan, Niall Lyons and Sean Ryan were best in attack.

Declan Boylan opened the scoring for Ferbane with a point from a free inside the first minute. Birr levelled after five minutes when Padraig Watkins' dipping effort was knocked over the crossbar by goalkeeper Ronan Cassidy. Declan Boylan took a return pass from Georgie Digan after 10 minutes to float over a nice point and restore Ferbane's lead but Birr were level four minutes later when full back Donal Ryan came upfield and linked up with his brother Sean, who kicked a good point. Birr took the lead for the only time in the game in the 17th minute when Stephen Lonergan pointed a 40m free.

Birr were playing well against the wind and had a lot of the ball but failed to add to their tally and after 10 minutes without a score Declan Boylan levelled from a free and added another in injury time to give Ferbane a 0-4 to 0-3 interval lead.

Both sides had chances early in the second half before Ferbane stretched their lead after five minutes when William Commins pointed. Birr quickly replied when Stephen Lonergan kicked a long range point. Thirteen minutes followed without a score with Birr having the lion's share of the chances but they hit wide after wide.

Nineteen minutes into the half they had a great chance when Barry Harding and Mikey Ryan combined to put Niall Lyons through. He went for goal but Ronan Cassidy did very well to deflect his shot over the bar for the equaliser. A goal at that stage could really have set Birr up.

Instead a minute later they conceded a free at the other end and Declan Boylan put Ferbane back in front.

Ferbane managed the game well from there. They kept possession for a long time before David Wren kicked another point with four minutes left to give them a little leeway. Niall Lyons had another snapshot for goal which was saved by Ronan Cassidy, although the Birr man did seem to have been fouled in the build up. Stephen Lonergan did cut the gap to one a minute into injury time but despite almost four more minutes of play, and a couple of chances, they couldn't find an equaliser and Ferbane held on for victory.

MATCH ANALYSIS

THE TEAMS

FERBANE: Ronan Cassidy; Saran Flynn, Joe Butler, David Wren; Liam Cooper, William Commins, Dylan Moore; Georgie Digan, Declan Boylan; Sean Carroll, Michael Egan, Donal Flynn; Mark Griffin, Adam Greene, Conor Gleeson. Subs. David Cox (for Sean Carroll, 19 mins), Damien Egan (for Mark Griffin, half time), Paddy Moore (for Adam Greene, 44 mins), Liam Taylor (for Michael Egan, 52 mins).

BIRR: Pio Downey; Mikey Ryan, Donal Ryan, Campbell Boyd; Maxwell Boyd, Michael Verney, Brendan Murphy; Padraic Watkins, Adam Fitzgerald; Ceilim King, Stephen Lonergan, Niall Lyons; Conor Nolan, Sean Ryan, Barry Harding. Subs. Colm Mulrooney (for Conor Nolan, 38 mins), Joe Ryan (for Ceilim King, 52 mins), Sam Smith (for Adam Fitzgerald, 58 mins).

REFEREE: Barry Buckley.

MAN OF THE MATCH

He may not have got on the scoresheet but corner forward Conor Gleeson caused a lot of problems for Birr. He was quick out to the ball and won a number of frees from which they got scores. He was always lively and kept the Birr backs on their toes.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Birr had a lot of chances in the second half but kicked some bad wides. One of their best moves in the 49th minute ended with Niall Lyons shooting for goals but Ronan Cassidy did very well to push his shot over the crossbar. A goal at that stage would have put Birr in the driving seat and they could have pushed on from there for victory but the save denied them that opportunity.

REFEREE WATCH

On the whole Barry Buckley did a good job. He consulted well with linesman and umpires after an incident in the second half and issued yellow cards after it. Things got a little messy towards the end and he had to issue more cards and some of them possibly could have been more than yellow. Birr felt they should have had more frees and there were a couple of occasions in the second half when they did seem to be denied clear frees in good positions, but overall he handled the game well.

TALKING POINT

Ferbane showed their experience in the final quarter and managed the game very well to see it out for victory. Birr missed a lot of chances in the third quarter when they could have kicked on and as they got frustrated, Ferbane came back into it, controlled the ball very well and kept possession, thus denying Birr the chance to get back into it.

WHAT’S NEXT

It's the end of the season for both sides with Ferbane crowned champions and moving up to Junior A next year.

VENUE WATCH

Cloghan hosted the game very well. There were plenty of stewards on duty and they had parking well organised. The pitch was in very good condition.

STATISTICS

Wides; Ferbane 3 (1 in first half) Birr 12 (3 in first half)

Yellow Cards: Ferbane 2 (Damien Egan, Paddy Moore) Birr 5 (Maxwell Boyd, Michael Verney, Mikey Ryan, Donal Ryan, Stephen Lonergan)

Black Cards: None

Red Cards: None

THE SCORERS

Ferbane; Declan Boylan (0-5, 0-4 frees), William Commins, David Wren (0-1 each).

Birr; Stephen Lonergan (0-3, 0-2 frees), Padraic Watkins, Sean Ryan, Niall Lyons (0-1 each).