Hogan's fortuitous second-half goal fires Burgess to county U15B final victory

County U15B Hurling Championship Final 

Burgess 1-18 

Ballybacon Grange 0-18

By Liam Hogan 

A fortuitous goal by Oisin Hogan was the difference as Burgess defeated a game Ballybacon Grange side in an exciting U15B county final played at sunny Cappawhite early Sunday afternoon.

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Hogan’s goal came in the 50th minute when his free from halfway deceived Ballybacon keeper Jim Purcell, when perhaps the glare of the high sun didn’t help him deal with it properly. The goal was timely for Burgess, and it put them 1-16 to 0-15 ahead after they had lost a commanding six-point advantage. 

However, that four-point lead was not enough as the remaining ten minutes was a battle of free-takers, with Walsh scoring three, two of which came in added time, which reached the 65th minute. Continued pressure by the South champions had Burgess supporters at their wits’ end in case an equalising goal would come and force extra time.

That goal by Hogan was only a snippet of his overall contribution to the game as he amassed 1-16, including six points from play. It was just as well, because in the other corner, Matthew Walsh was equally prolific, with his tally reaching 0-16 and twelve of his scores coming from frees.

It wasn’t all down to sharpshooters, because the winners, who came into the game as favourites, had much more on offer. Sean Purcell, Eoin Hogan, and Luke Slattery were to the fore of a tight-marking defence in front of an alert goalkeeper, David Mulcahy, who had to come off his line and produce a vital save in the 11th minute when Ballybacon were in a dangerous mood for creating goal chances. 

Others to shine included Kaden Fogarty, Jack Comerford, Shane O’Donoghue, and Tommy Ryan, while Ben Madden was sorely missed when he left the scene with a shoulder injury in the 23rd minute.

Much credit must go to the Ballybacon defence, who came to terms with early signs of danger from the North champions. Cillian O’Dwyer had his moments at six, in front of Cian Walsh at full back. Matthew Walsh was the leader up front, and the fourteen-year-old had much help from Fionn Aird, Dylan Shone, and Darren O’Mahoney.

Early nerves saw both sides shoot two wides each before Oisin Hogan opened the scoring with a free in the seventh minute. Fionn Aird levelled within sixty seconds. It was end-to-end as Oisin Hogan gave Burgess the lead, which doubled after Kaden Fogarty was on target. Fionn Aird replied with his second and levelled from play seconds after David Mulcahy denied Darren O’Mahoney in the ninth minute.

Chances continued to come, but Burgess took advantage as Oisin Hogan scored three times, the latter two from play, to see Burgess 0-6 to 0-3 clear after 14 minutes. However, Ballybacon were back in the hunt after a Walsh free plus a third Aird point left the minimum between the teams on 20 minutes. Burgess then lost Ben Madden. 

Play continued, however, and it became a battle of frees between Walsh and Hogan, with the former making it 0-8 each a minute from the break.

Two Hogan frees, one from halfway plus a second from play out close to the sideline, had Burgess two in front, but not to be outdone, Matthew Walsh had the last say with a placed ball from 60 metres as the teams made their way to the dressing rooms, Burgess leading 0-10 to 0-9.

Jack Comerford’s point after twenty seconds set Burgess on what looked like a home run as they scored five unanswered points in eight minutes, with Hogan picking up four more, including three from frees. 

However, Ballybacon were not for losing, as the Brendan Cummins-managed side began their fightback, starting with another Walsh free and the same player scoring an excellent point from play. Midfielder Tommy Lenihan added another brilliant point before Matthew Walsh rounded off the six-unanswered run with two more accurate frees and one from play.

The number of times players fouled became much more frequent, and the next one proved costly to Ballybacon as Oisin Hogan’s effort for a point from a free on halfway dropped short and ended up in the Ballybacon net. Walsh replied immediately with a free, but two more Hogan frees had Burgess five in front with three minutes remaining. Five points in front, it looked as if Burgess might march on.

Not a bit of it, as Ballybacon fought back, and two pointed frees by their talisman had them three in arrears, but they could muster no more as a cohesive Burgess defence held out for a much-welcomed win.

Burgess: David Mulcahy; Sean Purcell, Eoin Hogan, Tom Cahalan; Harry Hoare, Luke Slattery, Michael Grey; Karen Fogarty (0-1), Girvan Mooney; Dillon Darcy, Jack Comerford (0-1), Shane O’Donoghue; Tommy Ryan, Ben Madden, Oisin Hogan (1-16, 1-10f). 

Subs used: Tony Seymour for Madden (22, inj); Aaron Philpot for Darcy (53). 

Ballybacon Grange: Jim Purcell; Jack Kinehan, Cian Walsh, Shane Bourke; Shane Howe, Cillian O’Dwyer, Michael Moyles; Harry Walsh, Tom Lenihan; Matthew Walsh (0-16, 0-11f), Sean Lonergan, Jackson Callanan; Fionn Aird0-3, Darren O’Mahoney, Dylan Shone. 

Subs used: Cillian Murphy for O’Mahoney (35); Cillian Moloney for Shone (45). 

Referee: Seamus Delaney (JK Brackens)

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