Lady luck smiles on Ferbane at last as Rhode run out of legs in extra time thriller

HAVING lost the 2020 and 2022 semi-finals on penalties, lady luck finally smiled on Ferbane as they just got across the line in a thrilling extra time Senior Football Championship shootout in O'Connor Park on Saturday evening.

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship semi-final

Ferbane 0-20

Rhode 1-14

(After extra time)

On a sweltering hot evening with the temperature in the mid 20s for most of it, the irony of their win won't be lost on Ferbane here as a missed Rhode penalty in extra time was decisive here. Ferbane's worse nightmare unfolded in front of their eyes when Rhode were awarded a penalty a minute into the second period of extra time after Niall McNamee was pulled back by Ferbane sub Stephen Wren.

Ferbane were clinging onto a 0-18 to 1-14 lead at that stage and a goal would more than likely have propelled the reigning champions onto a win. Instead Anton Sullivan's weakly struck kick went wide at the left post and Ferbane breathed again.

As things transpired, that penalty was Rhode's last throw of the dice as they ran out of steam and legs in the second period. With a handful of their team well in their thirties and 41 year old Alan McNamee just gone off having somehow played 78 minutes, including injury time, the gruelling heat eventually took its toll on Rhode and they didn't score again. Instead Ferbane got the closing two points from subs Conor Grennan and Darragh Flynn (free), who had been earlier replaced.

It was a sensational win for Ferbane, a just reward for their peserverance, not just over the 90 plus minutes that were played here but over the last few years as they lost a final and two semi-finals on penalties.

After a fairly pedestrian first half, it ended up a rip roaringly entertaining game of football. Full of excellent football and humanity as both sides made errors with them throwing the kitchen sink at each other in the second half and on.

There was so much to admire in this game and above everything else, massive credit has to go to both sets of players for their considerable fitness levels, their will to win and they way they kept driving and battling for everything on such a warm, humid evening.

It was full to the brim of twists and turns as Rhode turned the screw spectacularly in the second half and Ferbane showed terrific character to battle back when it looked like it had slipped from them. It was a captivating evening and overall, Ferbane survived because they had a stronger bench and Rhode's age eventually told against them. Ferbane introduced their full quota of eight subs and many of these made a crucial difference. Cian Johnson may not have developed in the way his early talent suggested he would but he got a crucial mark and point from play when introduced while David Kelly, Jack Egan and Conor Grennan all added new impetus to Ferbane when they came on.

They also brought back on players who had been taken off and Cathal Flynn in particular, really made his mark. The decision to take him off in the 42nd minute was questionable, even though he wasn't going well, but he took it on his chin and caused consternation for Ferbane with his direct running and pace when brought back on in the 59th minute – Flynn's shooting eye was off and he will be disappointed in some of the wides he kicked but his running was a great asset to them in extra time. Darragh Flynn and Paddy Clancy also did well when re-introduced with Flynn winning and pointing the last free.

Ferbane's fitness also caught the eye and when the game went into extra time, they seemed able to keep going that bit stronger than Rhode.

In contrast, Rhode were in trouble when members of their starting fifteen began to go into the red. They only brought in two subs up to half time of extra time and you can bet your bottom dollar, more would have been brought in earlier had they felt they had the options as they were crying out for fresh legs from the 50th minute onwards. They brought in another three subs after that but Rhode didn't get the impact that Ferbane did off the bench and on this evening, that was the difference between winning and losing – Rhode only introduced five of their eight subs and this was definitely an evening for emptying your bench.

You still have to take your hats off to Rhode, who once again showed phenomenal strength of character. They were amazing for twenty minutes into the second half as they took control of the game and got into a winning position but on this occasion they couldn't close out the deal. That had to happen them at some stage but they were so close to making it back to another final.

By contrast to what followed, the first half gave no indication of the thrills that were to follow.It was pedestrian stuff and never ignited to life. Rhode made a dream start with a tap in Niall McNamee goal after 25 seconds but they didn't build on this and, without firing on all cylinders, Ferbane, were marginally the better side until half time. They got six of the next seven points to lead by 0-6 to 1-1 after 20 minutes. Rhode levelled it up with two before Joe Maher's neat point gave the winners a 0-7 to 1-3 half time lead.

The second half was magnificent and Rhode were so good at times. They pulled fourteen men back to their own half for extended periods but it worked as they closed Ferbane down, snuffing the life out of them. When they won the ball, they broke at pace, and in the blink of an eye, they occasionally had ten men up in the Ferbane half. This was best illustrated in the 44th minute when Niall McNamee of all people won the ball in front of his own goals, moved up field at pace and sent in an extraordinary pass to Anton Sullivan who made space and fired over the point of the match.

That point gave Rhode a 1-9 to 0-8 lead and Ferbane were up to their necks in the dung. Ruari McNamee and Anton Sullivan were quite magnificent in the second half and at this stage, it was impossible to envisage a Ferbane win. Ferbane were living on their wits and it took an excellent block by the superb David Nally on Anton Sullivan to deny Rhode a goal that would surely have ended it when they were 1-8 to 0-8 ahead.

Rhode were still 1-10 to 0-9 ahad after fifty minutes and you would have had no qualms about backing them. Just when those thoughts were becoming all powerful, the game changed. Two things happened – Rhode's legs began to go but Ferbane somehow found the courage to come back, to wrestle back control of the game. Suddenly, they were exerting the same pressure on the man in possession that Rhode had been and the champions began to make mistakes.

Three points in three minutes brought the gap down to a point, 1-10 to 0-12 by the 53rd minute. Fantastic Ruari McNamee and Anton Sullivan points restored a two point gap each time Ferbane got down to the minimum as Rhode found another gear. Joe Maher's free made it a one point game as it drifted into injury time. Cathal Flynn had a bad wide before superbly won Cian Johsnon mark after Noah Swaine spilled the ball for Rhode levelled it up in the 61st minute.

An almost unbelievable Anton Sullivan point, under intense pressure way out on the right, put Rhode back in front in the 64th minute but a minute later Joe Maher equalised from a softly awarded free to force extra time, 0-16 to 1-13.

Extra time was always going to be a battle of survival and while they had suffered more than their share of heartbreak here in the past two years, it was now clear that the odds were with Ferbane. They did just enough to lead by 0-18 to 1-14 at the end of the first period and stared disaster in the face with the penalty in the second period before those late points from Conor Grennan, a son of former Offaly stalwart, Sean, and Darragh Flynn got them the result their hearts desired. Ferbane were also grateful to goalkeeper David Dunican who hared off his line to get his boot to one very dangerous ball in the first period with Conor McNamee lurking and goal on his mind.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Ruari McNamee (Rhode): A tough one to call as so many players emptied the tank, were out on their feet in extra time and were replaced, some of them brought back on. Patrick Taaffe, Kevin Nugent, David Nally and Shane Nally were among the Ferbane players who played the entire time and they were all terrific, especially David Nally, Taaffe and Nugent. Jack Clancy was instrumental in them gaining the initiative when they were in trouble in the second half, getting two absolutely crucial points in the 50th and 51st minutes. In terms of pure football, the best players on the field were on the Rhode side and it was part of their problem that they couldn't sustain their magnificence in the second period. Anton Sullivan got five sensational points, Ruari McNamee four. McNamee may have been a peripheral figure in extra time as he carried a leg and was then called ashore but he is my choice. His football was breathtakingly good in the second half, and spells in the first, as he ran the game, took quality scores and distributed superbly.

THE SCORERS

Ferbane: Joe Maher 0-6 (5f), Darragh Flynn 0-4(2f), Jack Clancy and Cian Johnson (1 mark) 0-2 each, Patrick Taaffe, Leon Fox, Paddy Clancy, David Nally, Conor Grennan, Jack Egan 0-1 each.

Rhode: Niall McNamee 1-3 (3f), Anton Sullivan 0-5, Ruari McNamee 0-4, Darren Garry and Paul McPadden 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

FERBANE: David Dunican; Conor Butler, Ciaran Cahill, Patrick Taaffe; James Nally, Leon Fox, Shane Nally; Kevin Nugent, Paddy Clancy; David Nally, Jack Clancy, Cathal Flynn; Joe Maher, Ronan McGuire, Darragh Flynn. Subs - Subs – David Kelly for Cahill (37m), Stephen Wren for James Nally (37m), Cian Johnson for Cathal Flynn (42m),Jack Egan for Butler (50m), Cathal Flynn for Paddy Clancy (59m), Conor Grennan for Darragh Flynn (FT), Paddy Clancy for Jack Clancy (66m), James Nally for Fox (HT extra time), Darragh Flynn for McGuire (81m).

RHODE: Ken Garry; Keith Murphy, Jake Kavanagh, Gareth McNamee; Eoin Rigney, Brian Darby, Niall Darby; Alan McNamee, Conor McNamee; Ciaran Heavey, Ruari McNamee, Aaron Kellaghan; Paul McPadden, Anton Sullivan, Niall McNamee. Sub – Darren Garry for Heavey (47m), Noah Swaine for Paul McPadden (51m), Ciaran Heavey for Alan McNamee (HT extra time), Pauric Sullivan for Ruari McNamee (75m), Paul McPadden for Garry (77m),

Referee – Marius Stones (Clara).

REFEREE WATCH

Marius Stones had a good game. Niall McNamee did win one very soft looking second half free and there were a couple of others but he got the vast bulk of calls right and was very fair. Water stops were allowed in each half and the County Board will have to clarify if these were legitimate – it was a sweltering evening and a water break may have made some sense but there was certainly none at the intermediate semi-final between Erin Rovers and St Brigid's in Ballinagar earlier and there were players here in far more need of them than the seniors of Rhode and Ferbane! It is unlikely that they were legitimate and if it happened as a result of an agreement between the referee and team managers, that still shouldn't happen. The correct solution would have been to allow open season for water carriers to make allowances for the heat and apply common sense in this way rather than making up their own rules - there has been a suggestion that a water break is allowed if both clubs agreed and if this is the case, fair enough, but this would need to be clarified by the County Board.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Ferbane's 65th minute equaliser from a Joe Maher free was the big moment and without it, they would have been gone.

VENUE WATCH

O'Connor Park was in mighty condition, though there was a surprisingly small crowd at it.

WHAT'S NEXT

Ferbane play Tullamore or Edenderry in the final.

STATISTICS

Wides: Ferbane – 9 (5 in first half, 1 in second half, 1 in first period extra time, 2 in 2nd period); Rhode - 7 (3 in first half, 1 in second half, 1 in first period extra time, 2 in 2nd period ).

Yellow cards: Ferbane – 3 (James Nally, Joe Maher, Jack Egan); Rhode – 3 (Conor McNamee, Ciaran Heavey, Niall McNamee).

Black cards: 0.

Red cards: 0.