Brilliant forwards pull the trigger as jubilant Clonbullogue make history

HISTORY was made in Gracefield on Saturday afternoon as a jubilant Clonbullogue won their first ever Intermediate Football Championship with a very convincing win over Raheen.

Tullamore Court Hotel Intermediate Football Championship final

Clonbullogue 3-15
Raheen 2-8

It was a quite super performance by Clonbullogue. They controlled the game from start to finish with their marquee players firing on all cylinders while a tremendous collective work ethic was more than Raheen could stomach on the day.

The quality of Clonbullogue's football, the pace they played with and the hunger they showed were the standout features of a memorable day for them. Slight underdogs going into the game, the extent of their control and dominance was a surprise.

Clonbullogue's attack was on fire on the day. 3-15 was a great tally and they had outstanding displays from county U-20 star Keith O'Neill, Shane O'Brien and Jamie Guing.

O'Neill was absolutely brilliant on the day, the difference between the sides. He destroyed Raheen in the first half and was a constant thorn in their side. O'Neill scored 1-4, 1-1 from play as well as setting up the crucial two first half goals and a heap of other assists.

It was also an afternoon to remember for Jamie Guing and Shane O'Brien. Guing, like O'Neill, a minor last year, scored 1-5, 1-1 from play while Shane O''Brien was also fantastic, scoring 1-3 from play and really coming to his milk when a little bit of pressure came on in the second half. Ruari O'Neill also made a valuable contribution on a day when the Clonbullogue attack really roasted the Raheen defence.

The scoring exploits of those three players may grab the headlines but Clonbullogue had heroes all over the field. Jack McEvoy had a terrific game as he ran the midfield battle, working his socks off while Peter Bennett also stamped his authority on it.

The Clonbullogue defence also played a crucial part, keeping the Raheen attack arm's length apart from the second half when Dylan Hyland finally found his form Apart from Hyland, however, Brian Crombie for a brief spell at the start and the hard working Conor Carroll, no other Raheen forward made headway and that was down to the excellence of the Clonbullogue defence – superbly marshalled by Jamie Quinn and Ian Curry, with Eddie Bennett and Shane Furey also having very productive afternoons.

It was a bitterly disappointing result and performance by Raheen. They simply didn't show up on the day and never remotely looked like winning this. They had started okay but spent most of the time chasing shadows after that. Their work rate wasn't really good enough as a unit but a big problem for Raheen was the huge volume of errors they made. Some of these were forced by a hard working Clonbullogue side but many more were not and were entirely self inflicted. Their passing was sloppy, their handling unsure and too often hard won possession was given away all too cheaply.

Raheen, however, won't be analysing this game for too long. They came up against a vastly superior force on the day and were really blown out of the water. They will be the first to take their hats off to the winners and recriminations will be a pointless exercise for them. Too many of their players had horror shows on the day, too many got on too little ball and you couldn't win with that. Dylan Hyland was magnificent for them in the second half. Their ace attacker barely felt the weight of the ball in the first half as Raheen couldn't get it into him but he oozed quality in the second half as he scored 2-3 from play – unfortunately for Raheen, it never threatened to rescue the game for them and they were never close enough to make it interesting in the second half.

Conor Carrroll had tried very hard in the first half in particular when he took the game to Clonbullogue but it soon became obvious that he was swimming against the tide. It was just one of those days for Raheen and apart from Hyland in that second half, they had few players who got up to the quality of Clonbullogue's star performers.

This game was lost for Raheen by half time, when they trailed by 2-7 to 0-5. Even though they had whatever advantage the wind gave, they were too far back and needed a goal in that first half to keep them alive. They needed a goal in the first half and they did have a couple of chances with Conor Carroll drawing a fine save from Cian Corcoran in the tenth minute.

Clonbullogue were excellent in the first half and could have had the game over as a contest at the break. Once they settled down after about five minutes, they were clearly the better side as Raheen lived on their wits.

Clonbullogue led by 2-7 to 0-5 at half time and could have been a few points further ahead. Their forward line had the Raheen defence in serious trouble, especially when they got the ball into Keith O'Neill's hands. The Offaly U-20 star gave Liam Boland a torrid time and was at the epi-centre of everything Clonbullogue did.

Clonbullogue were 0-4 to 0-2 up when they got their first goal in the 13th minute as Jamie Guing finished off a great move involvin Keith O'Neill and Shane O'Brien. Their second goal arrived three minutes later when O'Neill made a great run and O'Brien applied the finish. A shell shocked Raheen didn't know what hit them and they hung on for dear life.

They improved as the half wore on but only bad finishing by Clonbullogue kept them in with a slim outside chance for the second half.

A Keith O'Neill goal three minutes into the second half put Clonbullogue 3-7 to 0-5 clear and it was a twelve point gap moments later when Jack McEvoy slotted over a “45” after James Boland made a good save from Joe Foran. That was too big of a deficit, though Dylan Hyland did get in for a 39th minute goal and the Raheen support began to find their voice. Indiscipline cost Raheen when Jamie Guing got the next time from a mark that was brought in because defenders didn't back away in time.

James Lalor had a goal shot deflected out for a “45” and for a few minutes, Dylan Hyland made the game his own. He got three excellent points, the middle one a truly breathtaking score but they only brought the gap down to eight points.

Inside the last ten minutes, Clonbullogue finished powerfully. Jamie Guing, Shane O'Brien (two), Ruari O'Neill and Sean Foran all got quality points as it got into the embarrassing territory for Raheen before Dylan Hyland got a stunning consolation goal deep into stoppage time – Clonbullogue had been reduced to fourteen men in the 59th minute when sub James Byrne was red carded for an off the ball offence.

MATCH ANAYSIS

THE SCORERS

Clonbullogue: Jamie Guing 1-5 (2f and 1m), Keith O'Neill 1-4 (3f), Shane O'Brien 1-3, Jack McEvoy (“45”), Sean Foran and Ruari O'Neill 0-1 each.

Raheen: Dylan Hyland 2-3, Brian Crombie amd Conor Carroll 0-2 each, Niall Dempsey 0-1.

THE TEAMS

CLONBULLOGUE: Cian Corcoran; David Dempsey, Jamie Quinn, Shane Furey; Eddie Bennett, Ian Curry, Thomas Morrissey; Jack McEvoy, Peter Bennett; Sean Foran, Keith O'Neill, Shane O'Brien; Jamie Guing, Daryl Quinn, Ruari O'Neill. Subs – Joe Foran for Ruari O'Neill (H/T), Eoin McEvoy for Dempsey, inj. (32m), James Byrne for Morrissey (37m), Ruari O'Neill for Daryl Quinn (52m), Tommy Dempsey for Ruari O'Neill (64m).

RAHEEN: James Boland; Brian Corcoran, Liam Boland, David Carthy; Mikey Buckley, Eoin Corcoran, Glen Hassett; James Lalor, Declan Byrne; Niall Dempsey, Conor Carroll, Jack Keogh; Brian Crombie, Paddy Rigney, Dylan Hyland. Subs – Adam Kelly for Keogh (33m), Kaelyn Thompson for Dempsey (37m), Padraig Bracken for Buckley (52m).

Referee – Fergal Smyth (Kilclonfert).

MAN OF THE MATCH

Keith O'Neill (Clonbullogue): A number of Offaly's U-20 football heroes found it hard to find their best form in the club championships after the highs of their All-Ireland win. Their youth provides a very legitimate reason and there is a step up into club senior football. A notable exception has been Keith O'Neill who has been sensational for Clonbullogue. It may be Offaly football's third tier but here was a young player doing exactly what a county player should. Leading his side from the front, inspiring all around him and producing the big performances and big moments when it counts. He was brilliant here, showing great pace and footballing intelligence and his first half display in particular commanded the utmost of respect while he still oozed class in the second half.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Keith O'Neill's goal at the start of the second half gave them a 3-7 to 0-5 lead and that was too big of a deficit for Raheen to even dream of hauling back in.

REFEREE WATCH

It was a tough physical game with plenty of hard hitting and it kept Fergal Smyth on his toes throughout. He handled it fairly well and dished out cards when needed. Raheen did seem to have to work a bit harder for frees but no one in their club can claim this as a reason for them losing. Apart from that, a recent problem with Offaly GAA games is that referees are not calling the water breaks on time. They should be called between the 15th and 18th minutes but it was 22 minutes before the first half one was called here, 20 minutes with the second half. It's a basic book keeping exercise that needs to be enforced.

TALKING POINT

There was a bit of talk about this game being moved out of O'Connor Park but it wasn't a big issue. Most people expected it to be moved once Gracefield was put on standby earlier in the week. Ideally, the intermediate final should be played in O'Connor Park but you couldn't have the senior final as the last of four games in this weather and it was the only decision to nake,

VENUE WATCH

Gracefield took obvious pride in hosting this fixture with loads of stewards and they had their venue looking very well. The pitch was a bit heavy but that is unavoidable at this time of year.

WHAT'S NEXT

Clonbullogue are at home to the Longford champions in the Leinster Club Junior Football Championship on November 19-21.

STATISTICS

Wides: Clonbullogue – 7 (4 in first half); Raheen – 5 (3 in first half).

Yellow cards: Clonbullogue – 2 (Jack McEvoy and Thomas Morrissey); Raheen – 5 (Brian Corcoran, Liam Boland, Declan Byrne, Niall Dempsey and Conor Carroll).

Black cards: 0.

Red cards – 1 (James Byrne, Clonbullogue).