Relentless Ferbane break Shamrocks in second half to return to fourth consecutive final

A RELENTLESS Ferbane once again showed huge character and desire as they qualified for their fourth consecutive Offaly Senior Football Championship final with a hard earned win over battling Shamrocks in the first semi-final in O'Connor Park on Sunday afternoon.

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship semi-final

Ferbane 2-19

Shamrocks 3-11

Beaten by Tullamore in the last three finals, Ferbane's ability to keep coming back is remarkable and their hunger shone like a beacon as they recovered from a disastrous start, had their fate in their own hands at half time and generated just enough momentum to get the win in the second half.

It was not easy as Shamrocks fought with everything they had. 2-17 to 3-7 behind with twelve minutes left, the losers looked a beaten docket. Yet they had ample play and chances to have rescued it late on.

They had the gap back to four points, 2-17 to 3-10 as it went into injury time and threatened a goal that could have changed everything. They created a couple of half chances and also had some poor wides in open play to make it a bit simpler for Ferbane than it should have been.

They certainly should have got it back down to a one score game with most of the five minutes of injury time to be played and anything could have happened then. In the wind up Ferbane points from Darragh Flynn and sub Conor Grennan sandwiched one from Jack Bryant in injury time as they held on with a degree of comfort for a deserved win.

Shamrocks gave it what they had and were very competitive but they didn't play well enough to win and have no complaints at the result. Despite an awful start, Ferbane looked like they would have enough to survive almost the whole way and they did sufficient harm when they did click into top gear for a fifteen minute spell in the second half.

Shamrocks have made progress this year but they will be disappointed at the nature of this defeat and when it came down to it, their limitations were very obvious.

At least they arrested their tendency to make nightmare starts here. They were shocking in the opening few minutes in their group defeat to Ferbane and quarter-final win ove Clara but couldn't have hoped for a better start here.

With the wind on their back in the first half, Conor Egan raced through for a great goal just over a minute in and Jack Bryant punched in a second goal in the eight minute after a great interchange with Paddy Dunican.

The underdogs were 2-0 to 0-1 ahead but once Ferbane settled around the ten minute mark, it became very clear that they were the better side. They had it back to 2-0 to 0-5 after thirteen minutes with Cian Johnson rattling the underside of the crossbar from point blank range in the 13th minute, the superb Jake Maher pointing the rebound.

Shamrocks' first point only arrived from a Paddy Dunican free in the 15th minute. He added an audacious two pointer from way out but going that long without a point was a big problem with the wind on their backs.

As the half progressed, bigger problems emerged for Shamrocks as they struggled badly on their own kickouts. Ferbane won a high percentage of these and Shamrocks found it very hard to break out of defence. It meant that Ferbane were able to control the tempo of the game and were level at 0-9 to 2-3 after 21 minutes.

They should have taken the lead when Joe Maher had a tame wide with a softly awarded penalty in the 26th minute. Shamrocks got crucial late scores to give them a chance. Alan Heffernan got their third goal in the 27th minute when Shane O'Toole-Greene's point shot hit the post. Kieran Dolan added a point but Jake Maher and Joe Maher got late points for Ferbane to make it 3-4 to 0-12 at half time and they were very much in the driving seat.

Shamrocks did well for most of the third quarter, keeping the score board ticking over to have a two point lead on three different opccasions. However, Dunican's 38th minute free was their last score until the 53rd minute and by that stage they were on the way out, Ferbane ahead by 2-17 to 3-7.

Ferbane were excellent for fifteen minutes. Paddy Dunican was immense and his two pointer levelled it up in the 42nd minute. Ferbane had threatened a goal throughout the first half, opting to fist over the point with three goal chances and it was only a matter of time before they did find the net.

Shamrocks helped them with Padraig Cantwell losing the ball in midfield in the 46th minute and Cian Johnson rounding off the resultant attack with a well taken goal. The in-form Darragh Flynn added a point and Jake Maher's 48th minute goal more or less ended it as a contest – though Shamrocks were not far away from getting back into it and they will harbour a lot of regrets about that while the game was really lost in the first half.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Jake Maher (Ferbane): Jake Maher has been in sensational form for Ferbane this year and he had another excellent game. Defensively solid, his attacking forays were a major factor in Ferbane's win. His pace and ball control was top drawer, he scored three crucial points in the first half and his 48th minute goal ended it as a contest. He made the man of the match selection a fairly straightforward one

Paddy Clancy showed terrific leadership for Ferbane in the second half and was instrumental in them getting on top. Patrick Taaffe had a good game in defence, Darragh Flynn had a super game up front and it was overall a very good team display by Ferbane.

David O'Rourke had an excellent game for Shamrocks, their best player and a genuine man of the match contender. He was tenacious in defence, good going forward and worked very hard. Jack Bryant started well in attack but has been struggling with a hamstring in recent weeks and this may have hampered him, though he kept trying. Paddy Dunican showed his value to the team in the attack, Conor Egan and Dara Bates had very good spells but overall, Shamrocks were not good enough on the day.

THE SCORERS

Ferbane: Jake Maher 1-3, Cian Johnson 1-2 (2f), Darragh Flynn 0-4, Adam Nugent (2pf), Patrick Taaffe and Paddy Clancy (2p) 0-2 each, Kyle Higgins, Brian Carroll, Joe Maher, Conor Grennan 0-1 each.

Shamrocks: Paddy Dunican 0-6 (3f and 1 x 2p), Jack Bryant 1-2, Conor Egan 1-0, Kieran Dolan, David O'Rourke, Nigel Dunne 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

FERBANE: Adam Nugent;Aaron McCabe, Leon Fox, Conor Dunican; David Nally, , Jake Maher, Patrick Taaffe; Ciaran Cahill, Kyle Higgins; Paddy Clancy, Eoghan Grennan, Brian Carroll; Cian Johnson, Joe Maher, Darragh Flynn. Subs – Oisin Kelly for Grennan (40m), Kevin Nugen for Higgins (51m), Jack Clancy for Clancy (58m), Conor Grennan for Johnson (65m),

SHAMROCKS: Sean O'Toole; Donal Dooley, Gary Hutchinson, Padraig Cantwell; Conor Egan, Kieran Dolan, David O'Rourke; Andrew Delaney, Scott Delaney;Shane O'Toole-Greene, David O'Toole-Greene, Dara Bates, Alan Heffernan, Jack Bryant, Paddy Dunican. Subs – Eoghan Neville for Delaney, inj. (6m), Nigel Dunne for Neville (45m), Dan Heffernan for Hutchinson (53m), Darragh Bryant for Alan Heffernan (53m),

Referee – Fergal Smyth, Kilclonfert.

REFEREE WATCH

Fergal Smyth had a good game, explaining his decisions to players. Joe Maher was fortunate to get his first half penalty. He seemed to overcarry the ball, may have been looking for it and was certainly going into a cul-de-sac with Smyth ruling that he was fouled – Maher kicked the penalty wide.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Ferbane's first goal in the 46th minute changed the match and it was a disaster for Shamrocks as Padraig Cantwell was turned over out the field and Cian Johnson made no mistake from close range. That gave Ferbane the lead for the first time, they added a quick 1-1 and it was all over.

VENUE WATCH

Well done to the O'Connor Park workers who spent a couple of hours getting everything ready after Saturday's double bill. The ground was in great order.

WHAT'S NEXT

Ferbane go into the final.

STATISTICS

Wides: Ferbane – 5 (1 in first half); Shamrocks – 10 (5 in first half).

Yellow cards: 0

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0