Carnaross GAA Club, Co. Meath - A82 DW01

Impressive U21's claim the silverware

Impressive U21's claim the silverware

Carnaross claimed their first under 21 championship title since 2011 with an superb win over Kilbride to bring more silverware to the club in 2019.

Carnaross 3:16 Kilbride 3:05

Under 21 B Championship Final
Dunganny, Friday 29th November 2019

A big crowd braved the bitterly cold conditions in Dunganny and they were treated to a high-quality affair with some excellent attacking play.

Carnaross came out with all guns blazing in the opening 15 minutes, with Frank O’Reilly and Patrick McDermott combining for 8 points while Kilbride were held to a single point. Luke Gillic and O’Reilly dominated the midfield, winning several kickouts and the forwards tracked back diligently to keep Kilbride penned in their own half. The defence didn’t come under significant pressure but they tackled relentlessly and cleaned up any long balls that came their way.

The first goal chance of the game fell to danger man McDermott midway through the half, but he saw his effort hit the post from a tight angle. Kilbride then started to get a bit of a foothold in the game with a goal chance which went narrowly wide before landing two points from long range. Carnaross closed the half with scores from Gillic and a well worked point after a short free kick from O’Reilly to Odhran Farrelly who had bombed forward from wing back before teeing up Patrick Farnan. This left Carnaross leading on a scoreline of 13 points to 3 at the break.

Despite the strong lead, there was no chance of the North Meath men resting on their laurels in the second half. Cian McGlynn came on at half time for the injured Dillon Fox and immediately made his mark. Shane Yore was denied by the opposition keeper after a great run put him through on goal but McGlynn was on hand to gather the rebound and finish from close range. Kilbride again showed their threat as they immediately responded with another goal chance only to be denied by a truly spectacular save from Liam Day who dived to his right to stop what seemed like a certain goal.

O’Reilly made the move into the full forward line as he was coping with a leg injury but even that couldn’t stem his influence on the game. He gathered possession in the box from a Shane Yore pass before nonchalantly shimmying past both the defender and keeper and blasting to the net. The large Carnaross contingent in attendance was still celebrating when O’Reilly again found himself bearing down on goal. His effort crashed off the post but Farnan claimed the rebound and was fouled for a penalty which O’Reilly converted emphatically. The defence meanwhile snuffed out several attacks and did an excellent job of contesting long balls and gathering the breaks.

It was difficult to imagine the game getting any more hectic after the frantic opening to the half but Kilbride were far from finished despite the large deficit and staged a dramatic late rally. They flooded forward and bombarded the Carnaross defence with long balls in search of goals and that is exactly what they got, rattling off three goals in just over 10 minutes of play. Carnaross were out on their feet towards the end after the massive work rate they had put in throughout, but they managed to stem the tide and late points from McGlynn, Farnan and Shane Yore sealed the deal on a thoroughly deserved victory on a score line of 3:16 to 3:05.

Captain Frank O’Reilly accepted the cup, a fitting reward for the efforts that have been put in by the squad and management team of John L McGee, Dean ‘Rio’ Connell and Ollie Farrelly over the past few months. No doubt this talented squad will play a big part in the future of Carnaross at adult level.

Carnaross Team and Scorers: Liam Day, Jack Roche, Sean Carpenter, Odhran Farrelly, Sam Reynolds, Daniel Roche, Frank O’Reilly (2-6, 5f, 1p), Luke Gillic (0-1), Cormac Yore (0-1), Patrick Farnan (0-2), Dillon Fox, Patrick McDermott (0-4), Shane Yore (0-1). Subs: Cian McGlynn (1-1) for Dillon Fox, Ciaran MacDonagh for Cormac Yore, Brian O’Connor, Tom Carpenter, Padraig O’Connor

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