Southern Gaels U-17s crowned champions in extra time drama

Southern Gaels 1-18 Cullion/Delvin 1-13

By Shane King

In an enjoyable battle between north and south on a very hot day at TEG Cusack Park on Saturday afternoon, Southern Gaels emerged victorious over the Cullion/Delvin combination by a five-point margin to win the Westmeath Division 2 hurling championship final.

In what was a thrilling clash between two evenly matched teams, it took extra-time to decide the outcome after an entertaining 80 minutes of hurling.

Cullion/Delvin had an unbeaten championship record heading into the final, having defeated Southern Gaels in the earlier rounds. The North Westmeath amalgamation looked to be on their way to victory as they led 1-12 to 0-9 in the 47th minute, but inspired by joint captain Ruairí Ó Duibhir and freetaker Kyle Mahon, Southern Gaels stormed back into contention and levelled the game in the closing stages to send it to extra-time.

It was a matter of the survival of the fittest in extra-time as the intense heat made the task at hand more difficult for both teams. A goal from Tom Bourke in the second minute of extra-time set up the men in gold and maroon for victory as they dominated play in the additional 20 minutes to run out deserving winners.

The Shannonsiders took an early lead with full-forward Kyle Mahon converting a free in the opening minute. Cullion/Delvin got off the mark in the eighth minute with a Sam Connaughton point and was followed moments later by a Callum Cruise point. Aaron Power responded for Southern Gaels by tapping over when the ball was offloaded to him from Tom Bourke after a superb high catch.

Kyle Mahon converted two frees in front of goal to edge the Athlone boys ahead by two points at the water break.

Sam Connaughton scored from play on the resumption before Callum Cruise drew the sides level with a free outside the 20m line. Cruise turned over the ball and regained the lead for Cullion/Delvin with a superb score. Seán O’Donoghue and Sam McNally exchanged points before frees from Cruise and Sam McNally (2) saw Cullion/Delvin open up a 0-9 to 0-6 lead at half-time.

Southern Gaels started brightly in the second half with a Seán O’Donoghue point to reduce the deficit once more. Cruise converted yet another free for Delvin/Cullion before Kyle Mahon brought it back to a one-point game, with two converted frees within a minute of each other.

Max Surowiec was introduced for Delvin/Cullion in the 42nd minute and made an immediate impact. He delivered a high ball into the square, which came off the hurley of the Southern Gaels goalkeeper. Sam Connaughton capitalised on the opportunity by finishing the loose ball to the net.

The North Westmeath club pushed on with a Ciaran Lee point to put them clear by five points with 15 minutes to go. A goal looked almost certain at the other end of the field, when a Gaels shot came off the post and rebounded into the hands of Kyle Mahon who found the net, but his effort was disallowed for a square ball.

Midfielder Simon Greville scored Cullion/Delvin's final point of the half with a fine strike from outside the 65-metre line. Ruairí Ó Duibhir made an instant impact for the Gaels following his introduction in the 46th minute, scoring a fine point from play.

This inspired the Gaels to drive on with Kyle Mahon converting two frees and Ó Duibhir hitting a point from play. A free from outside the ‘65 by Mahon saw his side reduce the deficit to a single point with four minutes of normal time remaining. Centre-forward Seán O’Donoghue drew the sides level in the 29th minute.

With extra-time looming, Southern Gaels had a goal chance to win the game. However, Cullion/Delvin goalkeeper Calyb Douglas made a brilliant save to deny the Athlone side. The full-time whistle was sounded shortly afterwards to send the contest into extra-time.

Southern Gaels started extra-time the brighter with a defining score from Tom Bourke, who rattled the net in the second minute with a superb strike into the top corner of the goal. Building on the momentum of that vital goal, Bourke struck a point to extend their lead to four points going into the break.

Ruairi Ó Duibhir scored a third point from the restart for the winners and this was followed by a sixth point from Cruise for the men in maroon and white to close the scoring for his side.

A goal chance came shortly after for Cullion/Delvin but this was excellently saved by Southern Gaels goalkeeper Josh Baine. Seán O’Donogue struck the final point of the game for the South Westmeath club to close out the game.

Player of the match: Kyle Mahon (Southern Gaels) The full forward for the Gaels scored 0-9 (all from frees), the scores were crucial in keeping his side in contention, especially in the latter stages of the second half.

Key moment: The introduction of joint captain Ruairí Ó Duibhir following the water break in the second half greatly boosted Southern Gaels attack and injected much needed energy at a crucial point in the game for the winning side. Although carrying an injury, hence he did not start, Ó Duibhir scored 0-3 from play and inspired his team to victory.

Scorers - Southern Gaels: K Mahon 0-9 (9f), S O’Donoghue 0-4, R Ó Duibhir 0-3, T Bourke 1-1, A Power 0-1. Cullion/Delvin: C Cruise 0-6 (4f), S Connaughton 1-2, S McNally 0-3 (2f), C Lee and S Greville 0-1 each.

Southern Gaels: Josh Baine, Liam O’Flaherty, Matthew Turner, Stephen O’Connor, Dara Shortall, Anthony Mannion, Oisín O’Donoghue, Rory Hatton, Dean Burns, Seán O’Neill, Seán O’Donoghue, Aaron Murphy, Aaron Power, Kyle Mahon, Tom Bourke. Subs: Ruairí Ó Duibhir for Power (46 mins).

Cullion/Delvin: Calyb Douglas, Keelin McKeogh, Michael Sinnott, Jamie Gowran, Luke Fenlon, Seán Cassidy, William Gouldsbury, Jack Smith, Simon Greville, Callum Cruise, Ethan Coll, Ciaran Lee, Ewan Kelly, Sam Connaughton, Sam McNally. Subs: Max Surowiec for Coll (40 mins), Stephen Li for Kelly (53 ), Leon Gargan for Greville (5 mins, E-T).

Referee: Matt Shaw (Lough Lene Gaels).