AIB All Ireland Intermediate Club Hurling Championship 2010/2011 Final – Ballymartle (Cork) 3-15 Dicksboro (Kilkenny) 1-20

Ballymartle’s finest hour

Ballymartle (Cork) 3-15 Dicksboro (Kilkenny) 1-20

By Fintan O’Toole for the Irish Examiner newspaper

Monday, February 14, 2011

TO the wider hurling public Darren McCarthy has carved a reputation as an excellent goalkeeper with Cork underage teams but for his club Ballymartle he will forever be associated with his contributions outfield after the stunning conclusion to yesterday’s All-Ireland club IHC final in Croke Park. With time ebbing away in this clash, an impressive Dicksboro team looked set to claim the club’s second national intermediate crown in six years and claim the scalp of a second South-East Cork team in the process.

Ballymartle trailed by 1-20 to 2-15 when McCarthy sized up a free 50 yards from the Hill 16 goal. McCarthy had produced a key performance over the hour, particularly when shifted from attack to midfield in the second-half, but he reserved his most significant input until the end when unleashing a dipping drive that deceived the Dicksboro defence and flew to the roof of the net. From the resultant puckout, referee Alan Kelly wound up proceedings and McCarthy was mobbed by his Ballymartle teammates. But the match-winner was not making claims to any wonder strikes after the final whistle. “I was fairly haunted,” he laughed. “I said I’d put it in the square and hope for the best, and it ended up in the net. It looked like the game might have been gone for us but every fella kept plugging away and we got the break.” On the sideline an exuberant Ballymartle boss Anthony McCarthy revealed there were conflicting calls from the management as to what McCarthy should do with that late free.

“There was one instruction from this sideline and another instruction from the other sideline. But we won’t say who gave the right one! Darren’s a great player and he made a big difference when we brought him out to midfield. The way we won was unbelievable. To be fair to Dicksboro, we did rob them. But it’s the best moment of my life.” It was an electric ending to a clash that throbbed with drama and intensity throughout. Dicksboro began the game in a lethargic fashion as they fell 0-6 to 0-0 adrift after six minutes. However they recovered with some scintillating displays by Danny Kenny, Ollie Walsh, Paul O’Flynn and Adrian Stapleton underpinning their comeback. The tour de force came from Martin Gaffney, a recent Kilkenny minor, and a player who posted a brilliant 0-12 tally.

Ballymartle’s spirit and battling qualities enabled them to eke out victory from such a bleak situation. They made a blistering opening to the game with Daniel Edmonds and Barry Dwyer on fire in front of goal. However Dicksboro got into their rhythm before the interval and only trailed 0-10 to 0-9 after dominating the second quarter. Indeed Ballymartle could well have been staring at a deficit but for the heroics of goalkeeper Declan McCarthy, who repelled a Shane Maher penalty in the 23rd minute and a goal bound drive by Stapleton two minutes later. Ballymartle’s aspirations received a major boost after the break when Jamie Dwyer expertly finished to the net in the 32nd minute to push them 1-11 to 0-9 in front.

However Dicksboro, inspired by the outstanding Gaffney and O’Flynn, took over proceedings and were 0-17 to 1-13 ahead in the 47th minute when Stapleton buried a fierce drive to the net. Ballymartle’s response was critical, though, as within a minute Barry Dwyer arrowed a long-range effort into the top corner of the net past a crowded Dicksboro defence. But the Kilkenny team seemed to cope with the concession of that strike to forge ahead once more and a spree of points placed them on the cusp of victory. Ballymartle kept battling away with Patrick Dwyer and Seamus Corry spearheading their drive, and they were grateful to Declan McCarthy once again in the 59th minute when he denied Stapleton again with a terrific block. Then Darren McCarthy crowned a standout individual performance by crashing in that injury-time goal to seal an improbable victory.

Scorers for Ballymartle: B Dwyer 1-7 (1-3 frees, 0-2 ‘65); Darren McCarthy (1-0 free), J Dwyer 1-2 each; D Edmonds 0-2; Dan Dwyer, J Kelly 0-1 each.

Scorers for Dicksboro: M Gaffney 0-12 (0-8 frees); A Stapleton 1-2; P O’Flynn 0-4; C O’Loughlin, S Maher 0-1 each.

BALLYMARTLE: Declan McCarthy; Declan Dwyer, M Tobin, D Coleman; J Kelly, P Dwyer, N Sheehan; S Corry, G Webb; R Dwyer, B Dwyer, D Edmonds; J Dwyer, Dan Dwyer, Darren McCarthy.

Subs: C Coleman for Declan Dwyer (inj) (29), M O’Mahony for Webb (37), B Coleman for Sheehan (48), S O’Mahony for Edmonds (57), P Coughlan for J Dwyer (58).

DICKSBORO: S Morrissey; D Glynn, K Cuddihy, P Hogan; M Fagan, D Kenny, E Malone; D O’Gorman, C O’Loughlin; P O’Flynn, M Gaffney, O Walsh; C Starr, S Maher, A Stapleton.

Subs: K Nolan for O’Gorman (53), T Manning for Starr (58).

Referee: Alan Kelly (Galway)

McCarthy’s late twist has ‘Martle on cloud nine

From the Irish Independent newspaper

Ballymartle 3-15 Dicksboro 1-20

All-Ireland Club IHC final

Monday February 14 2011

Sundays in September will always have the monopoly on great days out for most Cork GAA fans. But for the parish of Ballymartle, and the pride of it, this one in February will forever resonate. A climax of the highest drama capped off the most successful year in the club’s history. Darren McCarthy will be the name that will go down in folklore in the townland where the club takes its name from, and in Riverstick where they play their games. His goal — a dipping 50-yard free in the dying moments — stole the title from right underneath Dicksboro’s noses. In truth, the Kilkenny side could have won it, should have won it they’ll imagine, but such was the ebb and flow to this one that it was always in the balance until Alan Kelly blew the final whistle.

“Never give up,” said Ballymartle’s manager Anthony McCarthy afterwards. “That’s a characteristic we’ve had ever since we played the county championship down in Cork in Ballinspittle — with four minutes to go there (against Inniscarra) we were down by two points and we turned it around to win it by two. And that character in this team showed again today.” The single-point victory just about sums up the tightest of battles that ensued. Ballymartle will look back on their opening blitz as a key component in the winning of it. They burst from the blocks and from the early stages it looked as though it could be a cakewalk for the Cork side. Daniel Edmonds was in the thick of the exchanges, whipping over twice to see his side take the initiative and lead by five unanswered points within five minutes. Dicksboro, who were attempting to be the only side to win this title twice, were up for a fight and they pedalled back. Conor O’Loughlin and Martin Gaffney stemmed the early tide with two points to reduce the margin to four.

Having achieved senior status for the very first time, a year of unparalleled success looked to have instilled a confidence in the Rebel side that Dicksboro were finding hard to get to grips with, and in the 10th minute great work from Barry Dwyer resulted in his brother Jamie whipping over ‘Martle’s eighth point to lead by six. Ballymartle ‘keeper Declan McCarthy then conceded a penalty after tripping up Paul O’Flynn, but McCarthy stood tall to save Shane Maher’s free puck. The defensive heroics couldn’t mask the fact that Ballymartle were coming under increasing pressure and at half-time Dicksboro had cut the arrears to a single point with Stapleton, Gaffney and O’Flynn all capitalising on possession gained with points.

‘Martle shifted around the forward line, with Ruairi Dwyer moving into full-forward. Immediately after the break he found the net after he inadvertently dummied Sam Morrissey when he mis-hit the crucial strike. Dicksboro fought back with points from Maher and Gaffney and they finally overtook their opponents when Stapleton smashed to the net after Derek O’Gorman had found him with a precise handpass. Just when Dicksboro were about to turn the screw, Barry Dwyer saw his ’65 land in the back of Morrissey’s net, but Gaffney, who was at the centre of everything for Dicksboro, looked to have clinched it with a late point. McCarthy’s goal at the death seemed almost too dramatic, but perhaps it was a fitting end to a fascinating game.

SCORERS — Ballymartle: B Dwyer 1-7 (3f, 2 ’65’s), D McCarthy 1-2, R Dwyer 1-0, D Edmonds, J Dwyer 0-2 each, D Kelly, D Dwyer 0-1 each. Dicksboro: M Gaffney 0-12 (8f), A Stapleton 1-2, P O’Flynn 0-4, S Maher, C O’Loughlin 0-1 each.

Ballymartle — D McCarthy; D Coleman, M Tobin, B Dwyer; J Kelly, P Dwyer, N Sheehan; S Corry, G Webb; B Dwyer, R Dwyer, D Edmonds; D McCarthy, D Dwyer, J Dwyer. Subs: B Coleman for Sheehan (48), C Coleman for Dwyer (32).

Dicksboro — S Morrissey; D Glynn, K Cuddihy, P Hogan; M Fagan, D Kenny, E Malone; D O’Gorman, C O’Loughlin; P O’Flynn, M Gaffney, O Walsh; C Starr, S Maher, A Stapleton. Subs: K Nolan for O’Gorman (54).

Ref — A Kelly (Galway)

Ballymartle (Cork) 3-15 Dicksboro (Kilknenny) 1-20

From the GAA.ie web site

A goal from a 50-metre Darren McCarthy free two minutes into added time ensured it was a day of double celebration for Cork’s Clubs at Croke Park on Sunday, as Ballymartle claimed the AIB GAA Hurling All-Ireland Intermediate Championship in dramatic fashion. McCarthy’s free broke Dicksboro hearts, but, in truth, they should have been well ahead at that point, as a minute before the winning goal, Adrian Stapleton should have settled the game in the Kilkenny side’s favour, but his shot was brilliantly saved by Declan McCarthy, the Ballymartle goalkeeper.

The Ballymartle netminder was the hero for the Cork side, saving a penalty from Shane Maher in the first half as well as making another outstanding stop from Stapleton in the 26th minute. Ballymartle roared into a 0-6 to 0-0 lead after six minutes but Dicksboro, inspired by the outstanding Martin Gaffney (0-12), rallied to trail by a single point, 0-10 to 0-9, at the break. All the drama, however, came in the second half, with Jamie Dwyer netting for the Rebel County outfit two minutes after the restart.

Dicksboro responded with seven unanswered points, taking the lead for the first time in the 40th minute thanks to a Paul O’Flynn score. Stapleton then put the Kilkenny champions in the driving seat by raising a green flag in the 47th minute. The Ballymartle response was immediate. Barry Dwyer’s free was misjudged by Dicksboro goalkeeper Sam Morrissey and drifted into the top corner of the net, leaving just a point between the sides. Undaunted, Dicksboro continued to press and should have settled the game as a contest with a minute left on the clock but Declan McCarthy saved brilliantly from Stapleton, when the Dicksboro man probably should have tapped the ball over the bar. Nevertheless, Gaffney sent the Noresiders two clear in added time with his 12th point of the game, but in the gathering gloom, Darren McCarthy fired the most unlikely of winning goals as his long-range free – which he later admitted was an attempted lob into the square – dropped into the top corner of the net, giving Ballymartle a one-point win.

Ballymartle Scorers: B Dwyer 1-7 (1-3 frees, 0-2 ’65); Darren McCarthy (1-0 free), J Dwyer 1-2 each; D Edmonds 0-2; Dan Dwyer, J Kelly 0-1 each.

Dicksboro Scorers: M Gaffney 0-12 (0-8 frees); A Stapleton 1-2; P O’Flynn 0-4; C O’Loughlin, S Maher 0-1 each.

Ballymartle: Declan McCarthy; Declan Dwyer, M Tobin, D Coleman; J Kelly, P Dwyer, N Sheehan; S Corry, G Webb; R Dwyer, B Dwyer, D Edmonds; J Dwyer, Dan Dwyer, Darren McCarthy. Subs: C Coleman for Declan Dwyer (inj) (29), M O’Mahony for Webb (37), B Coleman for Sheehan (48), S O’Mahony for Edmonds (57), P Coughlan for J Dwyer (58).

Dicksboro: S Morrissey; D Glynn, K Cuddihy, P Hogan; M Fagan, D Kenny, E Malone; D O’Gorman, C O’Loughlin; P O’Flynn, M Gaffney, O Walsh; C Starr, S Maher, A Stapleton. Subs: K Nolan for O’Gorman (53), T Manning for Starr (58).

Referee: Alan Kelly (Galway)