Ilen Rovers vs Newcestown West Cork U21A Final 2016

Video Provided by Pitchside Media Ilen Rovers 1-8 Newcestown 0-10 All hail the new kings of West Cork U21 football, Ilen Rovers. Giant-killers Ilen claimed the scalps of Kilmeen, Carbery Rangers and 2015 champions Clonakilty en route to 2016's Clona Milk South West U21A football championship decider - and in Drimoleague they jumped the final hurdle, overcoming Newcestown to be crowned champions for just the second time. Both teams set out their identical defensive strategies from the opening whistle, electing to play with just two inside in the full-forward line. When the teams did settle down a move involving Cork U21 star Sean O'Donovan, Donnacha Whooley and Sean Minihane saw the latter force Newcestown goalkeeper Cathal Clarke into a fine save in the fourth minute, a resultant free being pointed by the former who drew first blood for the victors. Newcestown did put Ilen Rovers under pressure, but the composure of Alex Hassett and Eoin O'Driscoll ensured that any scores the St John's lads put on the board were hard earned. Nevertheless, a pointed free from Colm Dineen and a fabulous score from Darragh Curran in as many minutes saw Newcestown hit the front at the end of the first quarter. The pressure was relentless as the fine running of the impressive Darragh Casey saw Jack Bushe score to begin an Ilen purple patch, including the only goal of the game. Sean O’Donovan left a bevy of defenders trailing in his wake as he cut in from the left touchline for Ilen. Releasing a thunderbolt, the ball cannoned off the crossbar, then crashed across off the Ieft upright, where the dropping ball was pushed upwards by defender Trevor Horgan. But the danger was not cleared, and the powerful Liam Coombes was on hand to billow the net. Jack Bushe quickly followed with a point, 1-3 to 0-2, as Ilen registered 1-2 inside the space of three defining minutes. Undaunted, Newcestown stormed back into the fray as two beauties by the determined Jack O'Toole in the 22nd and 24th minutes, with a delightful score by Peter O'Driscoll sandwiched in between saw the relentless action continue unabated. The game had livened up considerably at this juncture, as a Sean O'Donovan free for Rovers and the third point by Jack O'Toole (free) finished the opening half that left Ilen in front, 1-5 to 0-5. Cork hurling panellist Luke Meade was a doubt before the game with hamstring trouble and it came as little surprise when he was forced off at the interval; this was a huge loss as it limited Newcestown's attacking options considerably. His replacement, Cian Healy pointed 30 seconds after the resumption. And now Newcestown took the game to Ilen, further points from O'Toole and a Healy free had them level, 1-5 to 0-8, by the 36th minute. It was all Newcestown at this juncture, but their shooting left them down, as the Ilen defensive structure, with Peter O’Driscoll. Josh Pickett, Kevin Minihane, Hassett, captain Eoghan O'Donoghue and Tom Bushe all in overdrive mode held their lines, while the strong Liam Coombes, who had now moved outfield, was a big force in this game. A Jack Bushe point and a free by Ilen's Sean O'Donovan pushed them further ahead, but Newcestown were determined to go down with all guns blazing. Murt Kenneally did the spadework as Newcestown's midfielder Sean O'Donovan cut the deficit to the minimum, 1-7 to 0-9. with five minutes of normal time left. Rovers' very own Sean O'Donovan opened up a two point gap again, only to see Jack O'Toole make for a nail-biting finale, as Rovers held out in a welter of excitement to capture the crown. Thanks to the cooperation of the Farr family and in conjunction with the South West Board, a new Liam Farr Cup was presented on Saturday evening. Mick, a brother of the late Dohenys stalwart, was on hand to present it to a delighted Eoghan O'Donoghue, captain of Ilen Rovers, with Joe Crowley, chairman, South West Board, in attendance after the game. Scorers: Ilen Rovers: Sean O’Donovan 0-4 (4f); Liam Coombes 1-0; Jack Bushe 0-3; Peter O’Driscoll 0-1. Newcestown: Jack O’Toole 0-5 (3f); Cian Healy 0-2 (1f); Sean O’Donovan, Darragh Curran, Colm Dineen (f) 0-1 each. Ilen Rovers: Emmet Hourihane; Kevin Minihane, Eoin O’Driscoll, Daniel O’Driscoll; Eoghan O’Donoghue, Alex Hassett, Donnacha Whooley; Tom Bushe, Sean Minihane; Liam Coombes, Darragh Casey, Josh Pickett; Jack Bushe, Sean O’Donovan, Peter O’Driscoll. Subs used: Joseph Hickey for Tom Bushe (40), Hughie O’Neill for Donnacha Whooley (40), Donnacha Whooley for Daniel O’Driscoll (inj, 50) Newcestown: Cathal Clarke, James Kelleher, Greg Murphy, Niall Murray; Lee O’Donovan, Trevor Horgan, Murt Kenneally; Micheál McSweeney, Sean O’Donovan; Darragh Curran, Luke Meade, Colm Dineen; Jack O'Toole, Jason Jordan, Gearoid O’Donovan. Subs used: Cian Healy for Luke Meade (ht), Meade for Dineen (black card, 55), Padraig Collins for Curran (56)