By John Bohane
Dohenys 1-5
Bantry 0-8
A point from midfielder Stephen Kelly with the last
kick of the game prevented Bantry Blues exiting the
Clona Milk under-21 A football championship at the
quarter-final stages against Dohenys after a
lacklustre game played in Aughaville, last Saturday
evening.
Played against a backdrop of persistent rain and
strong winds, this was not a game for the purist with
both teams displaying admirable grit and determination
but both teams were lacking the guile or class needed
to stamp their authority on the game and rubberstamp
their championship title credentials ahead of an
impending semi-final clash against reigning champions
Castlehaven.
Both teams will reflect ruefully on a catalogue of
missed chances with both sides guilty of spurning
glorious opportunities when in command. Bantry playing
against a strong breeze started brightly opening the
scoring within the first minute. Rampaging wing
forward Shane O’Brien was afforded too much time and
space down the right wing as the Dohenys’ defence
stood off him and he kicked a fine point from
distance.
Bantry doubled their lead in the third minute with
Shane Drummey converting a close range free after he
was fouled. Dohenys established a foothold on the
match as they dominated in terms of possession but a
lack of composure and erratic shooting foiled their
chances of establishing a convincing lead given the
strength of the wind at their backs.
Dohenys opened their scoring account with a goal in
the tenth minute. Towering full forward fisted an
inviting Denis O’Mahony free kick to the net to give
Dohenys a much needed boost. Denis O’Mahony was
proving a key figure at centre forward with his vision
and range of incisive passing penetrating the Bantry
defence. O’Mahony’s pass set Brian McCarthy free to
kick a point and open up a two point lead in the 12th
minute. Johnny Hurley’s physical presence was causing
problems for the Bantry rearguard and Blues keeper
Danny Murray had to be alert to palm a Hurley shot to
safety in the 13th minutes.
The long ball into Hurley which was bearing fruition
in the early stages wasn’t availed of by the Doheny
team who persisted with a frustrating short ball
system. Patrick McCarthy showed good awareness to win
a loose clearance out of defence by a Bantry defender
and shoot over from 25 yards.
Johnny Hurley collected a neat pass from Finbarr
Cronin before turning and shooting over to increase
the Dohenys’ lead to four points after the first
quarter. The pace and movement of the Dohenys’ attack
was gathering pace as they intensified their efforts
to hold a commanding lead at the interval. Jerry
McCarthy was awarded a penalty after he was hauled
down as he bore down on goal but his low kick was
expertly saved with an outstretched led by Danny
Murray.
The Dohenys defence which looked vulnerable when put
under pressure were guilty of lacking discipline and
conceding frees which were gleefully availed off by
gifting ace free taker Shane Drummey. Drummey
converted from a free to reduce the arrears to three
points after 18 minutes. There was only one further
point in the remaining minutes before half time as the
conditions worsened leading to more frequent mistakes
and a slower tempo in a game. Denis O’Mahony sold a
sweet dummy to deceive his marker before shooting over
after good approach play to reinstate the Dohenys’
lead to four points at the small break.
Dohenys opened the scoring in the second half with
Alan Sheehan profiting after good combination play
involving Tom Collins and Jerry McCarthy who teed up
Sheehan to fire over. This subsequently turned out to
be the last score of the game for the Dohenys as
Bantry upped the tempo in a desperate bid to salvage
their under-21 aspirations. Shane Drummey from a
placed ball and Michael O’Sullivan reduced the arrears
to three points with a quarter of the game remaining.
Bantry made further inroads into the Dohenys’ lead
with two converted frees from Drummey narrowing the
gap to the bare minimum with nine minutes remaining.
Bantry were dominant in every sector in the closing
stages but some woeful shooting and tenacious Dohenys’
defending hindered their chances of restoring parity.
Stephen Kelly maintained his composure to kick a
superb point from a long range free kick to level
proceedings with the last kick of the game after a
game neither side did enough to win over the hour or
suggest they will be in contention for championship
glory. The quarter-final replay is set for Aughaville,
this Saturday, March 8, at 3pm, with the winners due
to meet Castlehaven in the semi-final the following
weekend.
Scorers – Dohenys: Johnny Hurley 1-1, Patrick
McCarthy, Brian McCarthy, Denis O’Mahony, Alan Sheehan
0-1 each. Bantry: Shane Drummey 0-5 frees, Stephen
Kelly 0-1 free, Shane O’Brien, Michael O’Sullivan 0-1.
Dohenys: Darren Kelly, Cian Cahalane, Keith Sheehan,
Eamonn Freeman, Tom Collins, Tadhg O’Leary, Paul
McLoughlin, Patrick McCarthy, Finbarr Cronin, Alan
Sheehan, Denis O’Mahony, Brian McCarthy, Jerry
McCarthy, Johnny Hurley, David Collins. Sub used:
Conor Hurley for Paul McLoughlin.
Bantry: Danny Murray, Stephen Minihane, Cillian
O’Leary, Joe Downey, Jason Griffin, Aidan Mullins,
Shane O’Brien, Stephen Coughlan, Stephen Kelly, Shane
O’Neill, David Keohane, Michael O’Sullivan, John
Connolly, Shane Drummey, Paul Drummey. Sub used:
Patrick Daly for Shane O’Brien.
Referee: Donal Sheehan, St. James.