Second title in five years for Ennistymon

Ennistymon 2-13 Kilmihil 1-7

Leading 2-10 to 0-1 at half-time, everybody in Miltown at last Saturday’s minor A final knew the Hennessy Cup was definitely heading back to Ennistymon for the first time since 2007. The only small detail to be ironed out was how much would they win by.
Bearing in mind the magnitude of the half-time deficit, Kilmihil must be credited for showing sufficient pride and resolve to outscore Ennistymon 1-6 to 0-3 in the second half.
They could have completely capitulated had they been less inclined to ignore
the scoreline. Instead, they threw their best shot at Ennistymon and showed
why they reached the final in the first place.
That said, Ennistymon played excellent football in the opening half and simply had too many lively forwards for Kilmihil to cope with. Both Ennistymon corner-forwards, James McConigley and Barry Keating knew exactly what they were doing movement-wise and they contributed 1-4 between them. Joey Rouine was the best player on the field in that opening half. He kicked three points from play and, that aside, his ability to win ball and distribute it was impressive.
Ryan O’Halloran scored Ennistymon’s first goal in the ninth minute, when he pulled on a breaking ball, following a Cathal McDonagh free. By the 22nd minute, Ennistymon were 2-6 to 0-0 up as Enda Ralph, Rouine, Cathal McDonagh, Keating and O’Halloran added points to Jamesie McConigley’s goal.
Conor Finucane pointed Kilmihil’s first score eight minutes before half time when he fisted over. However Rouine, McDonagh and Cathal McConigley tacked on Ennistymon’s final points of the opening half.
Barry Keating, playing a one-two with Jamesie McConigley, scored the first point of the second half before Diarmuid Lorigan replied for Kilmihil.
A soft Niall Pender goal boosted Kilmihil, leaving Ennistymon 2-12 to 1-4 ahead, 18 minutes from time. Kilmihil kept plugging away adding further points from Conor O’Flaherty and Martin O’Leary, who kicked 0-4 from frees.
However Ennistymon were never in any danger of being reeled in and they held on comfortably to win the 2011 Minor A Championship. This success is testament to the excellence of the underage footballers available to the club but also an indication that they are benefiting from quality coaching. Remember, this was their fifth successive minor A final. They had lost three-in-a-row before last weekend and last won this title four years ago when they beat Kilmurry Ibrickane.

Ennistymon: Liam Slattery; Ryan Doyle, Oisín Vaughan (joint captain), Kieran Vaughan; Brian Davies, Enda Ralph (joint captain), Eoin Davies; Ciaran Devitt, Cathal McConigley; Michael Leigh, Joey Rouine, Ryan O’Halloran, Jamesie McConigley, Cathal McDonagh, Barry Keating.
Subs: Kevin Hehir for Michael Leigh, Declan Sexton for Ryan O’Halloran, Kevin Falvey for Eoin Davies, Thomas Kinch for Kieran Vaughan, Christopher McCaw for Cathal McDonagh.
Scorers: Jamesie McConigley, Ryan O’Halloran (1-1 each), Joey Rouine (0-3), Barry Keating (0-3 each), Cathal McDonagh (0-3, 0-2f), Enda Ralph (0-1), Cathal McConigley (0-1f).
Wides: 4  Frees won: 37  45s: 1
Yellow cards: Oisín Vaughan
Kilmihil: Mattie Keane; Stephen Coughlan, Allyn Dalton, Ronan Flaherty; Diarmuid Lorigan, Jack Browne, David Coughlan; Stan Lineen (captain), Niall Pender; Conor Egan, Daniel Blake, Cormack Dennehy; Conor O’Flaherty, Martin O’Leary, Conor Finucane.
Subs: Paul Nolan for Conor Finucane, Conor Finucane for Allyn Dalton (injured).
Scorers: Martin O’Leary (0-4f), Niall Pender (1-0), Conor Finucane, Diarmuid Lorigan, Conor O’Flaherty (0-1 each).
Wides: 5  Frees won: 32
Yellow cards: Niall Pender, Allyn Dalton.
Referee: Michael Talty (Kilmurry Ibrickane).