2024 West Junior B Hurling Final

Tipperary Co-Op Creamery West Junior B Hurling Championship Final

Cappawhite 2.16(22)
Eire Og Annacarty Donohill 2.13(19)
AET

John O’Shea at Dillon Quirke GAA Grounds Clonoulty

Cappawhite are the Tipperary Co Op Creamery West Junior B Hurling Champions for the first time since 2017, and their fifth title in total, following their extra time three point victory over Eire Og Annacarty Donohill at Dillon Quirke GAA Grounds Clonoulty on Wednesday night.
Played in dreadful conditions, before a large crowd, it took twenty minutes of extra time to separate these two battling sides following an Anthony Barry goal from a free, deep into added time, which tied the game for only the second time.

From the start Eire Og made most of the running and had built up a six point advantage by the end of the opening quarter. Cappawhite came more into the game for the second quarter, but a late rally by Eire Og coming up to the half time break, ensured that the held a three point advantage at half time, 1.8 to 1.5.
After the break, Eire Og pushed on and by the end of the third quarter had pushed that advantage out to five. The final quarter saw Cappa play their best hurling, with James Quinlan leading by example. However, wayward shooting could have have cost them as they still trailed by three points as the game entered added time and it took a goal from a free by Anthony Barry, from out at the Stand side, to bring the game to extra time, on the score 2.11 to 2.11.

Over the twenty minutes of extra time Cappawhite proved their worth, with Anthony Barry, Pakie Barry and James Quinlan getting the scores to get them over the line.
Eire Og will be disappointed with the concession of the late goal in normal time, with the ball skidding off a defenders hurley in the wet conditions. Liam Og O’Dwyer was a colossus at the hearth of their defence, but they were over reliant on the free taking of Ronan O’Brien to keep the scoreboard moving. Cian Mooney chipped in with two goals while Diarmaid Ryan was a thorn in the Cappa defence throughout and finished with four good points from open play.
Cappawhite won the toss and elected to defend the road goal, playing into the wind for the opening half. They attacked from the throw-in and Anthony Barry opened the scoring inside thirty seconds. From the puck out Jeremy Furlong won possession and split the posts from midfield to tie the game. Eire Og got in for the game’s opening goal when Richard O’Doherty found Cian Mooney, who gave Darragh Barry no chance from close in. Diarmaid Ryan put Eire Og four up as Cappa were finding the wet conditions difficult to cope with
Pakie Barry cut the deficit with a neat point but Ronan O’Brien replied with his opening score from a placed ball. Eire Og were then dealt a telling blow on ten minutes when midfielder Jeremy was sidelined following a straight red card. However, it was Eire Og, despite their numerical disadvantage, who pushed on with two Ronan O’Brien pointed frees putting them six to the good, 1.5 to 0.2, by the fifteenth minute.

Eighteen minutes in, Cappawhite hit back with an Anthony Barry goal when he took a pass from Cian O’Carroll. Pakie Barry quickly followed up with a point from the sideline on the open side of the field, striking directly into the wind. With seven minutes of normal time remaining before the half time break, Jamie O’Dwyer was forced to pull off a double save, before Brian G. Buckley picked up the breaking ball and split the posts to reduce the deficit to the minimum.

Both sides were guilty of wayward shooting until Diarmaid Ryan doubled his tally on thirty minutes. Ryan quickly added another before Ronan O’Brien, from a placed ball, put four between the sides. In the final play of the half Anthony Barry put over a close-in free to leave the half time score, Eire Og 1.8, Cappawhite 1.5.
With no reprieve from the weather, the second half was slow to get moving. Ronan O’Brien hit his fifth point on thirty-six minutes before Cian Mooney stretched the lead to five. In those early exchanges, after the restart, both sides were finding it difficult to hit the intended target. Anthony Barry put over a placed ball, before Cappawhite were reduced to fourteen, following the dismissal of Michael O’Neill on a second yellow card, at the three-quarter stage. Both sides were now back on even terms numerically and Cappa pulled two back, James Quinlan, with his first of the evening from open play and Anthony Barry from a free.

Cian Mooney gave Eire Og a huge boost when he crashed the ball past Darragh Barry with eleven minutes of normal time remaining, giving them a five-point advantage. Cappa recovered well from this setback, but were off target on three occasions before James Quinlan and Ronan O’Brien traded scores with fifty-three minutes on the clock. Over these last seven minutes plus added time, Eire Og failed to add to their tally while Quinlan found the mark on the double to leave just a goal between the sides as the game went into added time. Two minutes into added time Anthony Barry’s free from out on the stand side was floated into a crowded goalmouth and took a deflection off a defenders stick to cross the line to tie the game for only the second time at 2.11 each.

Both sides had a chance to wrap up the game, an Eire Og shot coming off the crossbar to safety was followed by a wide from Cappawhite, before Fergal Horgan sounded the final whistle, to send the tie to extra time.

Immediately following the throw-in for the first period of extra time, Diarmuid Ryan found the target but this was cancelled out by Anthony Barry at the other end. Cappawhite finished much the stronger during this extra time period and finished with a flurry, eventually getting over the line 2.16 to 2.13.
After the game Tommy Hayes, West Board chairman, presented the Jamesie O’Donoghue Cup to Cappawhite captain Tommy Coughlan.

Scorers & Teams:

Cappawhite; Anthony Barry (2.6, 1.4 frees), James Quinlan (0.6, 3 frees), Pakie Barry (0.3), Brian G. Buckley (0.1)

Eire Og Annacarty: Cian Mooney (2.1), Ronan O’Brien (0.7 frees), Diarmaid Ryan (0.4), Jeremy Furlong (0.1)
Cappawhite: Darragh Barry, Noel Ryan, Thomas Costello, Ross Dunne, James Quinlan, Ciarán Ryan (P) (J. Captain), Michael P. Buckley, Neil Clancy, Paddy Julian, Cian O’Carroll, Michael O’Neill, Eoghan Ryan, Pakie Barry, Anthony Barry, Brian G. Buckley

Subs used: Cathal McCarthy for Michael P. Buckley (16), Fionn Brady for Ross Dunne (inj 29), Tommy Coughlan (J. Captain) for Cian O’Carroll (36), Ciarán Doody for Thomas Costello (42), Danny Clancyy for Brian G. Buckley (59), Cian O’Carroll for Danny Cleary (ET), Brian G. Buckley for Eoghan Ryan (ET)

Eire Og Annacarty: Jamie O’Dwyer, Adam O’Dwyer, Cathal Coughlan, Colin Heffernan, Mike Hanly, Liam Og O’Dwyer (Captain), Dan Hogan, Jeremy Furlong, Willie O’Neill, Dan Kelly, Richard O’Doherty, Cian Mooney, Tommy Quinn, Ronan O’Brien, Diarmaid Ryan

Subs used: Pat Aherne for Dan Kelly (26), Philip McGrath for Willie O’Neill (39), Michael Buckley for Tommy Quinn (50), Liam Crosse for Richard O’Doherty (60)

Referee: Fergal Horgan (Knockavilla Donaskeigh Kickhams)