Wolfe Tones claim Junior Hurling title with dramatic late win over Confey

UPMC Junior Hurling Championship final

Wolfe Tones 0-11

Confey 1-6

After disappointment 12 months ago, it was Wolfe Tones who came out on top over Confey to claim the UPMC Junior Hurling Championship title.

The game ebbed and flowed throughout but the teams never managed to get too far away from one another on the scoreboard.

After a superb Wolfe Tones point from midfielder, and man of the match on the day, Kevin Foley put his side two points clear, this game was blown wide open.

One of Confey’s standout men on the day was midfielder Mark Fennelly and with a couple of points already to his name, he looked to turn creator as he launched the ball long into the full-forward line.

The ball would be fiercely contested before dropping dead still on the sticky surface in Manguard Park. Kieran Divilly would react quickest and, as Wolfe Tones goalkeeper Niall Gorey sought to close the angle, Divilly used all his skill and nous to scoop the ball over Gorey and into the back of the net.

In a game that had been short on points, this felt like a huge moment for the now leading side as they sought to close out this game with eight minutes of regulation time to go.

After five minutes of excruciating tension and a couple of wides that only heightened that fact, Wolfe Tones got back on level terms. Corner-forward Aaron Carney found space and slotted over a superb effort to draw the sides level with three minutes remaining on the clock.

That would be quickly followed by a further boost to Wolfe Tones’ hopes as Confey’s Patrick Hoare was given a straight red card for an off the ball incident.

Even with the man advantage, it would take a moment of quality to win this game and Tones found it. After the ball cannoned back off the bar, it broke to Jack Couch out wide. Couch took possession and like he never doubted himself for a moment squeezed his effort, from an incredible angle, between the posts. It may have been a Couch point to edge in front, but there was nobody seated after that exceptional score.

David O’Flaherty hit the final score of the game just as the clock reached the allotted four minutes of injury time.
Moments later, Wolfe Tones were crowned UPMC Junior Hurling Champions.

Scorers: Wolfe Tones, David Cronin 0-3, Aaron Carney 0-3 (0-2 frees), David O'Flaherty 0-2, Conor Egan 0-1, Kevin Foley 0-1, Jack Couch 0-1,

Confey, Kieran Divilly 1-1, Michael Divilly 0-2, Mark Fennelly 0-2 (0-1 65'), Niall Carney 0-1,

WOLFE TONES: Niall Gorey; Dan Wynne, Ciaran O'Gorman, Jack Heading; Stephen Moran, Jack Couch, Shane Quinn; Kevin Foley, Simon Hughes; David O'Flaherty, Ross Doyle, Conor Egan; Aaron Carney, Jamie Costello, David Cronin. Subs: Daniel Glennon for Ross Doyle (Half-time), Fionn Doyle for Jamie Costello (48 minutes), Harry Younge for Shane Quinn (48 minutes), Mark Doyle for Dan Wynne (53 minutes).

CONFEY: Niall Glennon; Robert Connolly, Michael Mularkey, Liam Foran; Conor O'Neill, Michael Divilly, Padraic Keegan; Conor Murphy, Mark Fennelly; Robin Breslin, Niall Carney, Paul Keegan; Seán Martin Devaney, Kieran Divilly, Eamonn McQuillan. Subs: Brian Grimes for Paul Keegan (15 minutes), Seán Moroney for Martin Devaney (38 minutes), Christy Ryan for Liam Foran (46 minutes), Patrick Hoare for Conor Murphy (50 minutes).

Referee: Raymond Kelly