Written by Jamie, Casey, The Irish Post and published on 15th August 2015
Eire Og 1-11
St Clarets 1-7
A spirited second-half fight back from St Clarets was not enough to prevent Eire Og from lifting the 2015 Malarkey Cup at The Irish TV Grounds on Sunday.
In what was their first ever Malarkey Cup triumph, Eire Og lifted the trophy with a 1-11 to 1-7 victory thanks largely to a fantastic first-half display.
In the blistering London heat, the sides traded wides early on but, in between, St Clarets wasted a golden opportunity to raise the green flag.
Aflie McNulty of St Clarets intercepted Sean Allen’s pass and charged towards goal, but his reluctance to shoot proved costly as the move broke down following a wayward hand-pass.
Corner-back Luke Kelly earned a free for St Clarets soon after, which was duly despatched by Barry Lynch for the first score of the game.
Eire Og were undeterred though, as the impressive Sean O’Carroll replied with a point from play almost instantly, slotting over from a central position.
Back-to-back wides courtesy of John Bradley and Trevor Draper ensued for Eire Og, but with good build-up play the signs were positive.
After a brief disagreement between the two umpires behind the St Clarets goal, Draper was credited with a point for Eire Og that appeared to sail marginally wide.
Thankfully, it wasn’t decisive in the end, but it did allow Eire Og to take the lead for the first time in the match, and they never surrendered it thereafter.
Ronan Campfield followed that up with an effort that just about cleared the bar, before Aidan Donaghy went into the book for St Clarets for what appeared to be verbal abuse.
Eire Og continued to find their rhythm as corner-forward Bradley popped one over from close range after being teed up well by Damien Shannon, moving them three points clear.
Bradley then earned a 45 for his side, from which Sean McGrath collected a short pass and pointed with ease as St Clarets were caught napping.
At 0-5 to 0-1 down, St Clarets were in desperate need of something to regain their confidence, and it duly came in the form of a free from Cormac Fitzpatrick, who pointed after his team-mate Stephen Donaghue had been brought down.
Half-forward McGrath then began to impose himself on the game, producing a powerful solo run followed by a fantastic strike from wide right with the outside of his boot – arguably the score of the game.
O’Carroll was also making a telling contribution though,grabbing 1-1 in the space of a minute as he pointed from a tight angle, before capitalising on a poor kick-out to smash past Paul Myers in the St Clarets goal.
A collision between Brian Digney and Fitzpatrick delayed matters just before half-time, with the latter picking himself up only to put the resulting free to the right and wide, bringing a close to the half with Eire Og leading 1-7 to 0-2.
McGrath punted over another two for Eire Og at the beginning of the second-half, in between setting up Campfield to increase the gap to 11 points.
However, the deficit did little to dampen the spirits of the St Clarets camp as they responded in a commendable manner. A well-timed run allowed McNutly to latch onto an aimless punt forward, and he gave Padraig Mulholland no chance in the Eire Og goal, tucking the ball into the bottom corner and kick-starting a revival in the process.
Fitzpatrick followed that up with a point from play, bringing the score up to 1-10 to 1-3. St Clarets notched another before Allen shot wide for Eire Og, who began to lose their composure.
Still, the St Clarets chances kept coming, and Ryan O’Connell reduced the gap to just five points with a close-range point, but he was visibly disappointed not to tuck the chance below the crossbar. Eire Og’s Nigel Drew received a black card for hauling down an opponent soon after, with O’Connell slotting over the resulting free-kick.
At 1-10 to 1-6, St Clarets were well and truly back in the game and they had the momentum heading into the latter stages of the game.
O’Carroll registered another wide for Eire Og, whose control of the game had slipped dramatically, with Lynch bringing St Clarets to within three points soon after.
Eire Og were desperate for a score to settle their nerves, but Campfield shot wide again. With their confidence in front of goal deserting them, Eire Og resorted to a neat, careful hand-passing game in order to see the result out.
That led to a foul on McGrath, with Bradley picking up the short free and popping the ball over the bar to hand Eire Og the insurance point they so urgently required.
It proved to be the last score of the game as Eire Og secured the cup with four points to spare, but both sides came away from Ruislip with their heads held high on the back of a thoroughly entertaining final.
GAME AT A GLANCE
Teams:
Eire Og: P Mulholland, E Lambe, N Drew, N Murray, P Sweeney, B Digney, J Blade, S Allen, D Shannon, A Rogan, T Draper, S McGrath, R Campbell, S O’Carroll, J Bradley (Subs: B Farrell, A Perill)
St Clarets 1-7: P Myers, M Healy, A Donaghy, L Kelly, R Gaughan, P Donegan, S O’Hare, D Mallon, B Lynch, P Keenan, A McNulty, J McCarthy, S Donoghue, c Fitzpatrick, R O’Connell (Subs: C Healy)
Bookings: A Donaghy
Black Cards: N Drew
Goals: S O’Carroll (Eire Og) A McNulty (St Clarets)
