ACHL Division 1 Final 2011
October 22: Buffers Alley 2-14, Ferns St Aidans 1-16 (aet)
FOR LONG spells it was a game that bared all the hallmarks of a pre-season challenge match, but competitors want to win and that fighting spirit eventually shone through as Buffers Alley edged out Ferns to claim the All-County Hurling League Division 1 title in Wexford Park on Saturday last.
'Going through the motions' would best describe the opening 45 minutes of this decider. With the Alley's season having realistically finished with championship semi-final defeat to Oulart four weeks earlier, Ferns, still involved in a relegation struggle just seven days earlier, looked the sharper, more game-ready, team throughout.
However, added class, and a little luck at the right time, eventually saw Buffers Alley through after a rip-roaring extra-time - ending the club season with a bang for both sides.
The drama that would follow wasn't exactly evident as the sides split eight points evenly in the opening 22 minutes - the highlight of which was a stunning Christopher O'Connor point from a ridiculously-tight angle on the left.
Three points in a row, with Patrick Farrell taking a nice score for one of those, looked to be sending Ferns in with a lead at the break, but Pat Kenny didn't see it that way as he crept in behind the back line to convert the game’s opening goal from close range (1-4 to 0-7).
Playing into the breeze in the second-half, Buffers Alley attempted to funnel Kenny back to bolster numbers in midfield but it only served in giving marker Seán Murphy the chance to grab a pair of minors as Ferns opened a three-point lead (0-12 to 1-6) heading into the final 17 minutes.
Yet they would only manage one further point in normal time as Buffers Alley fought back and levelled in the final minute through Stephen Redmond (1-10 to 0-13).
A run of three points in a row, which saw Pat Doran grabbing two, looked set to complete the comeback in extra-time only for a 1-3 run, with O'Connor striking the vital goal, following up after Tommy Dwyer's penalty had been saved, to put Ferns clear (1-16 to 1-13) with seven minutes remaining.
Buffers Alley didn't give in and were rewarded five minutes from the end when Willie Doran was the right man at the right time - pulling to the net after Ciarán Kenny's long thump forward fell perfectly for him twelve metres out.
With the game deadlocked, the next score looked set to be the winner and, moments after a seething Pat Kenny saw a point waved wide, the corner-forward was fouled on the right and Pat Doran held his nerve to clinch victory for his side to allow captain Bobby Kenny to collect the cup from county Chairman Ger Doyle.
Ferns St. Aidans: Michael Walsh; Darren Davitt, Jamie Whelan, Seán Murphy (0-2); Ciarán Roberts, James Tonks, Colm Whelan; Tommy Dwyer (0-4, 3 frees), Colin Leacy; Ian Byrne (0-2), Paul Morris (0-1), Declan Byrne; Christopher O'Connor (1-2), Edward Cullen (0-4, 2 frees), Patrick Farrell (0-1). Subs: Jonathan Dwyer for Cullen, Cullen for I. Byrne, Jamie Dunbar for D. Byrne, also Niall Maguire, John Breen, Conor Swaine, Thomas Dwyer, Brendan Jordan, Derek Thorpe.
Referee: Sean Whelan (St. Martins)
FOR LONG spells it was a game that bared all the hallmarks of a pre-season challenge match, but competitors want to win and that fighting spirit eventually shone through as Buffers Alley edged out Ferns to claim the All-County Hurling League Division 1 title in Wexford Park on Saturday last.
'Going through the motions' would best describe the opening 45 minutes of this decider. With the Alley's season having realistically finished with championship semi-final defeat to Oulart four weeks earlier, Ferns, still involved in a relegation struggle just seven days earlier, looked the sharper, more game-ready, team throughout.
However, added class, and a little luck at the right time, eventually saw Buffers Alley through after a rip-roaring extra-time - ending the club season with a bang for both sides.
The drama that would follow wasn't exactly evident as the sides split eight points evenly in the opening 22 minutes - the highlight of which was a stunning Christopher O'Connor point from a ridiculously-tight angle on the left.
Three points in a row, with Patrick Farrell taking a nice score for one of those, looked to be sending Ferns in with a lead at the break, but Pat Kenny didn't see it that way as he crept in behind the back line to convert the game’s opening goal from close range (1-4 to 0-7).
Playing into the breeze in the second-half, Buffers Alley attempted to funnel Kenny back to bolster numbers in midfield but it only served in giving marker Seán Murphy the chance to grab a pair of minors as Ferns opened a three-point lead (0-12 to 1-6) heading into the final 17 minutes.
Yet they would only manage one further point in normal time as Buffers Alley fought back and levelled in the final minute through Stephen Redmond (1-10 to 0-13).
A run of three points in a row, which saw Pat Doran grabbing two, looked set to complete the comeback in extra-time only for a 1-3 run, with O'Connor striking the vital goal, following up after Tommy Dwyer's penalty had been saved, to put Ferns clear (1-16 to 1-13) with seven minutes remaining.
Buffers Alley didn't give in and were rewarded five minutes from the end when Willie Doran was the right man at the right time - pulling to the net after Ciarán Kenny's long thump forward fell perfectly for him twelve metres out.
With the game deadlocked, the next score looked set to be the winner and, moments after a seething Pat Kenny saw a point waved wide, the corner-forward was fouled on the right and Pat Doran held his nerve to clinch victory for his side to allow captain Bobby Kenny to collect the cup from county Chairman Ger Doyle.
Ferns St. Aidans: Michael Walsh; Darren Davitt, Jamie Whelan, Seán Murphy (0-2); Ciarán Roberts, James Tonks, Colm Whelan; Tommy Dwyer (0-4, 3 frees), Colin Leacy; Ian Byrne (0-2), Paul Morris (0-1), Declan Byrne; Christopher O'Connor (1-2), Edward Cullen (0-4, 2 frees), Patrick Farrell (0-1). Subs: Jonathan Dwyer for Cullen, Cullen for I. Byrne, Jamie Dunbar for D. Byrne, also Niall Maguire, John Breen, Conor Swaine, Thomas Dwyer, Brendan Jordan, Derek Thorpe.
Referee: Sean Whelan (St. Martins)