U20 Football Championship 2021
January 9, 2022 – U20 Div. 2 County Final: Ferns St. Aidans 2-8, Buffers Alley 0-8
Ferns St. Aidans are the Greenstar Under-20 football Roinn 2 champions for 2021 after a strong last quarter saw them past a gallant Buffers Alley in St. Patrick’s Park on Sunday.
The sides were separated by just one point when referee Ian Plunkett blew the whistle for the second-half drinks break, but the victors found the most important score of the game a minute after the restart to see them on the road to glory.
Before Shane Breen skidded home that critical second goal for Ferns in the 50th minute, it was Buffers Alley who were just edging things territorially.
They had put a lot of work into the two quarters either side of half-time, winning them by 0-5 to 0-2, but they were still playing catch-up after a slow start to the game.
In truth, it looked like Ferns were destined to run riot when they burst out of the blocks and built a 1-3 to 0-2 lead at the first water break. They were finding holes in the Alley defence and the full-forward line looked fully capable of exploiting them.
The initial scoreless six minutes had seen Ferns waste a few good chances, with Corey Byrne-Dunbar hitting the left upright with a close-range free.
He would go on to ping the metalwork on the opposite side of the goal in the eighth minute but did register a dead-ball to open his account.
The Ferns goal, coming as it did in the eleventh minute, felt inevitable. Byrne-Dunbar was involved in a lot of his side’s best moves and he had an initial shot blocked down.
The ball squirmed between ’keeper Jack Redmond and forward Barry O’Toole, but it was the latter who got the first touch, poking it to the net.
Buffers Alley had three wides on the board before Jack Twomey knocked over a free in the 14th minute.
However, Ferns broke down the other end and Byrne-Dunbar was in on goal, only for Cian O’Connor to produce his best rugby tackle to prevent a shot.
There was no option for Plunkett other than the black card but, rather than leaving the Alley lads licking their wounds, they regrouped after Byrne-Dunbar converted the free and began to dominate the game.
James Kinsella and Cormac Walsh exchanged points before the water break but, with the breeze, the Monamolin side powered forward with 14 and cut the gap to one point on the back of another Cormac Walsh brace and a Liam Walsh effort.
Deep into injury-time, with the Alley back to their full 15, Ferns did finally break their second quarter duck when Byrne-Dunbar kicked over a right wing free to go in at the interval with a 1-4 to 0-5 lead.
The half-time interval did little to alter the pattern of the game, as Buffers Alley were still playing the better football up to a point but Ferns defended well as a team.
Byrne-Dunbar nabbed the opening score of the half, but the Walshs, Liam and Cormac, responded at the other end to see the sides heading to the final quarter separated by one (1-5 to 0-7).
It always felt like the game’s second goal would be the decider, and it came shortly after the restart when Buffers Alley gave away the ball in their own defence, Ferns countered quickly, and Shane Breen skidded a low shot past Redmond. While the fight never left the Alley, a little of the belief washed away with that concession. Redmond was forced to save from Breen again a minute later, but the Ferns forward did knock over a point to make it 2-6 to 0-7.
Another followed from Breen in the 56th minute after a nice one-two with Pádraig Kinsella, and Byrne-Dunbar completed his five-point haul with an injury-time free.
Buffers Alley fought to the final whistle, and Evan Murphy needed to be sharp to push a last-gasp Owen McNulty shot over the bar, but it was Ferns’ day and they took the crown with six points in hand.
Ferns St. Aidans: Evan Murphy; Byron Jordan, Conor O’Toole, George Warren; Barry Murphy, Adrian Breen, Sebastian Rynhart; Rory Scallan (capt.), Brian Stafford; Pádraig Kinsella, Shane Breen (1-2), Liam Byrne; James Kinsella (0-1), Barry O’Toole (1-0), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-5, 4 frees). Subs. - Patrick O’Toole for Byrne (56), Josh Kinsella for J. Kinsella (60), Jack Byrne for Byrne-Dunbar (60+4), Bob Byrne for Stafford (60+5), also Kieran Murphy, Craig Dreelan, Robert Murphy.
Buffers Alley: Jack Redmond; Dylan McEvoy, Michael Butler, James O’Reilly; Eoin O’Meara, Owen McNulty (0-1), Edward Harney; Liam Walsh (0-2), Jack Twomey (0-1 free); Cian O’Connor, Cormac Walsh (0-4), Tomás Whelan; David Meleady, Oisín Fortune (capt.), Pádraig Kinsella. Subs. - Stephen Furlong for O’Reilly, temp. (30+5-HT), Adam Doyle for Kinsella (31), Furlong for O’Reilly, temp. (51-53), Furlong for Meleady (55), Jack Hearne for O’Connor (57), Ciarán Hearne for Fortune (57), Jack Whelan for Walsh (57), also Oisín Tyrell, Martin Keane, Darragh Prendergast, David Hearne, Oisín O’Hagan, Myles O’Connor, Shamey O’Hagan.
Referee: Ian Plunkett (Marshalstown-Castledockrell).
Ferns St. Aidans are the Greenstar Under-20 football Roinn 2 champions for 2021 after a strong last quarter saw them past a gallant Buffers Alley in St. Patrick’s Park on Sunday.
The sides were separated by just one point when referee Ian Plunkett blew the whistle for the second-half drinks break, but the victors found the most important score of the game a minute after the restart to see them on the road to glory.
Before Shane Breen skidded home that critical second goal for Ferns in the 50th minute, it was Buffers Alley who were just edging things territorially.
They had put a lot of work into the two quarters either side of half-time, winning them by 0-5 to 0-2, but they were still playing catch-up after a slow start to the game.
In truth, it looked like Ferns were destined to run riot when they burst out of the blocks and built a 1-3 to 0-2 lead at the first water break. They were finding holes in the Alley defence and the full-forward line looked fully capable of exploiting them.
The initial scoreless six minutes had seen Ferns waste a few good chances, with Corey Byrne-Dunbar hitting the left upright with a close-range free.
He would go on to ping the metalwork on the opposite side of the goal in the eighth minute but did register a dead-ball to open his account.
The Ferns goal, coming as it did in the eleventh minute, felt inevitable. Byrne-Dunbar was involved in a lot of his side’s best moves and he had an initial shot blocked down.
The ball squirmed between ’keeper Jack Redmond and forward Barry O’Toole, but it was the latter who got the first touch, poking it to the net.
Buffers Alley had three wides on the board before Jack Twomey knocked over a free in the 14th minute.
However, Ferns broke down the other end and Byrne-Dunbar was in on goal, only for Cian O’Connor to produce his best rugby tackle to prevent a shot.
There was no option for Plunkett other than the black card but, rather than leaving the Alley lads licking their wounds, they regrouped after Byrne-Dunbar converted the free and began to dominate the game.
James Kinsella and Cormac Walsh exchanged points before the water break but, with the breeze, the Monamolin side powered forward with 14 and cut the gap to one point on the back of another Cormac Walsh brace and a Liam Walsh effort.
Deep into injury-time, with the Alley back to their full 15, Ferns did finally break their second quarter duck when Byrne-Dunbar kicked over a right wing free to go in at the interval with a 1-4 to 0-5 lead.
The half-time interval did little to alter the pattern of the game, as Buffers Alley were still playing the better football up to a point but Ferns defended well as a team.
Byrne-Dunbar nabbed the opening score of the half, but the Walshs, Liam and Cormac, responded at the other end to see the sides heading to the final quarter separated by one (1-5 to 0-7).
It always felt like the game’s second goal would be the decider, and it came shortly after the restart when Buffers Alley gave away the ball in their own defence, Ferns countered quickly, and Shane Breen skidded a low shot past Redmond. While the fight never left the Alley, a little of the belief washed away with that concession. Redmond was forced to save from Breen again a minute later, but the Ferns forward did knock over a point to make it 2-6 to 0-7.
Another followed from Breen in the 56th minute after a nice one-two with Pádraig Kinsella, and Byrne-Dunbar completed his five-point haul with an injury-time free.
Buffers Alley fought to the final whistle, and Evan Murphy needed to be sharp to push a last-gasp Owen McNulty shot over the bar, but it was Ferns’ day and they took the crown with six points in hand.
Ferns St. Aidans: Evan Murphy; Byron Jordan, Conor O’Toole, George Warren; Barry Murphy, Adrian Breen, Sebastian Rynhart; Rory Scallan (capt.), Brian Stafford; Pádraig Kinsella, Shane Breen (1-2), Liam Byrne; James Kinsella (0-1), Barry O’Toole (1-0), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (0-5, 4 frees). Subs. - Patrick O’Toole for Byrne (56), Josh Kinsella for J. Kinsella (60), Jack Byrne for Byrne-Dunbar (60+4), Bob Byrne for Stafford (60+5), also Kieran Murphy, Craig Dreelan, Robert Murphy.
Buffers Alley: Jack Redmond; Dylan McEvoy, Michael Butler, James O’Reilly; Eoin O’Meara, Owen McNulty (0-1), Edward Harney; Liam Walsh (0-2), Jack Twomey (0-1 free); Cian O’Connor, Cormac Walsh (0-4), Tomás Whelan; David Meleady, Oisín Fortune (capt.), Pádraig Kinsella. Subs. - Stephen Furlong for O’Reilly, temp. (30+5-HT), Adam Doyle for Kinsella (31), Furlong for O’Reilly, temp. (51-53), Furlong for Meleady (55), Jack Hearne for O’Connor (57), Ciarán Hearne for Fortune (57), Jack Whelan for Walsh (57), also Oisín Tyrell, Martin Keane, Darragh Prendergast, David Hearne, Oisín O’Hagan, Myles O’Connor, Shamey O’Hagan.
Referee: Ian Plunkett (Marshalstown-Castledockrell).
