Diarmuid Ó Murchú hit four goals to land U21 B title against Ballymartle

Diarmuid Ó Murchú 4-13 (4-1-11) Ballymartle 0-12 (0-3-6) 

Goals proved decisive as Diarmuid Ó Murchú overcame Ballymartle in the SE U21 B Football at Belgooly on Saturday.

A match that was ultimately decided by four green flags had the first ball hitting the back of the net as early as the second minute for the amalgamation of Shamrocks and Crosshaven, with a well-placed shot from man-of-the-match Oisin Buckley.

Buckley added a second green flag in the second half, while Josh Bartlett also grabbed himself a brace.

With the advantage of the wind, Ó Murchú took an early advantage before Ballymartle narrowed the score to two points thanks to efforts from Leo Hennessey and Ryan Deasy.

But a point from Cian Lynch was followed by a goal from Bartlett, thanks to an Oisin Auzins pass on 12 minutes, as they led by 2-2 to 0-2.

With Ballymartle needing to find a way into the contest, Deasy kicked over a huge two-point score, and another from the former Cork U21 hurler moments later was followed by Ronan Sheehan, which gave the Riverstick side a ray of hope as they narrowed the margin to 2-2 to 0-6 on 24 minutes.

However, from there to the break, Ballymartle were outscored by five points to one, including a two-point score from David Herlihy on the stroke of half-time, as they went in leading 2-7 to 0-7.

Normal service was resumed early in the second half as Lynch kicked over, and it was followed by three Ó Murchú scores, including Buckley netting his second goal on 36 minutes.

An exchange of points from Shay Murphy and a Deasy free had the tally at 3-11 to 0-8 on 48 minutes, before Deasy landed a brace of two-point scores, including a free.

From there to the finish, the eventual winners added two points and a fortuitous goal when a point effort came back off the post for Bartlett to claim his second goal of the game.

Scorers for Diarmuid Ó Murchú: O Buckley 2-1, J Bartlett 2-0, D Herlihy 0-4 (1 2pt), S Buckley, C Lynch (0-1 f) 0-3 each, S Murphy 0-1. 

Ballymartle: R Deasy 0-10 (0-3 f, 2 2pt, 1 2pt f), L Hennessey, R Sheehan 0-1 each.

DIARMUID Ó MURCHÚ: R Foley Kiss; B O’Mahony, S Flynn, L McCarthy; O Auzins, D Herlihy, F Mansfield; S Foy, S Buckley; D Herlihy, O Buckley, J Middleton, S Murphy, C Lynch, J Bartlett.

Subs: D Kelly for S Murphy (41), C O’Donovan for D Herlihy (51), C McCarthy for C Lynch (53), D Joseph for F Mansfield (56).

BALLYMARTLE: E McDonald; K Sheehan, E Deasy, F O’Keeffe; Sam Looney, L Hennessey, M Reilly; A Harte, R Deasy; O Sheehy, R Sheehan, C Lyons; L Keohane, Kiely, J O’Sullivan, D O’Leary.

Subs: C Dineen for C Lyons (47), C Deasy for M Reilly (50), T Cummins, P McNelis and R McCarthy for O Sheehy, D O’Leary and S Looney on 50.

Referee: Kevin O’Sullivan, Valley Rovers.