The Corkman
20th October 2000

Although Erins Own received a golden opportunity to snatch the laurels in a dramatic conclusion to this TSB county senior hurling championship final, it would have been a travesty of justice if Newtownshandrum's bid for for a first title had been foiled at Pairc Ui Chaoimh Sunday 15th October 2000.

Over the hour, Newtown were much the better team, and they would have been home and hosed long before the finish but for the heroics of young Kieran Murphy between the sticks for Erins Own. Twice during the course of the second-half, Cork minor Murphy came to Erins Own's rescue when Newtown threatened to grab a goal which would have surely broken the back in Erins Own's resistance.

And, ironically, it was Murphy who was presented with the chance to tilt the issue in Erins Own's favour after Sean Dunne was deemed to be fouled in the square nearing the end of normal time. It was a highly questionable decision by referee Diarmuid Kirwan on two counts. Firstly, Dunne might easily have been penalised himself for overcarrying. And, to compound Newtown's annoyance, he appeared to have moved outside the penalty zone when he was eventually upended by his marker John Griffin.

With Newtown two points to the good at the time, Erins Own had little option but to entrust their custodian with the task of trying for a goal. And, in view of the manner in which Murphy had blasted a close-in free to the net to resurrect Erins Own's hopes in the closing minutes of the drawn semi-final encounter with Imokilly, Newtown had good cause to fear the worst. Murphy didn't hit the ball cleanly this time, however, and the shot was saved by Newtown wing-back Philip Noonan only for the inrunning Tomas O'Leary to finish the rebound to the net.

Ian Kelleher is challenged by Mark O'Connor (number 11) and Brian Corcoran of Erins Own in the TSB county senior hurling final at Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday 15th October 2000.

But, much to Erins Own's chagrin, O'Leary was adjudged to have commited a foul when doing so, and again it will have to go down as another extremely dubious call by the man with the whistle. Plenty of controversy, therefore, in the closing stages of this decider which saw Ben O'Connor seal victory for Newtown with a pointed free deep in injury-time.

But, in the final analysis, Erins Own could have no complaints about the outcome as they were forced to play second-fiddle for much of the hour, not least during the opening 25 minutes when Newtown, despite facing into a fresh breeze, eased confidently into a 0-8 to 0-3 lead. The North-Cork side appeared to hold all the aces at that stage, with their defence, superbly marshalled by pivot Pat Mulcahy, in complete control, and Ian Kelleher and Declan Murphy, after an uncertain start against Erins Own's Frank Horgan, giving them a pronounced edge at midfield.

Meanwhile, the O'Connor twins, Ben and Jerry, were both showing up well in attack where team captain Donal Mulcahy earned the main plaudits before the break at right half-forward. Winning possession virtually at will against Erins Own's Shane Murphy, and later Timmy Kelleher, Mulcahy, apart from shooting one fine point himself, had a hand in the vast majority of the Newtown scores. And his contribution was all the more significant because Mike Morrissey, who had provided much of the leadership up front during Newtown's march to the final, struggled to make his presence felt this time against peerless Erins Own centre-back Brian Corcoran.

The pacy John Paul King started promisingly on the left wing too for Newtown, making regular headway against Timmy Kelleher, but he found it much more difficult to elude the attentions of Shane Murphy after Erins Own switched their wing-backs with about ten minutes to half-time. Teenager King made the opening for Newtown's first point, scored by Jerry O'Connor inside four minutes. And he should have added another point himself, shooting wide from a good position, before Pat Mulcahy took a return pass from Donal Mulcahy to stretch Newtown's advantage in the seventh minute.

Shortly afterwards, Brian Corcoran did well to prevent Mike Morrissey from getting in a shot at goal, and Erins Own appeared to draw inspiration from that let-off as they quickly got back on terms through points from Mark O'Connor and John Corcoran, from a free. It took an excellent block-down by Denis Mulcahy, who never put a foot astray at left corner-back for Erins Own, to deny Mike Morrissey a possible goal midway through the first-half, after a careless pass by 'keeper, Kieran Murphy, had led to the opening. Denis Murphy soon restored the lead to Newtown, however, and they proceeded to take a firm grip on the game entering the second-quarter.

Prior to that, Erins Own had held their own territorially, thanks primarily to the efforts of Frank Horgan at midfield, where Ian Kelleher was also very quick to settle for Newtown. But they never functioned with any real conviction in attack against a Newtown defence in which John Griffin, Brendan Mulcahy and John McCarthy formed a rock-solid full-back line, and Alan O'Brien and Phil Noonan were very much on top of their game as well at either side of inspirational centre-back, Pat Mulcahy. The impact made by Donal Mulcahy at right half-forward meant that Newtown always moved a bit more menacingly up front during the opening exchanges, and once Declan Murphy began to find his feet at midfield against Frank Horgan, they had little difficulty in increasing their momentum.

In any event, after John Corcoran pointed a free for Erins Own, who never led at any stage, to make it 0-4 to 0-3 in the 17th minute, the East-Cork side had to wait another ten minutes for their next score which came from Tomas O'Leary. And, in the meantime, Newtown had put four more points on the board, with Donal Mulcahy remaining a major thorn in the Erins Own rearguard, and Ben and Jerry O'Connor posing a share of problems too in the full-forward line. In fairness, Tony O'Keeffe, Michael Dunne and the flawless Denis Mulcahy tried hard in the Erins Own full-back line to stem the tide, and Brian Corcoran remained in command at centre-back, but Newtown, dominant in defence and well on top at midfield, looked to have most of the answers as the first-half drew to a close.

With Frank Horgan thundering back into the picture at midfield, however, and John Corcoran finishing strongly at left corner-forward, Erins Own began to nibble away at the deficit coming up to half-time. Newtown's lead was down to three points when John Paul King, with a point there for the taking, opted to try for a goal in the 28th minute and Kieran Murphy proved equal to the shot from the edge of the square. And, after John Corcoran placed Mark O'Connor for a good score, Erins Own reduced the gap to the minimum, 0-8 to 0-7, courtesy of a point in injury-time by Corcoran from a free which resulted after Newtown's Alan O'Brien fouled the ball as he surged out of defence.

On the overall run of the play, there could be no disputing that Erins Own were flattered to be so close at the interval. But they made an encouraging start in the second-half, with Sean Dunne shooting wide with an easy chance before a spectacular Mark O'Connor point brought them level inside 35 minutes. That was O'Connor's third score from play, and it was no mean return considering he had generally struggled to gain possession on the '40 against Newtown's Pat Mulcahy up to that point.

And Mulcahy faced by Peter Kelly, who never got into the game at midfield for Erins Own, for the last 20 minutes went from strength-to-strength at the heart of the Newtown rearguard as the second-half progressed. By contrast, Brian Corcoran was much less commanding at centre-back for Erins Own after the break when the switch of Jerry O'Connor from the left corner to the '40 yielded rich dividends for Newtown.

O'Connor used his speed and mobility to make a share of progress against Corcoran, and with Donal Mulcahy continuing to do trojan work on the right flank against Timmy Kelleher, the Erins Own defence began to look more and more vulnerable. Following an exchange of points between Jerry O'Connor and Erins Own's ace free-taker John Corcoran, Donal Mulcahy won a free which Ben O'Connor converted in the 47th minute to push Newtown 0-10 to 0-9 ahead, and, as things turned out, they were to remain in front until the finish. Two minutes later, they went agonisingly close to grabbing a goal after Ben O'Connor got behind the Erins Own cover to latch on to a well-struck side-line ball by Phil Noonan.

But Kieran Murphy kept out O'Connor's shot from almost point-blank range, and he took much of the sting from substitute Dan Riordan's effort from the rebound before diving full-length to eventually steer the ball outside the posts. Newtown received some compensation when Ben O'Connor slotted over the resultant '65, and their prospects took on a very rosy hue after Jerry O'Connor, fed by Donal Mulcahy, raced through to score and make it 0-12 to 0-9 with nine minutes to play.

Erins Own were clearly in serious trouble at that stage, but two points from frees by John Corcoran $= the second resulting after Phil Noonan was penalised, unfairly perhaps, for picking the ball off the ground $= left them snapping at Newtown's heels again entering the last five minutes. Thus, the scene was set for a nailbiting conclusion to a contest which, despite the intensity of the exchanges and the closeness of the scoring throughout, had failed to generate any great excitement hitherto. It took a good save by Kieran Murphy from Dan Riordan, who did well to gather a Ben O'Connor side-line ball at the edge of the square, to keep Erins Own's hopes alive in the 57th minute.

But Newtown got within sight of victory two minutes later when Ben O'Connor put the finishing touch to a slick raid which he had started himself and which also involved Mike Morrissey and Jerry O'Connor. Then came the late drama which almost allowed Erins Own to grab the glory before Ben O'Connor pointed the free $= won, almost inevitably, by Donal Mulcahy $= to secure Newtown's success virtually on the stroke of full-time.

Taking everything into account, the merit of Newtown's historic triumph was beyond dispute. They were much the better-balanced and more assured side over the hour, and, in my view, their two most outstanding performers were Pat Mulcahy, who was chosen as man-of-the-match, and Donal Mulcahy.

Others to make handsome contributions to this momentous achievement were Ben and Jerry O'Connor, Ian Kelleher, Declan Murphy, Alan O'Brien and Phil Noonan, not to mention the full-back trio of John Griffin, Brendan Mulcahy and John McCarthy, whose efforts ensured that Paul Morrissey was never once seriously tested between the sticks. Erins Own 'keeper, Kieran Murphy, for his part, had a much busier time of it, and, having prevented three Newtown goals, he can take the bulk of the credit for keeping his side in the hunt until the very end.

Brian Corcoran, Denis Mulcahy, Michael Dunne, Tony O'Keeffe, Shane Murphy, Frank Horgan and Mark O'Connor were the pick of the remainder, although John Corcoran certainly paid his way with his free-taking expertise which yielded all but four points of the losers' tally on the day. Newtown, on the other hand, clocked up ten points from play, and their general superiority is further underlined by the fact that they finished with 12 wides, five more than Erins Own, for the hour.

Scorers:
Newtownshandrum; B O'Connor (0-6, 0-3 frees), J O'Connor (0-3), P Mulcahy (0-2, 0-1 free), D Murphy, D Mulcahy and M Morrissey (0-1 each).

Erins Own; J Corcoran (0-7 frees), M O'Connor (0-3), T O'Leary (0-1).

Newtownshandrum; Paul Morrissey, John Griffin, Brendan Mulcahy, John McCarthy, Alan O'Brien, Pat Mulcahy, Philip Noonan, Ian Kelleher, Declan Murphy, Donal Mulcahy, Mike Morrissey, John Paul King, Bertie Troy, Ben O'Connor, Jerry O'Connor.
Sub: Dan Riordan for Troy.

Erins Own; K Murphy, T O'Keeffe, M Dunne, D Mulcahy, T Kelleher, B Corcoran, S Murphy, F Horgan, P Kelly, S Dunne, M O'Connor, K Murphy, T O'Leary, P Geasley, J Corcoran.
Subs: F Murphy for Geasley, K O'Shea for S Murphy (injured).

Referee: D Kirwan (Eire Og).