Newtown Clinch Historic Three-in-a-row

 NEWTOWNSHANDRUM 1-17
 GLEN ROVERS 1-07

Newtownshandrum capped a marvellous year last Saturday in Fermoy, by winning the U-21 County A Final for the third successive year. Having already captured the Senior title just two months ago, Newtown were in no mood to rest on their laurels and it was a fitting finale to a tremendous year.

The game opened at a furious pace. The Glen threw everything bar the kitchen sink at the North Cork men in the first 10 minutes and were hurling in a most determined manner. Scores were at a premium at this early stage and there was little or nothing between the two teams. The Glen missed some easy scoring chances but still managed to eak out a two point lead, courtesy of a goal in the second quarter. Newtown responded quickly with 2 points and the teams were level at 0-08 to 1-05 at half time. The first half was a titantic struggle with excellent hurling being displayed by both teams, considering this was a game being played in December. Philip Noonan was a power of strength in this half, clearing all ball before him while Paul Morrissey pulled off a breathtaking double save from a point blank shot. John Paul King was hurling brillantly at midfield and his searing pace had the Glen in all sorts of trouble.

The second half was a lesson in execution any team in the country would be proud of. It will rank as one of the best team performances given by any Newtown side at any grade. The Glen were incapable of matching the frantic pace they set earlier on. Meanwhile, Newtown upped a few gears and gave a magnificent display of teamwork. Ben O' Connor was deemed to be inside the square when he doubled the ball to the net with an exquisite overhead strike. It mattered little as Ben and Jerry combined brillantly to pull out an advantage on the scoreboard but it wasn't all about the twins on this occasion. The victory was sealed with a splendid goal from Alan O' Brien. Having being moved to the unusual position of full forward for him, he latched onto to a perfect pass from substitute Diarmuid Naughton to billow the net. Newtown continued their onslaught right to the final whistle with some majestic points from Jerry O' Connor and John Paul King. John Paul in particular had a blinder of a game. He finished very strongly with some searing runs.

The final whistle was greeted with joyus scenes of celebration and relief that the three in a row had actually being achieved. Man of the match had to go to Philip Noonan who gave a virtuso display at centre back. Gerard O' Mahony at wing back ran him close with a terrific performance from such a young player.

This result is a magnificant end to an extroadinary year. In many ways, it is as important as the Senior title, in that it confirms our arrival at the top of Cork hurling. The Senior win was by no means a flash in the pan and this three in a row is an affirmation of this. Roll-on St Finbarr's next year!

SCORES:

Glen Rovers: P. Burke0-3 (frees), D.Cronin 1-0, G. Kennefick 0-1
Newtownshandrum: B. O’Connor 0-8 (0-1 from frees), J.P. King 0-4, A.T. O’Brien 1-0, G.O’Connor 0-2, P.Noonan, W. Biggane, John O’Connor 0-1 each

Newtownshandrum: P. Morrissey, A. O’Brien, B. Mulcahy, D. Coughlan, D. Coughlan, P. Noonan, G. O’Mahony, Alan. T. O’Brien, J.P.King, W. Biggane, Jerry O’Connor, John O’Connor, F. Reidy, B. O’Connor, J.Bowles.
Subs: K McNamara for F. Reidy, D. Naughton for J. Bowles.

Glen Rovers: D.Hourlhane, F. Aherne, R. Riordan, E. McCarthy, S. Kennefick, G. Calnan, E. Neville, S. O’Brien, C. Buckley, P. Burke, R. Brosnan, N. Harte, D. Cornin, B. Wall, B.Corcoran.
Subs: S. Hackett for Corcoran; L. Lynch for Harte; K Herlihy for Brosnan; M. Hackett for O’Brien.

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