Jun C Final Sun 3rd Nov in Pairc Tailteann
Walterstown vs Dunderry
Walterstown arrived in Pairc Tailteann on Sunday hoping to end their season on a high note in The Junior C Football Final against Dunderry. Walterstown having faltered in the IFC quarter Final against eventual winners Nobber, were really hoping to bring home the Mattie Gilsenan Cup. On a day that was perfect for football, on an excellent Pairc Tailteann pitch, considering the previous nights torrential rain.
Walterstown started brightly with a well taken Mark Foy point in the 2nd minute. However within 3 minutes Dunderry struck back with a point and a well taken goal. Walterstown then settled down with a brace of points from Eoin O Leary and 1 from Conor Lenehan which left the scores level, at 4 points apiece after 10 minutes.Dunderry were finding it hard to make an impression on Walterstown’s full back line of Cormac Freeman, Davy Maguire and Dan Halligan. Their Half back line comprised of Kashif Alia, Jonathan Murchan and Aaron Dunphy also rose to the occasion stifling a hard working Dunderry attack. In midfield, high fielding Christopher Farrelly, ably assisted by Adam Cummins were in control for most of the game. The Blacks hard working Half forward line of Eoin O Leary, Adam Barrett and Conor Lenehan constantly ran at the Dunderry Defence and all contributed to the scoreline. In the full forward line towering Full forward Mark Foy made an excellent target man, while distributing to his corner forwards Darren Finnegan and Stephen Davis and chipping in with 2 well taken points of his own. By the time ref Andrew Lenehan blew for half time Walterstown had a solid lead at 0-8 to 1-1. One possible turning point occurred half way through the half when Davy Maguire was deemed to have fouled a Dunderry forward in the penalty area. The Dunderry player struck the penalty shot hard at the bottom left only for Walterstown Keeper Daniel Murphy to pull off a spectacular save.
In the second half Walterstown scored 3 unanswered points in the first 4 minutes but then Dunderry who never gave up, posted the next 3 points to leave the gap at 4 points after 16 minutes. Walterstown lost substitute Alan Wall midway through the half to a straight red card. But when Stephen Davis added another point for the Blacks, their 14 man team then steadied the ship and Dunderry did not score again. Walterstown subs Andrew Moran, Aidan O Connor, Harry Beggy, Paul Foy and veteran Kit Reynolds all deputised well and when the final whistle blew Walterstown had won by 0-12 to 1-4. Walterstown supporters swarmed onto the pitch to see Captain Davy Maguire accept the cup amidst great excitement.
Walterstown Manager Robbie Barrett and his selectors Mark Maguire and Paul McCarthy were justifiably thrilled with the victory and proud of their players. They worked hard with this squad which blended youth and experience. It is a testament to their management skills that they had over 30 players togged out for the final.
Walterstown—Daniel Murphy, Cormac Freeman, Davy Maguire, Kashif Ali Jonathan Murchan, Aaron Dunphy, Christopher Farrelly Adam Cummins (0-1), Eoin O Leary (0-3), Adam Barrett(0-1), Conor Lenehan (0-2), Stephen Davis(0-3,F1), Mark Foy(0-2), Darren Finnegan—Subs Alan Wall fr A Barrett, Aidan O Connor for Eoin O leary, Paul Foy for C Lenehan, Harry Beggy for K. Ali, Andrew Moran for Mark Foy, Kit Reynolds for S Davis—Darragh Keegan, Ciaran Murphy, Andrew Barry, Ramiz Sohail, Conor Maguire, Eoin Finlay, Raymond Reynolds, Conor Darby, Paddy Donnellan, J P Beggy, Sean McGinley,Timi Sowumni
