Our senior men faced Glenflesk at home on Sunday afternoon in the final round of the County League. On a beautiful, sunny day at Strand Road, spectators were treated to a highly entertaining, fast-paced encounter that unfortunately ended in disappointment for the blues.
Glenflesk started the brighter side with early points from Tommy Bowler and Luke Crowley. The Blues grew into the game well, answering back with frees and sharp scores from play from Darragh O'Connor following excellent work by Ben Hanafin and Gearoid Savage.
After Glenflesk raised a green flag courtesy of Darragh Roche, the home side responded brilliantly. A long-range 2-pointer from Darragh O'Connor was quickly followed by an excellent team goal finished by O'Connor to level the sides. A superb defensive interception by Seamus Cahill denied Luke Crowley a late goal chance, leaving the teams deadlocked at half-time on 1-09 apiece.
Glenflesk seized control early in the second period, clinical with their kickouts and dangerous in attack. Long-range points from Tommy Bowler and Luke Crowley put the Blues under heavy pressure. Darragh O'Connor kept the scoreboard moving with a fisted point and a spectacular 2-pointer from the outside of his boot, while Shane McElligott added three excellent points from play as the blues probed continuously for a vital lifeline.
However, a clinical Glenflesk outfit held possession well and ran out winners on a final scoreline of Glenflesk 1-25 (28) to Kerins O'Rahillys 1-15 (18).
Relegation Heartbreak
Unfortunately, this result confirms our relegation to Division 2 for next season. Due to a change in the tie-breaker rules introduced this year, a three-team tie at the bottom is no longer decided by overall score difference. Instead, positions are determined by a mini-league based on the head-to-head results between the tied teams. Having lost our respective fixtures against Kilcummin and Gneeveguilla earlier in the campaign, the rule change regrettably condemns us to the drop. The lads fought valiantly all season, and we have no doubt they will regroup and focus fully on the upcoming club championship campaign.
