Senior lads defeated in Junior Championship Final

The Gaels returned to Cloonacool after a victorious visit in July when league silverware was captured in contrasting weather conditions.

The Sea Blues of Easkey stood in our way of re-capturing the Junior Championship title that we last won in 2015 but unfortunately the result was a repeat of the 1987 Intermediate Championship final, as the men from the West emerged triumphant.
Despite the six point difference between the teams in the end, the game was a tight affair throughout and the Gaels were very much a match for a team that played Senior football only two years ago.
Owenmore Gaels took the lead soon after the throw-in when Colin Smith pointed from distance but the remainder of the first half was dominated by Easkey as they kicked the next seven scores. A Colin Smith free before the interval saw us trail by five points on a score of 0-7 to 0-2. The highlights of the first half for the Gaels was the solidity of the full-back line as Pa Murphy and Kyle Taheny cleaned up. Jason Farrell’s save before the break kept us in the game and the tenacious Peter Wynne was instrumental in both defence and attack.
The McHugh brothers for Easkey were excellent throughout with the marauding runs of Rory from centre-back integral to everything good that Easkey done.
The second period saw Easkey score two quick points in succession to take a seven point lead but the Gaels then took a stranglehold on the game as Colin Smith curled a point over to reduce the gap. Soon afterwards, Smith was fouled when through on goals and he calmly converted the penalty to make it a three point game.
The Gaels were on top at this stage and the game was in the melting pot. However the next score was the deciding factor in the contest and it swept our momentum away. Easkey turned a Gaels attack over and swiftly moved the ball up the field and Joe McHugh scored the decisive goal.
The remainder of the game petered out with little scoring, as both teams retained possession around the middle of the field.
Smith scored another late free before Easkey closed out the tie with two points in injury time. Ryan Philips added a consolation score before the final whistle and Easkey ran out winners on a scoreline of 1-11 to 1-05.

Man of the Match: Rory McHugh
Best for the Gaels: Peter Wynne

Team and scorers:
J.Farrell, K.Taheny, P.Murphy, G.Lavin, B.Mahon, C.Whiteside, R.Anderson, T.Trill, J.Duffy, C. Davey, G. Anderson, P. Wynne, S. Harte, C. Smith (1-4), R. Phillips (0-1)
Subs: R. Sweeney, J. Foley, K. Healy, N. Hodgins, A. Nicholson

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