MAtch Report : 2024 U21 Bantry Blues V Clon SF

11/2/24 : Venue: Sam Maguire Park, Dunmanway

Having won the toss, Bantry Blues Captain, Dara McCarthy opted to play with the stiff breeze that was blowing straight down Sam Maguire Park.

The opening 15 minutes of this game saw Clon dominate possession but could not break down the blues defence. On the quarter hour mark the scores were level at 2 points apiece. Clon opened the scoring with a free  on the second minute, but this was cancelled by a terrific point from a 45 by goalkeeper Daire Kingston. The Clon team who were applying tremendous pressure were unable to get rewarded as the blues defended superbly with the half back line of Dara McCarthy, Mark Óg OSullivan & Cillian oBrien not giving the strong Clon half forward line any space And the midfield pairing of Michael ODonovan & John Crowley worked tirelessly up and down the pitch.

Clon again pointed from a free on the eight minute, but Paddy Croninn cancelled this out immediately from the kickout with a well taken point from play.

While Clon had applied most of the pressure in the opening ten minutes, they did not take advantage of those opportunities. The blues now settling into the game began to play. On the quarter hour mark following another wide by Clon after strong defending by Eli Reynolds , Blues keeper Daire Kingston from the kickout found corner back Ruairi OShea who moved forward to set up an attack, which was finished off by his full back partner Conor Cronin who raised a white flag to start the blues period of dominance. 

The Sheedy brothers , Jack & Dara were causing all types of bother for the Clon defence, scoring five points between them in the second quarter, with Fionn ODonovan & Fionn Barry contributing with their assists,while the blues defence held Clon to a point in this time, when they scored their first point from play in the twenty third minute.

Clon will rue their wastefulness in the first half, only coming away with three points from twelve scoring opportunities thanks to the well disciplined blues defence while the blues attack were more clinical at the other end. 

At half time, the blues led by five points

Bantry Blues 0-08 V 0-03 Clonakilty 

While a five point lead was a good lead, the strong wind was a concern for the blues supporters, who were predicting a Clon purple patch having heard how they finished their previous game pulling out a win in the last couple of minutes of the quarter final.

The second half started as the first finished with the blues raising the white flag straight from throw in with an excellent taken score into a strong wind by Luke SalterTownsend.

In the second minute of the half, the referee deemed that the blues had infringed on a Clonakilty player and awarded a penalty. Clon down by six, needed to score this lifeline, however the newly converted U21 goalkeeper Daire Kingston facing his first penalty stood up to the task bringing off a great save to keep the six point differential.

The blues finished out this quarter with another four points , two each from Dara Sheedy & Paddy Cronin, with one from play and one from a free each. Clon , while playing with a strong wind at their backs were unable to raise any flags kicking short or wide.

Going into the last quarter leading on a scoreline 0-13 to 0-03 the blues were well in control, but having played an attacking brand of football, they now started to become defensive taking time to clear their lines and move the ball forward.The Clon players who kept attacking were rewarded with a point on the twentieth minute, their first score since  the twenty second minute of the opening half. This score was quickly canceled out by a Paddy Cronin point 

The Clon purple patch which the blues supporters were worried about at the half time break had not materialised up to this time, where the blues were ten points to the good, however in a five minute spell, Clon raised the green flag twice within sixty seconds as well as scoring two points leaving just two points between the sides ( 0-14 V 2-06) with two minutes of regulation time remaining and an additional four minutes for stoppages. 

The blues woke from their five minute slumber, and reignited their earlier attacking play with both Dara Sheedy & Conor Cronin denied goals by some excellent goalkeeping by the Clon number 1. 

While those outside the wire were panicking inside the blues players on the pitch kept their composure despite the enormous pressure being applied by the more physical Clon players, Paddy Cronin’s point on the thirty third minute gave a sense of relief to the blues supporters as there was little time left. 

On the long shrill of the referees whistle players from both teams were exhausted having left everything on the pitch. 

Back Row L to R: Mark Óg OSullivan, Fionn ODonovan, John Crowley,Owen ONeill, Dara Sheedy, Fionn Barry, Michael ODonovan, Oran Wiseman, James Crowley, Conor Cronin,Dara McCarthy, Stephen ODonovan.

Front Row; L to R : Ordhan Crowley, Eli Reynolds, Luke SalterTownsend, Jack Sheedy, Ruairi OShea, Paddy Cronin, Conn OCallaghan, Daithi Shiels, Daire Kingston, Cillian OBrien,

Scorers: Dara Sheedy 0-05 (01f) , Paddy Cronin 0-05 (01f) , Jack Sheedy 0-02, Conor Cronin 0-01, Luke SalterTownsend 0-01, Daire Kingston 0-01 ( 1 45)

Next up for the blues is Ibane Gaels on Sunday next 18th Feb in the CLONA MILK Carbery GAA West Cork U21 Football Championship Final.

The blues were successful in the U21 B Championship in 2023, while Ibane Gaels were finalists in the A final last year. 

Bantry Blues last contested and won the U21A West Cork Final in 2012, while Ibane Gaels were last successful in 2022

Full Fixture details to follow in the coming days 

Bantry Blues Sponsored by  Bantry Credit Union