Congratulations to the Béara minor football team who defeated Ballincollig in tough conditions at Dunmanway. After two difficult years of Covid’19, particular acknowledgment to the management team for moulding this group of footballers into a formidable outfit.
The game began with Béara looking the stronger side with the wind. A foul on Ben O’Sullivan inside the square yielded a penalty, which Fintan Fenner duly converted . Ballincollig replied with a brace of points before Lee Kelly and 16-year old Ben O’Sullivan, restored advantage.
Pete Kelly kept Ballincollig in touch in the second quarter but points from Sean O’Shea, Tom O’Connor and O’Sullivan gave Béara a 1-7 to 0-5 half-time lead . However, Ballincollig grabbed control from the restart, with Liam O’Connell winning the mid-field battle. Although Dylan Henshaw made a strong impact on 43 minutes, Ballincollig struck then net, levelling the match going into the final quarter.
In a dramatic finish, Ballincollig were one in front before a late point from McElhinney levelled the match. In the 64th minute, Béara snatched the title with one last effort!
Beara: K Murphy (CTB); Darren Harrington, (Glengarriff), Darragh Harrington (Urhan), S Power (Glengariff); D O’Sullivan (Adrigole), S O’Shea, D Crowley (Urhan); F Fenner (CTB), A O’Sullivan (Urhan); T O’Sullivan (Adrigole), L Harrington (Glengarriff), G O’Shea (Adrigole); T O’Connor (Adrigole), L Kelly (CTB), B O’Sullivan (Adrigole), D Henshaw (Garnish), S. Power (CTB), C McElhinney (CTB)