Coolderry hold on as Birr battle back after break

OFFALY SHC FINAL/Coolderry 2-14 Birr 0-16:COOLDERRY HAD to withstand a ferocious second-half rally before retaining the county title in O'Connor Park yesterday.

Ahead by 1-13 to 0-8 early in the second half, Coolderry looked set to coast home but Birr staged a terrific recovery that put them on the brink of a sensational win.

With the wind on their backs and dominating in all sectors, Birr scored six points on the trot to cut the deficit to two points with 13 minutes left. A Damien Murray free settled Coolderry but two Thomas Bolger points cut the gap to the minimum, 0-16 to 1-14, with eight minutes left.

The odds favoured Birr at this stage but Bolger had a bad wide with a great chance of the equaliser. At the other end, Murray couldn’t get the ball off the ground for a straightforward free but a superb goal from substitute Kevin Connolly got the winners across the line seconds into injury time. It was a great end to an enjoyable game.

In the first half, Coolderry were in control. They made a dream start with an Eoin Ryan goal after 40 seconds and led by 1-4 to 0-0 before Birr knew what hit them.

Birr did improve as the game progressed but Coolderry could have been out of sight as Murray missed a great goal chance just before the break. As it was, they led 1-11 to 0-7 at the interval and that provided the cushion they needed.

COOLDERRY: S Corcoran; B Kelly, T Corcoran, A Corcoran; D King, J Brady, B O’Meara; K Teehan, K Brady (0-2); B Carroll, B Teehan (0-1), M Corcoran; E Ryan (1-2), C Parlon (0-1), D Murray (0-8, four frees, one 65). Subs: K Connolly (1-0) for M Corcoran (50 mins), B Larkin for Kelly (54 mins), M Bergin for A Corcoran (61 mins).

BIRR: B Mullins; JP O’Meara, P Cleary, M Verney; N Rogers, B Harding (0-2, one 65, one free), B Watkins; R Hanniffy, P Molloy (0-1); G Hanniffy (0-1), D Hayden (0-3), Barry Whelahan; T Bolger (0-8, six frees), S Ryan (0-1), B Murphy. Subs: B Lonergan for O’Meara (26 mins), B Nolan for Murphy (41 mins).

Referee: B Gavin.

Leinster Quarter-finals (Sun, Oct 30th)

1: Kilkenny v Oulart-the-Ballagh Venue TBA (Sun, Nov 6th)

2: Clonkill v Dublin Venue TBA

Semi-finals: 1 v Clough/Ballacolla, 2 v Coolderry.