In the Under 14 B Final Ballycumber / Tubber came from 10 points behind at half time to win by 2 in the end. There were jubilant scenes when Tom Corcoran lifted the trophy for Ballycumber/Tubber. Trailing 2-7 to 0-3 at half time, many would expect that there would be no way back but these lads showed tremendous character to go on to win on a scoreline of 3-9 to 2-10. It has to be said that Gracefield played their part in making this a highly entertaining Final, and really it could have went either way, but Ballycumber/ Tubber are Under 14 B Champions for 2011 and Offaly GAA extends their coingratulations to all concerned.
In the Under 14 A Final, Ferbane /Belmont showed that they superiority in winning the Under 14 A Football title for their third year in succession with a 3-8 to 1-8 victory over St Vincents. St Vincents who came into this final with high hopes can still feel very proud of what they achieved this year in winning the Feile and reaching this year’s decider, but in the second half they just fell short of matching Ferbane/Belmont’s strength. The game started brightly with both sides sharing a point inside the first 7 minutes. Ferbane/Belmont were aided by the strong wind in the first half and found the net in the 8th minute with a well taken goal from Brian McEvoy. Shane Tierney added a second point for St Vincents before Ronan Farrell found the net in the 21st minute to bring the sides level, but a goal on the stroke of half time from Colin Kenny was a decisive blow as it gave Ferbane /Belmont a 4 point lead at half time 2-4 to 1-3. St Vincents had the breeze behind them in the second half but it seemed not to be as strong and although they registered the first score of the half through Jackie Naughton, it was Ferbane/Belmont who started to dominate possession in the key areas of the pitch, and they turned that dominace into scores through their excellent full-forward Ryan Heavin, who increased their lead to 6 points 2-8 to 1-5. Ferbane/Belmont had 2 goal chances midway through the half, with the strike from Colin Kenny hitting the crossbar, but they did find the net again in the 19th minute through Jack Darcy to all but put an end to St Vincents challenge. St Vincents never gave up and their star midfielder Shane Tierney added 3 more points to leave the Final score 3-8 to 1-8.
Offaly GAA congratulate Ferbane/Belmont on their achievement of winning the 3 in a row, and they are only the second club to achieve this. The previous one was Edenderry in 1992, 93 and 94. We also compliment both match referees Pat Gallagher and Seamus Flemming and their officials. The trophies were presented to both captains by Joe Higgins Chairman Coiste na NOg. Offaly GAA also would like to thank all the people involved behind the scenes in making Saturday’s Finals a huge success.
