A nine point lead turned over in under 10 minutes paved the way for Cork to romp to All Ireland U20 Football Championship victory
Cork 3-16
Dublin 1-14
O’Moore Park, Portlaoise
It wasn’t Dublin’s day today as Munster Champions Cork came to Portlaoise and picked the Dubs apart to win the EirGrid All Ireland U20 Football Title.
Dublin had rocketed into a nine point lead before the end of the opening quarter, and Cork hadn’t even registered a score.
But that would quickly change as the rebels dominated the remainder of the half scoring 3-06 to Dublin 0-04 in a dominant display.
Losing Peadar O Cofaigh Byrne to a black card and Karl Lynch Bissett to two yellow cards didn’t help Dublin’s cause as they struggled to contain Cork’s attack.
The Dubs started the brighter with the wind at their backs, James Doran, Ciaran Archer (2), Brian O’Leary and Ross McGarry (2) all found the target before Archer got Dublin’s goal.
Ross McGarry kicked a wide and Cork keeper Josh O’Keeffe tried a short kick out to Peter O’Driscoll.
But his handling let him down and Archer robbed possession and shot off the ground from a tight angle. The shot eventually found the net through the legs of the Cork keeper.
Cork Reel Dublin In Three Times
With Dublin firmly in the box seat, Cork needed to kickstart their half. And they did that with aplomb scoring three quick fire goals.
An end line pass from Mark Cronin was met and volleyed into the net by Blake Murphy for their first. Cronin got Cork’s second getting on the end of short dropped shot by Cathal O’Mahony.
And by the 18th minute Colm O’Callaghan had scored their third, levelling the game on 1-07 to 3-01.
To their credit, Dublin managed to stay in front for a period thanks to scores from Archer, Donal Ryan and Brian O’Leary.
But the lead was short lived as Damian Gore, O’Mahony and Daniel O’Connell pointed as Cork finished the half ahead by 3-06 to 1-10.
Within 6 minutes of the restart, Dublin had drawn level with Cork. A Ciaran Archer free and a score from Brian O’Leary squared the tie, but Archer would rue two attempts blasted wide.
On the 40th minute Cork commenced their second half haul, with Cronin converting a free. Substitute Jack Murphy added a score and O’Mahony another to push their lead out to three scores.
Dublin’s loss of O Cofaigh Byrne and Lynch Bissett only strengthened Cork’s hand as they controlled the tie. And Damian Gore finished out the game with three unanswered scores in four minutes. Fionn Herlihy scored the final point off the bench to see Cork finish as deserved All Ireland Champions.
Scorers for Cork:
Mark Cronin 1-03 (2f)
Blake Murphy 1-02
Damien Gore 0-04
Cathal O’Mahony 0-04 (3f)
Colm O’Callaghan 1-00
Daniel O’Connell 0-01
Jack Murphy 0-01
Fionn Herlihy 0-01
Scorers for Dublin:
Ciaran Archer 1-05 (3f)
Brian O’Leary 0-03
Ross McGarry 0-02 (1f)
James Doran 0-02
Donal Lynch 0-01
David Lacey 0-01
Cork:
1. Josh O’ Keeffe
2. Michael Mahoney
3. Maurice Shanley
4. Paul Ring
5. Gearoid O’ Donovan
6. Sean Meehan
7. Peter O’ Driscoll
8. Brian Hartnett
9. Daniel O’Connell
10. Colm Barrett
11. Blake Murphy
12. Colm O’ Callaghan
13. Mark Cronin
14. Cathal O’Mahony
15. Damien Gore
Cork Substitutes:
18. Jack Murphy for Barrett (38)
23. Mark Hodnett for O’Callaghan (40)
20. Fionn Herlihy for B Murphy (50)
17. Jack McCarthy for O’Donovan (56)
21. Eanna O’Hanlon for Gore (62)
19. Shane Hickey for Ring (62)
Dublin:
1. David O’Hanlon
2. Darren Maher
3. Daire Newcombe
4. Eoin O’Dea
5. Kieran Kennedy
6. Neil Matthews
7. Seán Lambe
8. Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne
9. Donal Ryan
10. Niall O’Leary
11. Karl Lynch Bissett
12. James Doran
13. Brian O’Leary
14. Ciarán Archer
15. Ross McGarry
Dublin Substitutes:
20. David Lacey for N O’Leary (38),
22. Harry Ladd for Ó Cofaigh Byrne (43, black card),
17. Aaron Lynch for Maher (53)
