TERAPROOF:User:johnroycroftDate:17/12/2012Time:11:35:18Edition:17/12/2012Monmonecho171212Page:56
Zone:EE
EE - V1
Evening Echo
Munster lose but point may be invaluable
SPORT User:johnroycroftDate:17/12/2012Time:11:10:25Edition:17/12/2012Monmonecho171212Page:47Color:
Old foe and friend recalled Football has lost a great character
MUNSTER RUGBY
By SEAN MCARTHY
EE - V0
SPORT
Monday, December 17, 2012
47
Muskerry run riot against Kerrymen U20 FOOTBALL
IT is fair to say that the loss of Páidí O Se is being felt as keenly in Cork today as it is in his beloved Kingdom.
FOOTBALL
As one of the greatest Kerry defenders of all time, maybe the greatest ever, his fiercest foe wore the red jersey of the Rebel County. The battles he had, both as a player and a manager, with the men from Leeside were as intense as one would get in any sporting arena. Because of the formation of the championship now, that rivalry has been diluted in Munster but back in the ‘70s, 80’s and 90’s it had no equal. Every Munster final was a gunfight at the OK Corral, be it in Páirc Uí Chaoimh or Fitzgerald Stadium but out of those high noon showdowns were born some of the great friendships that have and will stand the test of time. One of those was Billy Morgan and the late, great Páidí and today the former Cork icon reflected on the passing of his old foe and dear friend. “The first time I came across him was when I was teaching in Sullivan’s Quay. “We played St Brendan’s in a Frewen Cup game in Ballyvourney and they beat us well but what I remember from that game was that they had two players who were head and shoulders above the rest, one was Pat Spillane and the other was Páidí. “Look, not alone was he one of the great Kerry players, he was also one of the great characters. “We have been friends for a long time and I just could not come to terms with it when I got the call on Saturday morning that he was gone.’’ Morgan has many memories of their jousts together on the field and off the field and he recalls a story from the 90s when the West Kerry legend went gunning for Cork. “We had beaten them, I think it was 1994 and I was on holidays in
Kerry afterwards. I remember meeting up with Páidí and he said to me, ‘ye beat us this time but the next time we meet I’ll be Kerry manager and we’ll beat ye because I’ll have the players wired to the moon.’ “And they did beat us. The Kerry team that he played on was the greatest of all time and he epitomised everything about them. “As a player and afterwards as a manager he was a tremendous rallying force and he had that ability to bring a team that might have been average enough right to the pinnacle. “He was second to none in his motivational skills and that was one of his greatest assets.’’ The former Cork legend was, as we spoke, getting ready to travel to the Kingdom to pay his respects to his great friend. “Yes, there’s a lot of us going down, myself, Dinny (Allen), Tony Nation, Stephen O’Brien, Jimmy Kerrigan, Colin Corkery and Jimmy Kerrigan. “It will be a desperately sad day but I have no doubt that there will be so many stories told about Páidí and the wonderful person that he was. “We will all miss him and I certainly will.’’ Another Cork great, Diarmuid O’Sullivan paid his own tribute today, taking to Twitter to pay his respects. “Us GAA folk have seen great men, characters, legends, call them what you like and then we had Páidí Ó Sé all rolled into one’’ Those words summed up what Ó Sé was and now he joins two other Kerry legends in that great stadium in the sky, John Egan and Tim Kenneally. As Eoin Liston said today: “One thing is for sure, there won’t be a shortage of entertainment if those three get together.’’
By JOHN TARRANT Muskerry John Mitchels
By JOHN HORGAN
Paidí Ó Sé takes in the view over the Blasket Islands near his pub in Ventry in Picture: Don MacMonagle West Kerry. INSET: Cork’s Billy Morgan.
Late scores see Clonakilty win U20 opener Clonakilty Rathmore/Kilcummin
2-15 2-14
CLONAKILTY produced their own pre-festive cracker to come from behind to overcome Rathmore/Kilcummin in a thrilling Credit Union Duhallow U20 Football Invitation Cup opener in Rathmore yesterday, writes JOHN TARRANT. The outcome looked none too good for Clonakilty when trailing the holders by five points with six minutes remaining. Far from folding, Clon responded to the challenge with commendable gusto to come firmly back into the game from a Jonathan Leahy goal.
U20 FOOTBALL And finishing in the ascendency, Clonakilty snatched the winner thanks to Seán White splitting the uprights. Both sides served up an enthralling battle that remained in the balance right up to the full time whistle. Clonakilty forced the early pace with the tireless endeavours of White, Gerard Barry, Thomas Clancy and Graham Murray to the fore. And up front, the radar of the beaver like Barry O'Mahony and Jack Cowhig chalked up points. Back came Rathmore/Kilcummin on lifting their game to a higher
plane through the driven efforts of Eugene O'Connor, Brendan O'Keeffe, John McCarthy and Ian Devane. And the home side possessed a real ace in full-forward Mark Reen, striking up a rich vein of shooting form, highlighted by a goal to secure a 1-10 to 0-8 interval advantage. Clonakilty chipped away at the deficit upon the resumption, their cause boosted on a converted penalty from Barry. Still, the home side appeared to be in the driving seat after Gary O'Leary netted to regain a five-point grip on the proceedings. However, Clon' weren't prepared to bow out too tamely, And the game was in the melting pot after Leahy's looped effort nested in the Rath-
more/Kilcummin net. The concluding stages were gripping, the impetus remained with Clonakilty and White nailed the match winner in favour of the West Cork side. Scorers for Clonakilty: B O’Mahony 0-6, G Barry 1-0, J Leahy 1-0 (f), J Cowhig 0-3 (0-2 f), T Clancy 0-2, S White 0-2, G Murray and I Falvey 0-1 each. Rathmore/Kilcummin: M Reen 1-6, G O’Leary 1-0, K McCarthy 0-4, B O’Keeffe 0-2, I Devane and G Sheehan 0-1 each. CLONAKILTY: J P Maughan; H O’Sullivan, C Sheehy, C O’Donovan; M Scally, S White, G Barry; T Clancy, G Murray; J O’Mahony, B O’Mahony, I Falvey; J Leahy, J Cowhig, E Ryan. RATHMORE/KILCUMMIN: S Murphy; P Buckley, D O’Leary, E O’Connor; B O’Keefe, N Duggan, T Moynihan; K Murphy, J McCarthy; G Sheehan, G O’Leary, I Devane; J Friel, M Reen, K McCarthy. Referee: D Casey (Scartiglen).
5-19 0-5
WITH the minimum of fuss, a highly impressive Muskerry brushed aside John Mitchels of Tralee in the opening round to the Credit Union Duhallow U20 Football Invitation Cup in Rathmore on Saturday. Entering for the first time, Muskerry parade a side with enormous potential and the Mid Cork side produced it with telling effect. On doing so, Muskerry operated a fast and fluent brand of football, excellent fielding and swift passing went rewarded on excellent scores in damp conditions. Muskerry began in a whirlwind of attacking football, only the woodwork and brilliant saves from Mitchels keeper Peter Murphy denied scores on the board. Simply owning the ball, Muskerry’s game took flight after Jerry Lyons netted an opportunist goal. A struggling Mitchels did get off the marks from points to Seán Moloney. Still Muskerry remained, by far the better side, their dominance founded on the impressive play of wing-backs Michael O’Shea and Cian Ó Duinín with Peter Kelleher and David O’Riordan on top at midfield. And up front, Darragh Ring, Seán O’Connor and Ben Shorten were a revelation in terms of movement with further goals from O’Connor and Lyons securing a clear 3-8 to 0-4 interval advantage. Upon the restart, the flow of the ball continued in the one direction, O’Shea and Kelleher leading by example with a run of splendid Muskerry points. If anything, Muskerry turned the screw tighter with Ben Shorten adding a fine goal. A depleted John Mitchels found it difficult to make headway, relying on a point to the hard working Niall Sheehy for their lone score to the second half. Only one result was on the cards, Muskerry polishing off a grey December afternoon with a length of the field move that merited O’Connor his side’s fifth goal. Scorers for Muskerry: S O’Connor 2-3(0-2f), J Lyons 2-1, D Ring 0-8, B Shorten 1-2, K Kelleher 0-2, D Twomey, M O’Shea and D O’Connell 0-12 each. John Mitchels: S Moloney 0-4(0-3f), N Sheehy 0-1. MUSKERRY: S Masters (Kilmichael); R Dennehy (Éire Óg), D Kelly (Macroom), R O’Dwyer (do); M O’Shea (Éire Óg), J O’Donoughue (Béal Atha’n Ghaoridh), C Ó Duinín (do); P Kelleher (Kilmichael), D O’Riordan (Iveleary); S O’Connor (Canovee), J Lyons (Naomh Abán), D Twomey (Kilmichael); B Shorten (Béal Atha’n Ghaoridh), D Ring (Canovee), D Hogan (Macroom). Subs: D O’Connaill (Cill na Martra) for Kelleher, D Aherne (Canovee) for O’Shea, W Aherne (Canovee) for O’Dwyer, N Lynch (Cill na Martra) for Twomey, P Moynihan (Cill na Martra) for Lyons. JOHN MITCHELS: P Murphy, D Ryall, J Cahalane, A Kastrati; C Casey, C Deane, A Fitzgerald; J Moran, S Dolan; P Mammock, S Moloney, G Murphy; N Sheehy, C Casey, A Leahy. Referee: E Walsh(Rathmore). *A minute’s silence was observed prior to the start of the game in memory of late Kerry All Ireland medalist and manager Paidí Ó Sé.
Billy Morgan on the passing of Páidí Ó Sé
Munster’s Simon Zebo evades the tackle of Saracens ’ Schalk Brits during their Heineken Cup Pool 1, Round 4 at Vicarage Road, London yesterday.
Picture: SPORTSFILE
Ryan to be named as Barrs boss
FORMER star and one of the club’s greatest ever servants, Michael Ryan (above) is expected to be officially named as the new team boss of the St Finbarr’s senior hurlers. Ryan, who was a member of the last Barrs county title winning side in 1993, will take the reins from another former star, Frank Ramsey as the Togher club bid to regain lost glories. Alongside the other big two city clubs, Blackrock and Glen Rovers, they have spent a lengthy time in the wilderness, the Glen last winning the county in 1989 and Blackrock in 2002, but with the
Former club stalwart to help hurlers to restore glory days HURLING By JOHN HORGAN emphasis now on youth development, there is a strong belief that they could all be back in the mix again sooner rather than later. Ryan’s appointment will be seen as a considerable boost in Togher after a hugely successful playing career at both hurling and football that didn’t yield the medal haul that it should have. A versatile player, he played in a number of po-
sitions in the blue jersey and was a half-forward of considerable stature. His first championship assignment will be against old city rivals Glen Rovers, a repeat of this season’s opener which was won by the Barrs before they were beaten by CIT later in the campaign. Alongside the new manager on the opposition bench that day will be Tony Wall, who will be in charge of the Glen for a second year and hoping to regain the type of form that brought them to a county final in 2010.
The status quo prevails in Midleton too with Peter Smyth continuing to wear the Bainisteoir’s bib and he and his selectors will be boosted next season by the availability of Bud Hartnett who has transferred from Russell Rovers. The East Cork club have a number of new faces on the executive with Liam Ryan, father of current stars Aidan and Declan, taking the chair while former team boss Terence McCarthy is the new registrar with Colman Quirke at PRO. ● See more on P47.
MUNSTER are still alive and kicking and their fate is still in their own hands after they gained a valuable losing bonus point at Vicarage Road yesterday afternoon. Munster coach Rob Penney was disappointed to lose the game but still upbeat about the province’s chances of advancing to the last eight. “We’ve still got the ability to get 10 points and who knows what will happen in the next two games. There’s still a lot of rugby to be played. I’d be very optimistic that the group of boys we’ve got will put themselves in the best place to be able to qualify.” The home team were outsung by the visitors so much so that every time there was a break in play ‘Stand up for Saracens’ was played on the tannoy in a bid to drown the Red Army singing out. Winger Simon Zebo, who had to be reshuffled to full back after an injury to Felix Jones, was impressed by the fans. “At times it felt like a home game there was such support over here. The Munster fans are unbelievable. There was a great turnout and if that song (Stand up for Saracens which was played every time there was a break in play) wasn’t being played, I wouldn’t have noticed we weren’t at home because the Munster fans were so good. There was a brilliant atmosphere and brilliant to play in.” ● See more rugby on P50-53.