Éire Óg claim Carlow crown with second-half surge

Éire Óg 2-13 Tinryland 0-7

Éire Óg are back on top in Carlow when they won their 31st senior football championship final at Netwatch Cullen Park on Sunday.

Two goals in the second half clinched the victory after a disappointing first half where both sides took a possession and conservative approach.

Tinryland were hoping to make amends having lost in the final to Palatine last year. Their long wait to their last win goes back to 1981. They never looked like contenders here.

Much of the pre-match predictions suggested Tinryland would play a possession game and then drop back in defence when Éire Óg had the ball.

The eventual winners were not that adventurous in the opening half themselves but they went into an early lead with points from Ross Dunphy and Darragh O'Brien. A Paul Broderick free got Tinryland off the mark on 12 minutes.

It was uninspiring stuff. There was little to cheer.

Éire Óg dealt with the only goal chance of the first half when a high delivery asked questions of their defence but keeper, Johnny Furey, made the initial block and a retreating defence cleared.

O’Brien and Dunphy were on the mark again and with two minutes to go to half-time, Conor McGrath landed a Tinryland point. At 0-4 to 0-2 to the eventual winners at the interval, the entertainment value was negligible.

Two O’Brien frees and a Colm Hulton effort stretched the Éire Óg lead out to five by the 38th minute. Tinryland replied with James McGrath and Broderick raising white flags.

The Tinryland threat died almost as quickly as it started. Jordan Morrissey rifled over a point for Éire Óg. Then came the killer blow. When the ball was delivered in to the edge of the small square, the Man of the Match elect, Ross Dunphy flicked home.

Cormac O’Brien had a