Celts regain senior hurling crown from East Cavan Gaels
Senior Hurling Championship final
Cootehill Celtic 0-17
East Cavan Gaels 0-13
Kevin Óg Carney at Kingspan Breffni
Cootehill Celtic's senior hurlers finished with a flourish to leave defending champions ECG on the canvas in a lukewarm county SHC decider at Kingspan Breffni Park.
In a game which had the word draw seemingly stamped all over it, only a single point separated the sides entering the final eight minutes of play but the Hoops held their nerve the better to ease their way over the finishing line.
Cootehill deserved to regain the title they last held in 2023 but theirs was a laboured, uninspired and far from impressive victory.
In truth, the game was a major disappointment given the perfect playing conditions and the number of countymen on the field of play.
As usual, East Cavan Gaels fought the good fight but they seemed to lack the naked hunger, dervish-like workrate and potency that characterised their annexation of their debut title last year.
In defence of both teams, the fact that Cootehill was denuded of former nailed-down starters in midfielders Conor Bannon and Gavin Fitzpatrick plus centre-back John Carney from the 2024 final left them a lot less forceful last Sunday.
Similarly, for ECG, the absence of their top-scoring, go-to, attacker Liam O'Brien greatly blunted their sharpness in the most important sector of the field.
Ultimately, Cootehill won't overly worry about the nature of their disappointing performance and they will have their chests puffed out once more this week ahead of their entry into the Ulster club scene, fresh from regaining the blue riband title following a two year absence.
The Celts will know themselves that they failed to rise to any great heights and theirs was a hard-fought victory over gritty opponents who were in the hunt for the silverware right until the dying minute as Cootehill grimly held onto a four point lead.
The game was a claustrophobic contest and neither team ever looked like being able to put together a run of scores which would have relaxed them and also possibly allowed them to express themselves better.
In a repeat of the 2023 and 2024 deciders (won by Cootehill and ECG respectively), the Celts led for most of the match without ever managing to cut loose, principally because of sloppiness in their passing and a lack of a killer touch at the business end of the field.
The first half was an underwhelming spectacle and while things improved on the restart in terms of excitement, the lack of quality was damning overall.
Ultimately, Cootehill's better-balanced side demonstrated the greater consistency to keep their noses in front for the vast majority of the game and, most importantly, 'till the death.
The game was a real tit-for-tat affair but Cootehill huffed and puffed in trying to stretch their lead. Critically, for ECG, they just couldn't manage to complement Nicky Kenny's accuracy from frees to keep hold of their title.
Cootehill led by the odd point in five at the end of a stop-start opening quarter but helped, in part, by one of many Nicky Kenny's converted frees, last year's winners drew level (0-6 apiece) by the 23rd minute and were good value for it too.
A brilliant solo effort (27) by Mark Moffett lifted Cootehill's fans but sloppy passing and the freetaking of the aforementioned Kenny was pivotal in seeing Cootehill lead by just the minimum (0-8 to 0-7) at the interval.
Diarmaid Carney's quickfire point on the restart stretched Cootehill's lead but the script that had the challengers taking the game by the scruff of the neck in the third quarter wasn't read by the defending champions.
The Gaels kept nipping away at Cootehill's ankles and a brace of Kenny points gave them the lead (0-11 to 0-10) for the first time in the match with 43 minutes on the clock.
For the first time in the match, it looked like ECG had it in them to really turn the screw on their opponents but their lack of firepower was to be their millstone.
But despite the freetaking of Mark Moffett and their edge in the possession stakes, Cootehill continued to labour to pin down their opponents for anything other than fleeting moments but, that said, only for a brilliant block by Killian Farrelly - to deny Moffett - denied Cootehill a goal in the 47th minute. With less than 10 minutes left to play it was all-square (0-12 apiece) and the smart money must have been waged on a draw, especially after Jack McGuinness's point for ECG electrifying the champions' support.
Cootehill had the best of things down the back straight. They held ECG to just two points in the final 20 minutes while slowly but surely increasing their advantage as the chequered flag came into focus.
It was a nervy finish for Cootehill though and they owed much to their win to a hat-trick of converted frees by Moffett plus a gem (61) from Conor Shalvey which rendered Kenny’s long-range effort (58) a mere consolation.
ECG threw the kitchen sink at Cootehill in chasing down their four point deficit added-on time but close range frees were dealt with by a packed defence to see out the game.
Cootehill Celtic: Niall Clerkin; James McKitterick, Enda Shalvey, Euan Crossan; Darragh Boyle, Philip McCabe, Shane Clerkin; Ryan Rogers, Rian Delaney (0-2); Conor Shalvey (0-2), Dylan McKeever (0-3), Thomas Leonard (0-2, 2f); Mark Moffett (0-7, 5f, '65), Diarmaid Carney (0-1), Lonan McKenna.
Subs; Fiachra Hughes for R Rogers (43); Mark Davis for S Clerkin (49); Ben Tully for L McKenna (53); Josh Martin for C Shalvey (63).
East Cavan Gaels: Conor Gallagher; Noah O'Sullivan, Tadhg Barry, Killian Farrelly; Philip McKeon, Jack Barry, Mark Donoghue; Canice Maher, Callum Shiels; Daire Leddy, Jack McGuinness (0-1), Kyle McGuinness; Nicky Kenny (0-12, 8f), Rory Farrell, James Tully.
Subs; Andrew Farrelly for K McGuinness (28); Colin Tormey for D Leddy (46); Gary Leddy for M Donoghue (48).
Ref: John Emo (Butlersbridge)
See tomorrow's print edition for full coverage.