Kealy's goal proves crucial as St Joseph's claim Junior C Football Championship

St Joseph’s third team and Courtwood’s second team clashed in this year’s Junior ‘C’ championship final in the LOETB Centre of Excellence in Portlaoise on Wednesday. In a wet and miserable evening, a low-scoring but hard-hitting encounter unfolded.

St Joseph's 1-8 

Courtwood 0-8

This was the second final that these pair of teams had met in this year. Earlier in the season, St Joseph’s claimed Division 7 league honours over Courtwood thanks to a 3-14 to 0-15 victory.

St Joseph’s topped their group containing O’Dempsey’s and The Heath before meeting O’Dempsey’s in the quarter-final again. St Joseph’s won that encounter once more and then breezed by Ballyroan Abbey in the semi-finals to qualify for the decider.

Courtwood also topped their group thanks to wins over Arles-Kilcruise, Portlaoise and Kilcavan. Courtwood then narrowly edged by Kilcotton in the last eight before proving too much for Park-Ratheniska in the semis.

James Michael Fleming opened the scoring for St Joseph’s in the early minutes in Portlaoise. The men wearing yellow and blue would play with a decent wind behind their backs for the first half.

It was a nervy and sloppy start to the contest in truth, as both outfits were guilty of spurring some decent chances. Courtwood left a couple of shots short while St Joseph’s hit a few wides during the opening stages.

St Joseph’s did have two excellent goal chances as well early on. Firstly, midfielder Colin Campion cruised through the heart of the Courtwood backline but Campion’s shot was superbly saved by Courtwood keeper Sam Krebs.

Then Dan Dunne had another goal sight but this time it was Courtwood corner-back Andrew Flynn who saved the day by clearing off the line. St Joseph’s would regret those missed chances as they continued to struggle going forward during the first half.

It took fifteen minutes but eventually Courtwood registered their first score of the evening. Rory Doyle dropped over a close-range free after St Joseph’s wing-back Ciaran Carroll picked up a yellow card.

Courtwood, to their credit, held on to possession well in the first half. Playing against the wind, the men from Ballybrittas frustrated St Joseph’s by moving the ball quickly side to side.

Rory Doyle doubled his and Courtwood’s tally in the twenty-second minute to see them take the lead for the first time. Five minutes later the same player added another free to his name to see Courtwood go two ahead.

Dan Dunne dropped over a sweetly struck 45’ for St Joseph’s just before the half-time whistle blew. After playing against the wind, Courtwood held a 0-3 to 0-2 lead at the interval and their management team must have been relatively pleased at this stage.

Courtwood continued to defend in a disciplined and tight manner to start the second half, as St Joseph’s were beginning to grow frustrated. However, the men wearing white could not make it count down the other end despite the advantage of the wind.

St Joseph’s needed a lift and they got it when Darragh Farrell fired over a delightful point to roar their crowd into voice. Two minutes later and St Joseph’s scored the only goal of the game which would prove decisive.

Dan Dunne played it low inside to first half substitute Peter Kealy. He turned sharply before Kealy cracked a shot into the back of the net and St Joseph’s now led again.

Dan Dunne (free) and Colin Campion raised further white flags to see St Joseph’s go five clear after three quarters of action had been played. Courtwood did reply with their first of the half thanks to a converted 45’ from Sam Krebs.

St Joseph’s Dan Dunne had found his range now though and added another from play to restore the five point gap. However, Courtwood received a bit of a lifeline when they were awarded a penalty after substitute Matt Kelly was fouled in the square.

Rory Doyle stepped up for the spotkick but his effort was too high and Courtwood ended up with just a point from that. Courtwood did grab the next three scores through Luke Doyle (two) and David Duffy to leave one between the teams late on.

However, St Joseph’s had enough to see this one out. Dan Dunne and Peter Kealy raised white flags and that meant St Joseph’s’ third team completed a league and championship double.