Match Report taken from South Kerry Facebook page
South Kerry Minor football final. 2pm Sat Dec 11 th.
Templenoe/Tuosist/Sneem/Derrynane 3-11, St Marys/Renard 2-14
Every now and again , Gaelic football throws up a classic , well today in Valentia island, Sneem/Derrynane /Templenoe /Tuosist versus St.Marys/Renard certainly fit the bill . An epic draw 2.14 to 3.11 was played out in front of enthusiastic supporters as we were treated to an exhibition of high fielding , goals , long range point kicking ,tough tackling , a nail biting finish and competent refereeing by Ger "Cap".
The game opened with SDTT playing with a strong breeze and they took a 4 point lead with points from Aiden Crowley 2, Fiachra Breen and Darrah Sullivan. St Marys /Renard responded in the 12 th,13 th and 14 th minute with 2 frees and a point from play from Kian o Shea after some great fielding by Tadgh Sullivan. After the water break, some good work by Aiden Crowley saw Oisin Breen find the back of the net to put SDTT into a 1.04 to 3 point lead. Kian Shea and Sam Driscoll kept the scoreboard ticking over for St Marys /Renard with well taken points. At this stage before half time the SDTT inside line of Aidan Crowley and Oisin Breen began to get a grip on the game despite some stalwart marking by Josh Sullivan. This dominance culminated in a second Oisin Breen goal after he cut in from the right hand side leaving 2 men in his wake before finishing with style. This left a score of 1.05 to 2.06 at HT in favour of SDTT.
The 2nd half opened with that man Breen getting his hat trick in the 32 nd minute , this time a jinking run from the left wing saw him finish expertly to the bottom corner . It looked omnious for St Marys/Renard but they rattled off 4 quick points with 2 frees from Kian Shea and 1 each from Alex Coffey and Kieran Corcoran to leave a score of 1 09 to 3.08 in favour of SDTT at the 2 nd water break.
The 4 th quarter turned into a scorefest for Alex Coffey and Kieran Corcoran who displayed a never say die attitude with 2 points each before the 59th minute . Not to be outdone, Aiden Crowley of SDTT kicked 3 wonderful long range points . On 60 minutes St.Marys Renard trailed by 4pts when they were awarded a free 20 yds out slightly to the right of goal. Up stepped Alex Coffey and threaded the eye of the needle with a perfect strike to the top corner to leave 1 point between the sides . The ensuing kick out was won by St.Marys Renard and resulted in a free 50yds out dead center . Kieran Corcoran the man with the big boot, kicked the most important free of his life to date and made no mistake as it sailed gracefully over the bar with plenty to spare to tie the game . Jubilation for St.Marys Renard who came from 8pts down and dejection for SDTT as they surely must have thought it was in the bag minutes before the final whistle blew.
Big performances by Aiden Crowley 7 points(4 frees) but also by his marker Josh Sullivan St Marys/Renard who never left him goal side throughout the 60 minutes . Also Tadgh Sullivan St.Marys /Renard who showed skill and composure way beyond his 15 years of age, surely a star of the future . Alex Coffey as usual stamped his class on the game . However Oisin Breen with his tally of 3.02 is deservedly man of the match . As I watched his father David mentoring on the sideline for SDTT I remembered back to another epic minor championship final between Sneem/Derrynane and St.Marys in 1999 where it took 3 games to find a winner and lo and behold ,dad, David Breen was man of the match in 2 of those 3 games. A proud day for the Breens today no doubt. A final scoreline of SDTT 3.11 to ST.Marys/Renard 2.14 leaves us with a mouth-watering replay next weekend