Having suffered the heartache of losing their Minor A Hurling Championship Final to St Vincents after a replay, our Minors had to turn their attention to the big ball competition. Here they were pitted against local rivals Brian Dillons. Dillons unbeaten in their 8 encounters in the 2005 football league were firm favourites going into this clash at Kilcully. However our lads had other ideas, and prepared well in the brief time between their hurling heartache and this fixture.
Dillons got off to a great start and raced into an early lead, showing the type of form that had given them successes all season. However the White’s Cross lads stuck to their task and Paul O Sullivan settled the nerves with a point after 8 minutes. Elsewhere the captain Brendain Murnane, began to exert huge influence from the pivotal centre-back position, while behind him Jonathan Scanlon mastered matters at full-back. Some shrewd changes by selectors Paul Noonan and Jonathan Kenneally, including swopping Ian Kavanagh and Richard Sherlock as well as Paul O Sullivan and Ian Lee, ensured all four players benefited and stemmed the Dillons dominance. Scores from O’ Sullivan, George Osborne and Brian Conway pegged back the Dillons lead.
In the second half, White’s Cross laid siege on a clearly rattled Dillons side and urged on by the promptings of Murnane, Kavanagh and Brian Cahill, pushed forward relentlessly. However wayward shooting and excellent goalkeeping ensured our dominance was not illustrated on the scoreboard. Coming to full-time the sides were level at 0-10 to 1-7, when Lee won a ball 40 yards out on the wing and kicked majestically over the bar to help Noonan’s charges advance to a semi-final. This semi-final versus Bishopstown is fixed for September 7th at Ballinlough.
The team lined out as follows:
Michael Osbourne, Conor McAuliffe, Jonathan Scanlon, Ian Kavanagh, Colm Keane, Breandan Murnane(capt), Richard Sherlock, Don Duggan, Brian Cahill, Brian Conway, Ian Lee, Dillon Burke, George Osbourne, Paul O Sullivan, Shane Cahill.