On Saturday October 21st, in atrocious conditions at Ballinlough, White’s Cross minor footballers added another divisional championship trophy to the cabinet with a spirited win over a dogged Delanys outfit. Having comprehensively beaten St. Finbarr’s in the semi-final, White’s Cross went into the game as raging favourites. However the driving rain and wind made football very difficult in this final encounter.
Indeed Delanys started the stronger and had two points on the score-board before White’s Cross had time to settle. Paul O Sullivan, who operated very successfully in a roving role between centre and full-forward, opened the White’s Cross scoring after 12 minutes but Delanys added two more in quick succession to lead 4 points to 1 after twenty minutes. However centre-back Denis O Regan began to exert his influence on the game from the centre-back post, and coupled with impressive defending from Richard Sherlock and Brian Boland, drove on the lads in green. Their direct balls into the full-forward line were causing the Delanys defence problems, where Shane Cahill and Paddy Mullins thrived, such that the Delanys defenders had to resort to fouling the lively pair. Paul O Sullivan was happy to convert these free-balls and at half0time White’s Cross led 0-5 to 0-4.
Team manager Paul Noonan drove on his charges at the break, ensuring complacency would not set in. Cahill and O Sullivan tacked on early second half points. Delanys were not going to go down without a fight and battled gamely but Dylan Burke, Ian Lee, Jonathan Scanlon and company were up to the challenge. With scores at a premium in the torrential downpour Shane Chaill’s goal on 50 minutes after a clever through ball from Colm Keane finally killed off the Delanys challenge. White’s Cross now meet Castletownbere in the County Quarter Final and we wish them continued success in their endeavours.