Syddan pass Skryne test

Syddan hung of for a thrilling 2-13 to 2-11 Premier FC Div 5 final victory against Skryne at Pairc Tailteann today to win the inaugural Micheál O'Brien Cup.

And held on was the only way to describe the manner of Syddan's victory as they absorbed intense late Skryne pressure during a hectic five minutes of added time in which each side netted.

Skryne were always chasing the game and part of the reason was due to some poor finishing, but on the overall balance of play Syddan deserved the hard-earned victory.

Syddan dominated most of the opening half and thoroughly merited a 1-9 to 1-2 interval lead, but they endured a rocky patch after Skryne's 22nd minute substitute David Rathborne found the net with his first contribution.

That goal revived the Skyne men briefly, but seven first-half wides were costly and they only managed one pointed free and another from play by Felim O'Rourke apart from that for the opening 30 minutes.

The Farrelly factor was crucial to Syddan's dominace with Gary sending over five points (three frees) and Robbie dominating around the middle while substitute Darren Smith also made a significant contribution.

The other points arrived from Shane Carpenter, Smith, Ben Blakemore and Eoin Lynch-Duff, but it was a 32nd minute goal that gave Syddan the platfoorm for victory. Carpenter carved out the chance following a lengthy solo raid and the net bulged.

The third-quarter was tight and Skryne closed the gap with three O'Rourke pointed frees and one from Sean Keogh while Syddan looked fairly comfortable with Lynch-Duff (two) and Carpenter sending over.

Soon after the water break Carpenter extended Syddan's lead to seven points (1-13 to 1-6), but they were also starting to run out of fuel.

They didn't score again until Carpenter found the net in added time and Skryne whittled away the advantage with four O'Rourke points (three frees) and one from Ciaran Finnerty.

Tomas McKeon got the late Skryne goal and Syddan lost Tommy Meade to an even later black card.

However, the Skryne men just couldn't overhaul the opposition and the tally of a dozen wides proved costly.

SCORERS

Syddan - Shane Carpenter 2-3 one free; Gary Farrelly 0-5 three frees; Eoin Lynch-Duff 0-3; Darren Smith 0-1; Ben Blakemore 0-1.

Skryne - Felim O'Rourke 0-9 seven frees; David Rathborne 1-0; Tomas McKeoh 1-0;Sean Keogh 0-1; Ciaran Finnerty 0-1.

TEAMS

Syddan - Ciaran Farrelly; Anthony Smith,Tommy Meade, Cathal Duff; Peter Sheehy, Andrew White, Michael Sweeney; Robbie Farrelly, Gary McManus; Eoin Lynch-Duff, Shane Carpenter, Jodi Donoghue; Ben Blakemore, James Farrelly, Gary Farrelly. Subs - Darren Smith for Sheehy 14 mins, Conor Meade for G Farrelly 48m, Patrick Rafferty for R Farrelly 56m, Dominic Carry for Donoghue 59m.

Skryne - Gary Browne; Patrick O'Leary, Tomas McKeown, Liam Gill; Paul McGoldrick, Ciaran Finnerty, Conor Whelan; Alex Grendon, Paul Clarke; Jack O'Donnell, Felim O Rourke, Sean Cassidy; Aidan Gill, Brian Smyth, Martin Mulvaney. Subs - David Rathborne for O'Leary 22 mins, Sean Keogh for Cassidy 25m, Kevin O'Reilly for Whelan 29m; Niall Morland for Grendon half-time; Allan Carty for McGoldrick 34m.

Referee - Joe Synnott.