The Cork Junior A football final was the place to be for thrills and spills this Sunday. The match was decided by a cracking Seán O’Donoghue point in the 4th minute of added time as Inniscarra came from three points down in added time to win the title.
The comeback started with captain and cornerback John O'Callaghan, who survived a concussion protocol last weekend to play this game, scored a goal from close range before a free from an impossible angle was converted by Cork hurling captain for the past season Seán O’Donoghue to win the game for his side securing a famous win with the game's final kick.
Ballygarvan were left stunned, and heartbroken as Inniscarra snatched victory f from the jaws of defeat in a unlikely comeback in Páirc Uí Rinn.
This is only Inniscarra’s second adult county football title after winning the County Junior B championship in 1987, and the celebrations after the final whistle painted the picture of what this success means. It was an incredible ending that won’t be seen for a long time to come.
The fact it was O’Donoghue’s first scored free from the game even makes it more special the fact it was at such an acute angle and how it was the last kick off the game passing to a better position seemed the best plan.
However speaking to the Irish Examiner after the game, O’Donoghue was adamant he was going for the score and not passing.
“It was out by the sideline, so in that sense, there was no pressure,” he says.
“If you miss, you’re not expected to get it. If you get it, you get it. I was never going to pass it. I was always going to shoot no matter what.
“I hadn’t been taking them off the ground all year, bar 45s, which hadn’t been going well. It was just that against the wind, you always think there is better flight off the ground, so I said I’d kick it off the ground.
"And it went over."
What a way to end the year for Inniscarra as they head into the silly season. Knowing they will play premier junior football in 2025, the celebrations will go long into the night.
