At the end of a match which did great credit to everybody involved, a draw between Doonbeg and Moyle Rovers seems an eminently fair result. That a dramatic comeback by Doonbeg culminating in a last-minute goal was needed to bring this result about merely adds to the plaudits which both teams deserve.
Heavy overnight rain, followed by an early afternoon downpour, had turned the Gaelic Grounds pitch into a bog. Were it not for the fact that 4,590 people had turned up, it would have been reasonable to call off the match entirely.
As players ran to their positions just before the start, spouts of water flew up from the pitch. The teams were to find almost immediately that the bounce of the ball could not be depended upon and the general conditions provided everyone, including the referee, Aidan Mangan from Kerry, with enormous problems.
The players managed to cope courageously, and the result was, allowing for the conditions, an entertaining match which yielded three goals and 13 points, a tally which would have done justice to a championship game in midsummer. There was the added fascination of watching the tactical moves made by both sides. Bafflement was the result for the majority in the crowd, but this did not take away to any extent from the contest which developed.
Moyle Rovers' supporters will surely feel that their team should have won. A rather freakish goal on the call of half-time gave them a fortunate 1-4 to 0-4 lead and a second goal, half way through the second half, quickly followed by a point, allowed them to open up a five-point lead. In the circumstances this appeared to give them a comfortable cushion with which to face the last quarter.
They did not reckon however with the enormous fighting spirit of the Clare side, who kept plugging away. Even they, however, must have been feeling pretty downhearted as time ran out and a number of attempts to cut the lead proved fruitless. With less than two minutes to go and three points separating the teams, Doonbeg seemed in desperate straits.
After another attempt to save the match by Sean Hehir drifted wide, substitute Kevin Nugent brilliantly fielded the kick-out and found Francis McInerney with a superb pass and he turned quickly to drive the ball to the net for the equaliser. A replay was no more than Doonbeg deserved and indeed Moyle Rovers did not appear to be too upset either by the outcome. A supporter leaving the ground summed it up very well: "What matter. We are still in the Munster final and I hope we have another good game."
The early part of the match reflected the worry of both sides as they struggled to adapt to the atrocious conditions. Catching and lifting the ball was a highly hazardous operation and many fouls were being committed, although the referee was showing a quite tolerant attitude.
Tackles were dangerous occasions; but the honesty of both sides in this respect was never in doubt, even though Kieran O'Mahony, the Doonbeg full back, was sent off after a second bookable offence on Declan Browne.
Eleven gloomy minutes had passed before McInerney broke the ice with a fine point after a good move and a well-delivered pass by Declan Griffin, who was wandering well away from his corner-back position.
Doonbeg were concentrating on cutting off the supply of the ball to the Moyle Rovers' All Star Declan Browne. Several attempts by various players to do this worked spasmodically, yet Browne ended with a personal tally of 1-2, which tells its own story.
Doonbeg managed to build up a lead of three points to nil by the 15th minute; but Moyle came back to equalise by the 20th. Moyle then took the lead through Derry Foley, only to be pegged back to level terms by a free from Paul Hehir as half time beckoned.
It was then that Moyle struck for their first goal. Derry Foley, who was now operating at centre forward, sent a speculative lob into the goal-mouth; but Kieran Burns dropped the greasy ball, which rebounded off the legs of Noel Wall and into the net.
Two frees from Sean Hehir cut the lead to a point early in the second half, only for Browne to work his own magic in the 46th minute to drive a Donal Foley free to the net. Browne followed up immediately with a point from a free; but that was to be their last score as Doonbeg chipped away at the deficit until that last-minute equaliser from McInerney.
Doonbeg: N Dillon; D Griffin, K O'Mahony, C Whelan; D Conway, K Burns, P Gallagher; F McInerney (1-1), S Hehir (0-3, frees); P Hehir (0-2, frees), P Conway, P Smith; G Killeen, B Shanahan (0-2, one free), B Lynch. Subs: K Nugent for Shanahan (half-time); O Conway for Lynch (57 mins).
Moyle Rovers: S Delahunty; J McGrath, L Cromin, K O'Connor; T Lane, M McGrath, R Boland; Derry Foley (0-1), J Dunne; N Wall (1-0), P Boland, G Hughes; J Williams, Donal Foley (0-1), D Browne (1-3, one free). Subs: J Shanahan for Hughes (half-time); P Norris for J McGrath (56 mins).
Referee: A Mangan (Kerry)
