Robert Emmets lost out to Kanturk in the Duhallow Under 21 A championship football final in the cruelest of fashions on Sunday afternoon in Banteer, with the contest going all the way to the last moments of extra time.

The game brought the form sides together, with a tight tussle expected. The opening half went to script with the teams exchanging scores throughout the period. Emmets leading 1-05 to 1-04 at the break, through points from Brion O’Keeffe (2) and Hugh O’Connor (3) and an opening goal from Cian O’Sullivan.

Kanturk quickly went ahead in the opening stages of the second half, but a brace of Hugh O’Connor fress and a Jack O’Connor point put the Newmarket and Lismire combination back in front on 43 minutes. The contest was level again on 48 minutes with Kanturk converting a free and registering a further point from play soon after. Again Emmets pushed forward and led by two, with O’Connor and O’Sullivan on target. Kanturk continued to battle and parity was restored on 54 minutes. Despite another ten minutes of play, neither side could find the winning score, meaning extra time would be required to decide this year’s champions.

A powerful first period of extra time saw Robert Emmets register six unanswered points, with Hugh O’Connor (4), David Cottrell and Conor Sheahan giving their side a strong advantage for the last ten minutes. Under pressure, Kanturk got the score they needed in the first minute of the final period, with a goal to reduce the arrears to three. Emmets responded with a point from Jack Sheahan, which Kanturk cancelled out moments later. With five minutes remaining Kanturk were presented with an opportunity to level the contest when they were awarded a penalty by the referee. The spot kick was duly converted and a point two minutes later put Kanturk ahead. With time running out, Emmets were unable to find an equalising score and the reigning champions were defeated by the narrowest of margins. Commiserations to the players and management of Danny McAuliffe, David Quinlan, Tony McAuliffe and Nickey Kenneally on what has been an exciting year, played with a wonderful brand of football.

The Newmarket team and scorers…

Hugh O’Connor (0-10, 6f, 1×45), Cian O’Sullivan (1-01), Brion O’Keeffe (0-02), Jack O’Connor (0-01), Conor Sheahan (0-01), David Cottrell (0-01), Jack Sheahan (0-01).

Kevin Daly
Sean Murphy		Jack O'Connor		Rory Lynn
Conor Sheahan		Mikey Browne		Eamon Hayes
	David Cottrell		Darren O'Keeffe
Jack Sheahan		Cian O'Sullivan		Michael Lane
Brion O'Keeffe		Hugh O'Connor		Padraig O'Sullivan
Subs: Eoin Goggin, Pete Goggin, Stephen Bourke

Panel: Andrew Murphy, Gavin Fleming, Rory Sheahan, Ethan Hourigan, Dara Weathers

Management: Danny McAuliffe, David Quinlan, Tony McAuliffe, Nickey Kenneally