Collins keeps cool in heated finale to clinch Cusack Cup for Lissycasey

*Lissycasey players celebrate with the willwego.com Cusack Cup. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.

FORTUNE ultimately favoured the brave to decide the outcome of this year’s Cusack Cup as Lissycasey goalkeeper Thomas Collins admirably stepped up to loft over a two-point winning free with the last kick of an enthralling showdown with St Joseph’s Miltown.

Lissycasey 0-20
St Joseph’s Miltown 2-13
Venue: Shanahan McNamara Memorial Park, Doonbeg

Darragh McDonagh’s spectacular flicked injury-time goal inch St. Joseph’s Miltown into a minimum advantage but the game’s first breach handed Lissycasey a valuable lifeline in the 66th minute. It would have been easy to convert a 14 metre free and force extra-time but instead, having arrowed over two previous attempts since the 50th minute, goalkeeper Collins immediately stepped forward knowing that if he scored from 40 metres, his team wins the Cusack Cup but miss and Miltown are the champions.

That confidence reaped full dividends as Thomas Collins executed a perfect two-point free to the relieving sound of the final whistle to garner a second Cusack Cup crown in three years for Lissycasey.

Both teams would have been relieved to avoid an additional twenty minutes of action in what was easily the most weltering conditions of the season to date. Water breaks were welcomed but with such a seesaw battle for supremacy, the lead actually changed hands nine times in a perfect pre-championship bout.

It was a cruel way for Miltown to lose but new manager Sean O’Brien will take as many positives as negatives from their minimum reverse at the death as the attacking flair of Eoin Cleary, Cormac Murray and top scorer Cian Mahony, strong middle third roles for Darragh McDonagh and Micheál Murray and the immense leadership and engine of Gordon Kelly meant they arguably didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.

Clare GAA Vice Chairman Michael O’Connor presents the Cusack Cup to Darragh Killeen. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.

However, with a ‘winner on the day’ format, there simply had to be a victor and in Shane Griffin, Daire Culligan, Mikey O’Neill, Darragh Killeen and of course Thomas Collins, Lissycasey managed to weather the Miltown storm and crucially roll with the sucker-punches despite their relative younger average age.

Conor Neylon’s third minute goal proved to be the decisive score of the opening period as it handed St. Joseph’s Miltown a platform to build on for the majority.

Points through Cian Mahony (2), Cormac Murray, Eoin Cleary and Micheál Murray actually stretched the gap to four by the 28th minute despite playing into the slight conditions at 1-5 to 0-4.

However, there would be a late kick from Lissycasey as they capitalised on a flagging Miltown to kick the last five points of the half, the final four of which stemmed from the electric Daire Culligan to inch 0-9 to 1-5 clear by the break.

Clare U20 captain Culligan maintained that scorching form on the resumption to take his afternoon’s tally to seven by the two-thirds mark at 0-12 to 1-07.

However, two Lissycasey goal chances would be thwarted as Daire Hill just struck wide of the left post while entering the final quarter, Shane Griffin’s brilliant surge through the centre was somehow kept out by goalkeeper Colin Hayes.

Instead, Cian Mahony levelled the tie for only the second time before Cormac Murray nudged Miltown back in front for the first time in the half at 1-10 to 0-12.

An Eoin Cleary free would be matched by Thomas Collins’ first two-point free entering the final ten minutes while experienced duo Niall Kelly and Conor Finnucane equalled an outstanding instinctively two-pointer for Eoin Cleary by the hour mark at 0-16 to 1-13.

Lissycasey thoughy they had snatched it in injury-time when Collins dissected the posts for a second double pointer only to be floored a minute later when Cormac Murray’s equalising attempt dropped short for Darragh McDonagh to flick to the net at 2-13 to 0-18.

There would be time for one final twist in the tale though as in the heat of battle for possession, Miltown failed to keep three forwards up and it allowed Lissycasey a lifeline that they were never going to pass up and secure only their third ever Clare Division 1 Football League triumph.

Scorers for Lissycasey: Daire Culligan 0-7 (1f), Thomas Collins 0-6 (3TPf), Diarmuid McMahon 0-2, Matt O’Shea 0-1, Shane Griffin 0-1, Ben Skerritt 0-1, Niall Kelly 0-1, Conor Finnucane 0-1

Scorers: Cian Mahony 0-5 (1TPf), Eoin Cleary 0-4 (1TP, 1f), Conor Neylon 1-0, Darragh McDonagh 1-0, Micheál Murray 0-2, Cormac Murray 0-2

All photographs by Gerard O’Neill.