Having missed out on a top four spot in Division 4A by the narrowest of margins, the Joes juniors were hoping to atone, by proving they were still one of the top junior sides in the county. They aimed to do this by taking home the shield competition. So on a sunny, dry, calm Sunday afternoon, they met St Brides in the final in Darver. The same club who they had beaten in the 4B league final at the same venue three years previous. However, in the intervening period it was the Brides team who had a racked up a number of wins at this grade, that is until the Joes won the league fixture, earlier this year in Cluskey Park.

The Joes started brightly, getting straight off the mark with a Lorcan Doyle free from 14 yards in the opening minute, after Alan Quigley had been fouled. This was followed up by an Alan Mc Kenna free from 30 yards out on the right wing, before Gary Kinahan got the first from play in the fifth minute. The Brides didnt get anywhere near mounting an attack in the opening minutes, however with their first, they would wipe out all the Joes good early work and give themselves a good platform to build on. In fact it kick started their best period in the game, where they scored 3-5 over the next twelve minutes, with the Joes response being two close in frees. The scoring spree all started when Kevin Kirk hit in their first shot on target, this hit the post and dropped in the Joes square, with the defence unable to clear the ball, Niall Mackin didnt hesitate and toe pocked the ball to the Joes net. Straight from the kickout, wing back Michael Mc Kenna struck with a point from play, to put the Knockbridge outfit in front for the first time. An Alan Mc Kenna free levelled matters, but the Brides were back in front on the stroke of tens minutes, with a well taken Stephen Hillard point from play. They were nearly in for a major within a minute of this score, only for Aaron Smyths block from Stephen Hillard at the expense of a fifty. However, when Pat Reilly underhit the placed ball Hillard was on hand to collect the ball and made no mistake, when he neatly turned and struck over. The next score was a Kevin Kirk free from outside of fifty yards. Straight from this kickout the Joes lost possession coming out of defence and it was Kirk again who was on hand to punish the mistake, as a Brides overlap created another goal scoring chance for them. A Lorcan Doyle free from 14 yards brought the Joes deficit back to five, but within two minutes, Brides full forward Frank Noonan had buried his sides third goal of the game, when Brian og Corr scored a point from play in the 19th minute it left his side with a commanding nine point lead.

However, a great Ben Mulligan point from 40 yards out a minute later would give the Joes hope and raised the heads. The next score also went the Joes way, with Alan Mc Kenna hitting a short free to Paul Dromgoole, who linked the play to Gary Kinahan, who finished the move. The same triumvirate would repeat a very similar move five minutes later, with the two scores being separated by another Stephen Hillard point from play. The Joes were making good inroads into the Brides lead, but their supporters were still hoping they could bag a three pointer before the break, to really get them back in it and they did! With 30 minutes played, a move that started with an Aaron Smyth interception saw Alan Mc Kenna play a diagonal ball into the penalty area, John Murtagh had driven forward from the midfield and was taken down. The aforementioned Mc Kenna stood up to take the kick and wiped his brow with relief when the power in his shot was sufficient to see it bobble over the Brides line despite the best efforts of their net minder. This ten minute period saw the Joes reduce the deficit down from nine, to a much more assailable four points.

Half Time Score: St Josephs 1-8, St Brides 3-6

With less than a minute gone in the second half Alan Lynch put just a goal between the sides, when he drove over from 40 yards. Pat Reilly struck back for the Brides with a point from play. But the Joes were back to within a point by the seventh minute, as they hit three points in as many minutes. Started from the kickout to Reillys point, they won the kickout and worked the ball downfield, where Conall Smyth and Lorcan Doyle worked well together, before the later finished the move. Next, a crossfield ball from Gary Kinahan found Alan Mc Kenna, who moved well to make his own space and get his first point from play. Mc Kenna also scored the next, a free from 45 yards, after Ben Mulligan had been fouled.

Over the next fifteen minutes the game was a tit for tat and tight affair, as the Brides pushed their lead back out to two points and Joes brought it back to the minimum. Firstly, Stephen Hillard hit a 21 yard. Their was an unusual lull in this high intensity game, before another Aaron Smyth interception in defence started a move that finished up with an Alan Mc Kenna free. Ben Mulligan really grabbed a hold for the Joes during this period, but the next score would a point for the Brides corner forward Michael Noonan, after Frank Noonan was denied a goal when his goal bound shot was blocked down by John Murtagh. With 21 minutes played, an Alan Mc Kenna free from 40 yards brought the game back to the minimum again.

However, the next score would be crucial one, Jack Mulligan was barely on the field 30 seconds, when with his first touch he buried the ball in the Brides net. A point from a Brides substitute brought the Joes lead back down to just one. But a point from another substitute, Mark Neary left the Joes two in front with normal time up and three minutes of injury time to play. A brilliant point from Niall Mackin in the 31st minute, struck from the sideline at the 14 yard flag put only the one point between the teams again. However, try as they did, the Brides were unable to get the leveller and the last heroic act by the Joes was a John Murtagh catch in his own parallelogram that saw the Joes stave off the last Brides chance.

Full Time Score: St Josephs 2-15, St Brides 3-11

The Joes junior captain for 2011 was the old man of the side, Malcolm Carolan. Unfortunately, Mal has had to emigrate to New Zealand within the last month and vice captain Gary Kinahan stepped in to accept the shield from county board vice chairman Declan Byrne and duly thanked the Brides for a great game.

Joes Team: Eamonn Neary, Mark Dromgoole, Conor Lynch, Stephen Murphy, Aaron Smyth, Alan Lynch (0-1), David Mernagh, Bernard Mulligan (0-1), John Murtagh, Alan Mc Kenna (1-6), Conall Smyth, Gary Kinahan (0-3), Alan Quigley, Paul Dromgoole, Lorcan Doyle (0-3).

Substitutions: Daire Mc Kiernan for Stephen Murphy, John Mc Guinness for Paul Dromgoole, Mark Neary (0-1) for Alan Quigley, Jack Mulligan (1-0) for Gary Kinahan

Brides Team: Gareth Corcoran, Philip Clarke, John Lynch, Paul Pender, Michael Mc Kenna (0-1), Rory Kelly, Dermot Brennan, Gareth Hall, Pat Reilly (0-1), Kevin Kirk (1-1), Niall Mackin (1-1), Stephen Hillard (0-4), Brian og Corr (0-1), Frank Noonan (1-0), Michael Mc Kenna (0-1).

Referee: Paddy Gregory

[Report: Michael Kinahan]