Mattock/Hunterstown win Louth U21A Championship

A second half scoring spree saw Mattock Rangers/Hunterstown take home the Louth under 21 A championship with eleven points to spare over Cooley Kickhams in Darver on Sunday afternoon last.

It took the combination side a while to get the measure of their opponents on the scoreboard, having trailed Kickhams by a point at the break, and two early into the second half.

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Mattock/Hunterstown were punished for poor finishing in front of goal, as they only landed 0-4 from 11 first shots in open play.

At that stage, Cooley hugely effective in the transition, scoring 1-4 of their first half tally from turnovers, with wing back Sean Hoey a huge thorn in the Collon/Hunterstown side early on from wing back.

However, the second half, saw Mattock/Hunterstown turn up the head as they scored 1-10 without reply, coinciding with the introduction of Cillian Taffee from the bench.

Taffee, who was player of the match for Hunterstown in their Intermediate final success this year, played a key role in his side’s victory in this final too, with first half sub Rian Hickey also helping his side tidy things up at the back.

These changes, coupled with a few positional switches saw Mattock/Hunterstown turn the screw on Cooley, outscoring their opponents by 0-11 to 0-2 as they stormed their way to the Under 21 A championship title.

Two players who also stood out were the Flynn brothers, Sean and Liam, with Sean awarded player of the match afterwards, kicking 0-4 and having 21 touches over the hour, with Liam also amassing 0-4, including a second half two pointer.

Early on, Kickhams opened the scoring through the lively Joe Hanlon, which was cancelled out by a Sean Flynn free a minute later.

An Oran McInerney turnover led to Hanlon regaining the lead for Cooley in a lively start to proceedings.

Mattock/Hunterstown had to be patient, as they tried to find a gap through the Cooley defensive wall around the scoring arc. Liam Flynn eventually unpicked the lock with a fine foot pass for his brother Sean to collect, before lashing over the bar for another equaliser for his side in the 11^th minute.

While Mattock/Hunterstown struggled to find their range, with a string of wides from long distances, Cooley drew first blood, with the opening major just passed the first quarter.

When a Fionn O’Reilly shot dropped short, Sean Hoey continued his run to put the ball into an empty net to give Cooley a 1-2 to 0-2 lead.

Crucially, Mattock/Hunterstown grabbed the next score when Jamie O’Callaghan and Ciaran Russell combined for Sean Flynn to curl the ball over from the left hand side.

Another turnover in Cooley’s defence thanks to Dualta O’Neill, saw Sean Hoey move through the gears as he fired over at the other end to leave Kickhams’ three point intact after 20 minutes.

Mattock/ Hunterstown managed to find some form in front of the posts, rattling off four points on the bounce through frees from Oran Martin and James Rogers, as well as a point from play by Liam Flynn, while Rian Hickey picked up a loose ball to score, moments after Sean Flynn had been denied by Cooley keeper Thomas Fearon.

The combination side led by 0-7 to 1-3 approaching half time.

But it was Cooley who had their noses in front, with another turnover leading to Sean Hoey, Joe Hanlon and Gerard Hanlon combining to set up Brian Boyle to equalise, before a Conal Shields point left his side with that half time lead.

Second Half:

The second half began in a similar fashion, with Brian Boyle pointing again to leave Cooley two ahead, three minutes into the second half.

However, that was as good as it got for the rest of the final from a Kickhams perspective, as Mattock Rangers/Hunterstown Rovers turned on the style to seal victory, scoring 1-10 without reply, with Cooley not troubling the scoreboard for the next 26 minutes.

Mattock/Hunterstown made the most of their dominance on the kickout, winning 25 out of 34 kickouts in the match, including 12 out of 24 of Cooley’s restarts.

Key to this were players like James Russell at centre half, as well as Ciaran Russell who finished with 21 possessions, with Liam Flynn having 24 touches, and Jamie O’Callaghan finishing with 25 possessions.

These players were a useful support cast for James Rogers and Shane Halpenny.

James Russell picked up the loose ball when a Liam Flynn long range shot came back off the post to fire to the net to give his side a 1-7 to 1-6 lead. A key moment in the game.

Points from James Rogers, Sean Flynn, Ciaran Russell, and Tom Grimes left Mattock/Hunterstown 1-11 to 1-6 ahead, before a two point free from Liam Flynn had them seven to the good just passed the third quarter.

A 45 from goalkeeper Karl Grimes, was followed by James Rogers and Liam Flynn efforts as Mattock Rangers/Hunterstown Rovers led 1-16 to 1-6 after 58 minutes, with the combination side finding some scores from turnovers of their own.

Cooley did end their wait for a score thanks to sub Jack Craven, however Shane Halpenny had the final say, intercepting a Cooley kickout to kick to add his name to the scoresheet, as Mattock Rangers/Hunterstown Rovers sealed the under 21 A championship title for 2025.

Mattock Rangers/Hunterstown Rovers: Karl Grimes (0-1) (one ’45); Adam O’Reilly, Mícheál Reid, Tom Grimes (0-1); Sam Scott, James Russell (1-0), Ciaran Russell (0-1); James Rogers (0-3) (1f), Shane Halpenny (0-1); Jamie O’Callaghan, Aaron Levins, Robert Holmes; Sean Flynn (0-4) (1f), Liam Flynn (0-4) (1 x tpf) (1f), Oran Martin (0-2) (1f).

Subs: Rian Hickey for Holmes (22), Cillian Taaffe 0-1 for O’Reilly (38), Jonah Skelly for Liam Flynn (56), Joe Rogers for Scott (60) Senan Taaffe for Sean Flynn (60).

Cooley Kickhams: Thomas Fearon; Shea Connolly, Niall Morgan, Dualta O’Neill; Sean Hoey (1-1), Daire McDaid. Tiernan Hannify; Fionn O’Reilly, Jack Long; Brian Boyle (0-2), Gerard Hanlon, Oran McInerney; Joe Hanlon (0-2), Emmet Duffy, Conal Shields (0-1).

Subs: Jack Craven (0-1) for Hannify (12), Cian McGuinness for Shields (49), John Boyle for Jack Craven (55).

Referee: Bryan Smith (O’Raghallaighs)