Bective needed to win this third round championship match against Blackhall Gaels in Summerhill to have a chance of taking a quarterfinal spot, subject to St Pats beating Nobber. However Nobber won and this put them through, but a great Bective performance and win avoided a relegation play-off. A more balanced looking Bective showed composure from the throw in against a Blackhall side that were already through to the quarterfinals and were missing three of their strong players and Bective went 2 points behind on 5 minutes. A foul on Ciaran Mc Connell was converted by Marty Mulhall on 6 minutes. A sequence of attempts on the Blackhall goal ensued but was defended well and Bective shot 5 wides before Sean Keating found the net on a rebound after his shot was blocked on 11 minutes. After the water break Cathal Mc Connell continued to cause Blackhall defense problems with his hard attacking runs and was unlucky to hit the bar on his goal attempt. Blackhall pointed again on 21 minutes and Mulhall pointed from a free kick for a drag down on Cathal Mc Connell. Sean Keating was fouled and Mulhall pointed from the free kick on 24 minutes. Bective’s full back line of Ben Malone, Donagh Garvey and Jack Grant were minimizing the Blackhall treat aided by tight marking half back Kevin Brennan. Also Bective’s midfield pairing of Ciaran Reilly and Mc Connell were ensuring a good supply of ball to their forwards. Wing forward Con Smith was always finding space for Bective kick-outs and pointed with a fine left footed effort on 25 minutes. Blackhall pointed from a free kick on 28 minutes and scored a further point on 29 minutes. Another defence splitting run from Cathal Mc Connell saw his goal shot parried out for a 45m kick which Mulhall converted.
Half time score: Bective 1 – 5, Blackhall 0 – 5.
On the resumption of play Blackhall pointed on 3 minutes and Mulhall pointed two free kicks after fouls on Brian Cantwell and Keating. Cathal Mc Connell fired over on 9 minutes after another good attacking move, and Con Smith delivered his second point on 12 minutes. Bective were not contesting the Blackhall short kick out but then pressed hard on Blackhall players trying to bring the ball out of defense. Halfback Paul Lyness was particularly influence full and commanded a lot of play on the road side of the pitch. Mulhall pointed a free kick after Mc Connell was pulled down on 14 minutes and Bective were 1 – 10 to 0 – 6 at the second water break. Scott O’Sullivan joined the Bective backs.
Blackhall pointed on 20 minutes and Bective replied with a pointed free and Blackhall fired over a further point from a free kick on 23 minutes. Blackhall positional change pushed a target man to the edge of the Bective square and with time against them a long speculative ball was not dealt with and bounced straight to the net and left only 3 points between the sides. Mathew Cully came into the Bective forward line. Blackhall pointed from a further free kick on 27 minutes but Bective were able to manage the ball well and keep it out of Blackhall hands until the final whistle brought relief to the Bective side and an end to their 2021 campaign. Bective worked very hard during 2021 under new management team headed by Kevin Dowd and just fell short of a quarterfinal spot but have shown that they have what it takes to compete at Intermediate level.
Final score: Bective 1 – 11, Blackhall 1 – 9.
Bective team: Dylan Kenny, Ben Malone, Donagh Garvey, Jack Grant, Paul Lyness, David Keating, Kevin Brennan, Ciaran Mc Connell, Ciaran Reilly, Con Smith, Cathal Mc Connell, Colin O’Rourke, Marty Mulhall, Sean Keating and Brian Cantwell.
