'You’re not expected to get it' - Seán O'Donoghue kicks dramatic winning point for Inniscarra
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Seán O’Donoghue has captained Cork in both senior hurling and U21 football.
His hurling exploits are well known.
On Sunday he kicked his club Inniscarra to Cork JAFC glory with his 66th minute free from out the field and from an extremely difficult angle proving to be the winning score in their 1-7 to 1-6 victory over Ballygarvan.
It was the first time the mid Cork side led in the contest. It is also their first time to be crowned champions.
Four minutes earlier, Inniscarra's 36-year-old captain and corner-back John O’Callaghan grabbed the equalising goal.
So, what about that wonder free into the wind?
“It was out by the sideline (about 40 metres) so in that sense there was no pressure,” he says. “If you miss, you’re not expected to get it. If you get it, you get it. I was never going to pass it. I was always going to shoot no matter what.
“I hadn’t been taking them off the ground all year really, bar 45s, which hadn’t been going well. It was just the fact that against the wind you always think there is better flight off the ground so I said I’d kick it off the ground.
"And it went over."
The white flag arrived in the most dramatic of finishes. The goal minutes earlier came from a man who has really been in the wars.
“Cometh the hour, cometh the man. He was in the right place at the right time. Johnny Call, he got concussed last week but was passed fit to play. Then the poor fella got a kick in the knee off a heifer yesterday morning. He’s been taped together for the game today.”
Inniscarra never gave up, battled to the bitter end.
“We dug it out, to be fair. It was a crazy finish, it was our first time leading in the whole game. We just wasted a lot of ball, Ballygarvan were probably a bit better on the ball than us. They’ve been in this situation before. You could tell by them, they were in our face. They’re good as well.
“All year, we haven’t had a lot of possession. That’s the way it's been. We’re very much score on the counter attack. And try to hold out defensively as best we can. We did it again today but probably gave away too many frees.
“We move the ball fast but it was difficult today with the wind. We did lose a lot of ball as well. We missed a few frees too, not to discredit our forwards from winning the ball.
“We kept dogging it out. Anytime there are three or four points in a game, you always have a chance because you can get a lucky goal. And that’s what we did.”