15/04/2026
Late rabona magic sends Birdhill to penalty glory
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Gary Culbert Media
An hour ago
Nora Kennedy Cup
Birdhill 1-1 Cloughjordan 'B' (AET)
A goal down with mere seconds of extra time remaining, it was going to take something special for Birdhill to force the Nora Kennedy Cup final to penalties.
Cometh the hour cometh the man: substitute Jack Delahunty produced a ridiculous rabona in the dying seconds to keep Birdhill alive on their own ground.
This hotly contested final was played at a technical ability above what the large crowd were expecting. Clough lined out with a mixture of ‘A’ team and ‘B’ team players, but it was not enough to overcome the committed Birdhill defence, which boasted new signing from Galway, Matthijs O’Flaherty, who turned in a player of the match performance from centre half.
Matthijs O’Flaherty rises highest to clear a long throw
At the other end, the physically imposing Kevin Quinlan was tasked with marking athletic striker Conor Hickey. The other Clough centre half, Seamus Williams, put in a formidable performance alongside Quinlan, sliding in on multiple occasions to stop the pacy David Whelton from breaching the defensive line.
Kevin Quinlan takng a no-nonsense approach to defending
Chances in the first half were few and far between. Clough fizzed multiple crosses into dangerous areas, mostly from Kieran Cahill on the right wing, but there was never anyone on the scene to turn the ball into the net.
It was all Birdhill for the opening 25 minutes of the second half, but Micheal Hough in the Clough net was equal to the best that the home side had - a vicious shot from David Whelton after some industrious work by the 19-year-old former Limerick FC academy player.
Michael Hough hurries across his line to see a shot go wide
Michael Hennelly was moved forward from full back midway through the second half, which meant Clough finally had a bit of pace arriving into the box. It was the youth Tipp Cup winning captain from last season, Hennelly, that had the biggest chance of the game with a quarter of an hour remaining. The 18-year-old arrived at the back post with the keeper at his mercy and struck clean through the ball, but Birdhill’s Joey English threw himself in the path of the rasping effort, making a vital interception with the back of his head to keep it scoreless.
Joey English denies Michael Hennelly a certain goal
Clough upped the pressure as the clock ticked towards the 90th minute, it was during this extremely nervy period for the home side that Matthijs O’Flaherty stood up to be counted, making crucial interceptions and headed clearances to keep Cian D’Arcy and Lukah Williams at bay.
Lukah Williams was a serious threat down the left wing for Clough
This evenly contested game burst to life at the start of extra time, as Clough stole in front following the second phase of a corner kick: Clough ‘A’ players Martin Harty and Michael Hennelly combining, with the veteran crossing for the youngster to head in at the back post.
From here the message for Clough was simple, clear any sniff of danger long up the field. The visitors looked to have done enough to get over the line, but they had not accounted for a split second of… audacity, genius, brilliance? It’s hard to choose the right words for any player, at this level, who can in the most crucial moment of their season produce a rabona finish.
Substitute Caleb Byrne made first contact on the ball into the box, Sean McHugo snuck in behind from that touch to contest the 50/50 with the onrushing Clough keeper, before finally the ball squirted out to Delahunty who was unmarked on the 6-yard box. There were two players on the line and sliding keeper to bend the ball around, but that was no issue for the super sub, who planted his left foot and brought his right around the back to curl the ball beautifully into the net. The most impressive part of the finish was that it was the exact and only technique that would have worked in that moment.
Jack Delahunty levels the tie with a sensational rabona finish with seconds remaining
Clough were understandably in a complete state of shock and their condition wasn’t helped when the final whistle of extra time sounded just seconds later, and so the dreaded penalty shootout was required.
Kevin Quinlan and Neil O’Lone both missed for Clough, whilst Shane Williams and Michael Hennelly both scored.
Jack Delahunty will be excused for missing Birdhill’s first, particularly as Caleb Byrne, Sean McHugo and Matthijs O’Flaherty all converted Birdhill’s next three.
Just as he did in the semi-final, skipper Colin Floyd stepped up to fire the final penalty home, handing Birdhill a shield and cup double, whilst a promotion play-off is still a possibility of other results go their way.
Young referee Cormac Sullivan facilitated what was a hard but fair contest, which saw a moment of magic on Birdhill’s own ground that will be spoken about for decades to come in the sleepy village overlooking the majestic River Shannon.
RPlayer of the match: Matthijs O’Flahertyeferee: Cormac Sullivan
Birdhill:
Colin Floyd (C); Sean McHugo, Will Murphy, Matthijs O’Flaherty, Joey English; Sean Nolan, Shane Geraghty, Sean Wrynn, Colm Nolan; David Whelton, Conor Hickey.
Subs used:
Jack Delahunty for S. Geraghty (68’)
Thomas Ryan for C. Nolan (105’)
Conor Treanor for S. Wrynn (105’)
Caleb Byrne for C. Hickey (78’)
Jatinder ‘Raj’ Singh for D. Whelton (78’)
