Buttevant win dramatic game with late goals.
July 31, 2026
Two late goals, in injury time of the game turned a winning position, into a losing one earlier tonight in a heaving Doneraile, with a huge crowd in attendance. The game had drama from the very onset, and right up to the final whistle, there was no let up in the intensity.
Buttevant got the opening score of the game from Mark Linehan, the Buttevant full forward, scorer in chief, and talismanic figure for his team throughout the game. When the same player, raced through the Killavullen rear guard in the second minute, without been challenged, it looked ominous for Killavullen, in the new set of jerseys, been worn for the very first time. Buttevant stretched out their lead to five points with a converted free, scored by Conor O Brien. We got our opening score of the game in the 5th minute, from range, scored by Mikey O Connor, and followed that up with a point, scored by Jamie Magner in the 8th minute. His brother Owen got our 3rd point in the 9th minute, but Buttevant answered that score back in the 11th minute. Darragh O Grady got a point from play from midfield, wind assisted in the 15th minute, and Jamie scored a free for us, in the 14th minute. The referee saw fit to give two players, one from each side a red card in a very significant development, when that decision seemed harsh, for an opening championship game, when a lot is at stake. A yellow and asking both players to cool the jets would have been sufficient. Mikey O Connor brought us level in the 16th minute and Darragh O Grady took us into a one-point lead, a lead that seemed unlikely after our dreadful start in the 17th minute of the game.
Buttevant got a rather fortuitous goal to regain the lead in the 20th minute when a shot from distance squirmed off the hurley of the Killavullen custodian but Liam Cronin, playing a captain’s part, responded with a belter of a point from long range from a free in the same minute. Buttevant stretched out their lead again to two points with a score from the lively Conor O Brien despite the close attentions of our corner back, Kian Lane. Darragh got another great point from play and seemed to pick up an injury in the act of shooting with a late tackle, that was missed, and the game was a drawn game again, in the 22nd minute when Seamus Fox bisected the posts from distance. Colm O Mahony gave us the lead for the second time in the game, in the 24th minute, but in this absorbing contest, Aaron Horgan scored for Buttevant again to have the game all square again, in the 25th minute. Just when it looked like it would be even -Stephen at the break, Seamus scored another long-range point, and we went in break leading by 1 point, 0-12 to 2-05.
On the resumption and now playing against the wind, Killavullen were the first to score, when Colm O Mahony fired a lovely point over his shoulder in the 4th minute of the half. That lead was stretched out to three points, when Mikey O Connor scored and then Jamie Magner added to our tally, with a low trajectory on a 65 metre shot when the influential Finn Killion initial shot got a deflection off a Buttevant defender hurley. Buttevant responded with a free in the 10th minute of the half, score by Conor O Brien. Killavullen were picking up much of the breaks now, in and around the middle third, and Brian Cotter advanced up the field and scored a lovely point in the 11th minute. Charlie in our goals drew the plaudits from both sets of supporters with a great save and a relieving clearance by Ronan Barry only for Buttevant to score the next two scores, the initial score from the Buttevant midfielder, David O Hanlon whose movement for this ace footballer, on the night was always an outlet for his team. Buttevant got the second from a close in free.
Kevin Fox was brought on to replace Darragh O Grady who was so influential in the opening half, he came off temporarily to have some running repairs to a bothersome foot injury and Charlie was forced into another fine save at his feet, when Mark Lenihan threatened for another goal, for his side. We lost Brian Cotter to a bad shoulder injury that could curtail his season, and no free given, only to see Darragh come back on again in the 23rd minute of the half. Mikey O Connor brought our tally to seventeen points, with a fine score from out on the wing in the 25th minute of the half and Jamie scored another 65 metre free after a shot from his brother was deflected out. Buttevant got that score back from a free in the 29th minute, from long range scored by their half back, and the lead was down two points in the 30th minute of the game, with a converted 65 metre shot from Conor O Brien. Eddie Cotter probably though that he had done enough to secure the win, with a point in the 32nd minute of the half, but it pushed the lead out to 3 points at that stage.
Going for broke, Buttevant resorted to long balls to their dangerous inside line and it played handsome dividends as they got another goal, from Mark Lenihan in the same minute to draw level and to raise the decibels of their vociferous supporters. When Conor O Brien scored a goal in the 4th minute of injury time, those decibels were probably heard back in Buttevant, some 6 miles away and it was fitting that the best player on the pitch got the final score of the game, in the 6th minute of injury time, when Mark curled a fine score over the bar from distance.
Some player, some win – Very cruel on Killavullen, but the lack of a goal threat, as against the Buttevant response was the measure of difference.
The team and scorers were;
- Charlie Cremin
- Ronan Barry
- Eoin Birchill
- Kian Lane
- Brian Cotter (0-01)
- Liam Cronin (0-01F)
- Eddie Cotter (0-01)
- Darragh O Grady (0-03)
- Patrick O Grady
- Mikey O Connor (0-04)
- Colm O Mahony (0-02)
- Seamus Fox (0-02)
- Owen Magner (0-01
- Finn Killion
- Jamie Magner (0-04) (0-2F, 0-02 x 65M)
Substitutes
- Kevin Fox for Darragh O Grady
- Darragh O Grady for Brian Cotter (injured)