Templenoe 1-15, Renard 2-14.
A two pointer at the death from Mark Sugrue put Renard in front for the first time in the game, but crucially it was also at the only time the scoreboard mattered and it was enough to crown Renard as the South Kerry League champions for 2026.
The game was played at Valentia GAA Grounds in wintery conditions. Templenoe had the advantage of a strong wind for the first half and they hit four wides before they eventually got off the mark with a two pointer free from Micheal O’Mahony in the 9th minute. The scores were now starting to flow for Templenoe with Hugh Granville, Mark Looney (45) and Gavin Crowley (tp) extending Templenoe’s lead to 0-06 to 0-00 by the end of the first quarter.
Martin Reilly (tp) exchanged scores with Sean Teahan for Renard’s first point, before four points on the trot from John Spillane (2), Mark Casey and Adrian Spillane put Templenoe in a strong position approaching the interval. But then came the turning point in the game when a high ball in towards the square resulted in penalty for Renard after the referee in consultation with one of his umpires adjudged a foul to have been committed by Templenoe. Up stepped Fintan O’Sullivan and he made no mistake to grab his side a lifeline.
Half Time Score: Templenoe 0-12, Renard 1-01
Ríain O’Byrne steadied himself well to pop over Templenoe’s first point of the second half but buoyed by their goal just before the break Renard hit back with 2 two pointers on the bounce courtesy of Mark Sugrue and Sean Teahan. However, Colin Crowley stemmed their tide with a goal after he drilled a low shot to the net, before Renard replied in kind with Fintan O’Sullivan raising a white flag, before following this up by netting his second goal in the 41st minute to make the score 1-13 to 2-06 and it was game on.
In the 46th minute Gavin Crowley had a goal effort well saved by Austin Murphy, but soon after Mark Looney kept Templenoe in the ascendancy with a pointed free. Renard remained determined though and between the 53rd minute and the 58th minute they made it count by hitting 5 unanswered points from Austin Murphy (3), Aidan O’Neill and William Galvin to make it a draw game. Mark Looney looked to have come to Templenoe’s rescue once more with another point from a placed ball, but a stubborn Renard side kept coming back and equalized again through James O’Sullivan. The game was now well into injury time and the tension was palpable and just when it looked like Extra-Time was inevitable Mark Sugrue tried his luck from way out in the left wing and the ball sailed over the bar for the match winning score.
Congratulations to Renard.
Final Score: Templenoe 1-15, Renard 2-14.
Teams & Scorers:
Templenoe :
Mark Looney 0-03 (2f) (1 45), Darragh Casey, Kieran O’Neill, Ciaran Crowley, Martin Reilly 0-02 (1tp), Gavin Crowley 0-02 (1tp), Mark Casey 0-01, Sean Sheehan, Adrian Spillane © 0-01, Michael Hallissey, Colin Crowley 1-00, John Spillane 0-02, Micheal O’Mahony 0-02 (1tp) (1f), Brian Crowley, Ríain O’Byrne 0-01.
Subs Used: Hugh Granville 0-01, Caoilte O’hUrdail
Renard:
Austin Murphy 0-03 (1tp) (1f) (1 45), Tomas Kelly, Brendan Kelly, Cathal O’Shea, Aodhan O’Neill 0-01, Conor O’Shea ©, Ian Moriarty, Jim Sugrue, Blaine McCarthy, Fintan O’Sullivan 2-01 (1-00 pen), Sean Teahan 0-03 (1tp) (1f), Sean O’Connor, Brian Quinlan, Mark Sugrue 0-04 (2tp), Zach O’Driscoll.
Subs Used: William Galvin 0-01, Conor O’Leary, James O’Sullivan 0-01,
