Palatine are your 2022 Michael Lyng Motors Hyundai Carlow senior football champions.
While it looked like they might coast come half-time, Tinryland dug deep in the second half to force a nervy finish but, in the end, Palatine gritted out the game to seal a two-point win and their first senior football title since 2016.
Indeed the game only sprang to life inside the last 15 minutes, Tinryland to that point having failed to capitalise on the form that had sent them through the finals, instead opting to play a more cautious style of football throughout the game’s opening stages.
By half-time, Palatine looked to be in control thanks to an early goal from Jamie Kenny and a penalty from Tomas Sheehan to take a 2-04 to 0-03 lead into the break.
A quarter of an hour later, Palatine had tacked on two more before Tinryland roared to life. A 45 from Diarmuid Walshe would find its way to the back of the net before David Reid received his marching orders to give Tinryland the man advantage.
Shane O’Neill kept Palatine ahead late on before former county star Shane Redmond knocked a second goal in for Tinryland, cutting the gap to a single point inside the first of five minutes of additional time.
Searching for the equaliser, Paul Broderick went close with a late free but it wasn’t enough, Palatine turning play over with Conor Crowley winning and scoring a free kick to close out the game and get their hands on The Nationalist Cup for the sixth time in the club’s history.
