Laverty Cup Final
All Saints 4-13 Glenavy 3-15
An excellent free from Lorenzo Dawkins late in the game pointed All Saints Ballymena to Laverty Cup success and broke the hearts of a brave St. Joseph’s Glenavy. A few weeks ago these two clubs met in the South West U16 Shield final and served up a real goals and points feast of football with All Saints just getting their nose in front at the finishing tape to take the verdict. In that game All Saints raced into an early 10 point lead against the Chapel Hill side before being reeled in by St. Joseph’s just before half time.
In a ding dong second half, with the result in the balance right until the final whistle it was the Ballymena side who got the final score to give them the verdict and break the opposition’s hearts.
On Sunday we had something of a role reversal as Glenavy came flying out of the traps with the impressive Fergal Henry hitting the first three points before Liam Henry set up Fergal Henry for the game’s opening goal.
Points from Henry and a brace of goals from Tomas Gallagher saw the Chapel Hill side move 3-1 to a point ahead at the end of the first quarter but eventually All Saints steadied the ship, helped by a penalty conversion by Kavan Keenan.
Jake White celebrated his introduction from the bench with a second and at half time the Ballymena side had made great inroads into the Glenavy lead cutting the deficit to a single point, 3-4 to 2-6.
The thrills continued after the break as this fine exhibition of end to end football continued with the result in the balance right to the final whistle. Second half goals from Shea O’Brien and another from Conor Stewart late in the game swayed it in favour of All Saints.
Glenavy kept in touch with some excellent points with Aodh O’Neill, Malachy Doherty, Fergal Henry and Tomas Gallagher leading the way and it took an excellent pointed free from Lorenzo Dawkins from out near the side-line and close to the ‘45’ to clinch it for the Slemish Park side.
Best for ll Saints were Rhys O’Mullan, Cormac Lemon, Ryan McGarry Bailey McNeill and Conor Stewart while the losers had solid performers in Aodh O’Neill, Michael Kane, Anthony Gallagher, Fergal Henry and Tomas Gallagher.
