Ulster Colleges Hurling – Leonard Cup final
St Patrick’s Maghera v St Mary’s CBGS Belfast
Today’s Leonard Cup final between St Pat’s Maghera and St Mary’s Belfast has been moved to the Dub because Quinn Park in Ballymena is unplayable. Neither of today’s finalists were overly impressive in winning their semi-finals against north Antrim opposition before the Christmas break, particularly in the first half of each game.
Indeed St Mary’s CBGS were 0-7 to 0-1 down at the interval, but recovered to win by 2-9 to 1-8 against Cross and Passion Ballycastle. It took a goal from Dubhlatach Wilson a minute after the break to get the Glen Road side up and running and the St Gall’s player converted five unanswered frees before the 50th minute to edge them ahead 1-6 to 0-7.
There was drama near the end with Ballycastle taking the lead and Niall Fallon’s late goal rescuing St Mary’s.
That game was as far back as the last week of November and exams and a couple of days of unfavourable weather meant that Maghera, the competition favourites after their runaway victory in the Gallagher Cup last May, didn’t play St Killian’s until a couple of days before Christmas.
And they found the Antrim coast side a hard enough nut to crack, needing a rather fortuitous goal from Thomas McKeagney to get ahead at the break and then seven frees from Peter McCullagh to get them over the line in a low-scoring encounter.
The condition of pitches at this time make it difficult for skilful teams to develop their expansive game, and these two teams are skilful enough as the 4-16 to 4-6 score-line indicates at the end of that Gallagher final in the summer term, with 1-2 coming from Maghera in the last two minutes.
With little change in their line-out from back then, Maghera have remained unbeaten through the Leonard Cup including a meeting with St Mary’s in mid November. Along the way their top performer have been Thomas O’Neill, Raymond Dillon, Callum O’Kane, James Friel, Jody McDermott, Shea McKenna and free-taker Peter McCullagh at midfield.
Malachy McCluskey, Patrick Moyes and Stefan Hughes should be the main players for St Mary’s in defence with Conor Boyle’s engine at midfield a great help to bothe defence and the attack where Niall McGarry, Fionn Mervyn agus Eoin McBriarty are the key scorers.
Maghera have taken all the titles so far in this age-group. It will take a huge effort for St Mary’s to change the trend.
St Patrick’s : P Reid, PJ McVeigh, T O’Neill, P Brown, C O’Kane, R Dillon, S McLaughlin, P McCullagh, J Friel, T McKeagney, J McDermott, C Murtagh, C Murray, S McKenna, E Hasson.
Subs : C McCloskey, P óg Turner, R Doherty, R McElhinney, N Duggan, D Pickering, L McVey, E Duffin, E Scullion, J Dunne, D McGurk, E Cassidy, A McLaughlin
St Mary’s CBGS: R Camlin, P Moyes, B McCauley, M McCluskey, S Hughes, F Mervyn, P Short, C Boyle, A Churchill, N McGarry, N Fallon (1-1), E McBriarity, D Rogan (0-1), C Duffy, D Wilson