U17A Football Final
Con Magee’s Glenravel 2-12 Naomh Bríd 0-19
Report by Niall Kelly
If ever there was an advertisement for Minor Football, it was on the Staffordstown Road at Sunday lunch time. St Brigid’s and Glenravel played out an absolutely absorbing contest and left their hearts and souls on the early Autumn surface in Creggan. The sizable crowd in attendance was treated to an exhilarating encounter full of drama right till the last. Hearts were in mouths, stomachs churned, and nerves were shredded as this one went the full distance with David Prenter’s point two minutes from the whistle in extra time proving to be the clincher.
Glenravel came into this one as huge underdogs. Gaels across Antrim were predicting a facile win for the Musgrave Park side, but it proved to be anything but. For the majority of the game it was Glenravel who held the lead and were good value for it. Their vigorous first half performance saw them take a three-point lead in at half-time, and it should have been more as the boys in green and white also kicked eight wides. St Brigid’s resilience and battling mentality was on display the following thirty though and it was they who shaded the second period and had turned around the deficit to lead by a point in added time. Shea O’Broin was calmness personified though for Con Magees as he sent over a superb free from range to take matters into extra time.
A goal from Fergus Donaghy looked to have brought momentum back in favour of the men from the tenth glen but St Brigid’s dug deep and with the talents of JJ Higgins and Rory McErlean spearheading their revival, they managed to clamber over the line for victory.
Con Magee’s raced into an early 0-04 0-01 lead. Shea O’Broin then put on an exhibition on how to execute a forty-five for the men in green. The number eleven fired over three sumptuous efforts off the deck in succession before Colla Ward gratefully accepted his brother Eamon’s searching pass and popping over coolly. Rory McErlean got the scoreboard ticking for his side as he popped over from close range. Niall Hynds responded well though for Glenravel as he finished off his marauding run by slotting over from range.
The men in green were constantly probing to further bolster their lead and created a host of openings but were unable to capitalise with the wide count growing. Thomas McKenna made them pay then with a caressed effort from range to give his side some respite. O’Broin and Dara Quinn exchanged further points before St Brigid’s started to turn the screw after twenty minutes.
Talisman, Rory McErlean’s unerring ability in front of the posts saw him pop over twice before Quinn doubled his tally to level matters on the twenty-fifth minute. Glenravel rallied well though and were in the ascendancy going into the interval. Peader McDonnell twice split the posts from range with two monster efforts before their dynamo Cormac McKeown opened his account to give his side a 0-09 to 0-06 point lead at the break.
The second half was nip and tuck as momentum continued to sway but it was Naomh Bríd who edged it largely due to McErlane’s expertise from the dead ball. The young number eleven fired over the two opening scores of the half before responding to a Cormac McKeown effort to grab another.
Glenravel’s defence was bombarded with early balls in but stood resolute. Brothers Eamon and Colla Ward then linked up to devastating effect once more on the counter as the later grabbed the first green flag of the day, blasting home from close range midway through the half.
The lads in blue and white had it all to do but responded to the challenge emphatically. JJ Higgins who had been playmaker for much of the game opened his account before McErlane converted yet again. Shea O’Broin responded with a curling effort from range but St Brigid’s continued their advance with four unanswered points. Dara Quinn, James Mellon, David Prenter and that man McErlean once again had reversed the deficit approaching injury time as they held a slender one-point advantage.
Deep into added time it looked as though it had slipped away for Glenravel. Shea O’Broin though had other ideas as he held his nerve in front of the partisan St Brigid’s travelling faithful to slot over a superb long range effort from the dead ball to take matters into extra time.
The first period of the twenty was a cagy affair. Neither team were as adventurous going forward as nerves were frayed but Michael Gorman split the posts from a central position as he bulldozed his way through the Glenravel rearguard. The Con Magee’s then dealt their opponents another hammerblow as substitute Fergus Donaghy instinctively prodded home from close range on the stroke of Fionntan Mc Cotter’s whistle for the half.
Trailing by two points, the Belfast side regained momentum and battled their way back valiantly in a similar fashion to the second half of normal time. Rory McErlean levelled matters with two curling efforts before David Prenter broke Glenravel hearts with his late effort to seal victory.
Glenravel can certainly keep their heads held high. Last year, they competed in Division Two and the ‘B’ Championship which they exited at the semi-final stage. Not many would’ve given them a hope of reaching this stage in the premier competition but Conor Carey and the rest of the management team had every faith in their charges. They battled tooth and nail throughout and it so easily could’ve been them who held the trophy aloft at the conclusion. They have a side brimming with talent which will no doubt bolster their senior efforts in years to come.
Congratulations though to St Brigid’s. They seem to have an endless conveyer belt of underage talent in this area of Belfast and have been knocking on the door for years. What’ll please their management most was their response in the face of adversity as they refused to lie down when the going was tight. They knocked out a very talented St Paul’s team before disposing of a much-fancied Cargin side. Who knew that today they’d face their toughest task? A task though that they fulfilled and will certainly enjoy the celebrations.
Credit once again to both sides for a superb game of Gaelic Football.
Teams:
Con Magee’s Glenravel
D Carey; C Laverty, N Dickson, J Leech; C Mooney, E Ward, O McClintock; C Duffin, N Hynds (0-01;) C Ward (1-01,) S O’Broin (0-06,) P Ward; C McKeown (0-02,) P McDonell (0-02,) D Higgins
Substitute scorer
F Donaghy (1-00)
St Brigid’s
L Cullinan; C O’Connell, C Logue, D Oglesby; T McKenna (0-01,) S Doyle, M Gorman (0-01;) T Lloyd, D McGurk; T McGarvey, R McErlean (0-10,) D Quinn (0-03;) C Gillece, J Higgins (0-01,) J Mellon (0-01)
Substitute scorer
D Prenter (0-02)
