St. Paul’s fonaCAB Final

Wednesday-1-00pm Shaw’s Road

Four Masters Donegal v Rossa Magherafelt

Rossa of Magherafelt will go into Wednesday’s fonaCAB final at St. Paul’s keen to avenge a narrow quarter-final defeat to holders Four Masters in 2023 and confident that they can replace the Donegal side as Ulster Minor Club Champions.

Four Masters strike late to beat Magherafelt in 2023

  FonaCAB St Pauls Ulster Minor Football Tournament

Two goals in injury time saw Donegal champions Four Masters snatch victory from the jaws of defeat when Wednesday’s fonaCAB finalists met in the quarter final of the St Pauls Ulster Minor Football tournament at Colaiste Feirste back in 2023.

Four Masters of Donegal went on to defeat Cavan Gaels in the New Year’s Day decider while Rossa of Magerafelt were left to reflect on what might have been.

With the wind at their backs in the first half the Magherafelt boys were in total command and after twenty one minutes play they were 0-8 to 0-0 ahead, their brilliant midfielder Conall Higgins scoring six of the points.

It was twenty five minutes before the Donegal champions opened their account when Colhoon scored their first point and they added to it four minutes later, but Magherafelt came back with a J Beattie point in injury time to send them in with what appeared to be a comfortable seven point cushion.

When Four Masters got the first four points of the second half, three of them from brilliant corner forward McCahill, it was clear this game was far from over, but Man of the Match Conall Higgins appeared to have wrapped it all up when got two of the next three points to push the gap out to three again. When the Derry champions pushed the gap out to five going into injury time a place in the semi-final seemed assured, but the drama was only starting.

In a totally incredible finish Four Masters were awarded a penalty which centre forward Kevin Muldoon fired to the net, which cut the gap to two points. Magherafelt must have still thought the game was safe but in the fifth minute of injury time a long ball into the Maghera square was punched home by Tiernan McBride to put his team in front, and there was still time for corner forward Turlough Carr to add the insurance point.

With the age group changed from U17 to U18 both sides will line out with many of the same panel available with the Derry Champions eager to redress the balance.

Both sides have impressed on their way to Wednesday’s decider with Four Masters defeating Fr. Rocks of Cookstown in last week’s semi-final to go forward to their third fonaCAB final in succession.

They sealed their place in the FonaCAB Ulster Minor Football Tournament with a 1-12 to 0-08 win with Theo Colhoun netting the game’s only goal a minute from the end of normal time to wrap up the win.

Conor |Gallager-McCahill top scored for the Donegal Town side with 0-5 with Oisin Doherty and Turlough Carr weighing in with important scores.

They will face a Rossa of Magherafelt side who have impressed themselves this year and will be keen to put that late 2023 implosion behind them. A strong first half performance did the trick as Magherafelt held off Clann Éireann in their semi-final.

A gale force wind blowing across the pitch favoured the Rossa side in the first half. They bagged the game’s first goal. Cathir Spiers cut through the Lurgan defence before hammering to the net for a 1-2 to 0-0 lead with 10 minutes gone.

Kian Maynes and Lorcan Higgins kicked Magherafelt seven clear before Clann Éireann scored.

It got even better for Magherafelt when Conall Higgins was fouled for a late penalty. He took the kick himself to notch a third goal to give Rossa a 3-7 to 1-1 lead.

Clann Eireann rallied during the second half  but never really looked like overturning the Rossa lead with the Derry champions pushing on to win by seven in the end.

Holders, Four Masters will start Wednesday’s decider on the Shaw’s Road as favourites and have earned the favourites tag but they will face a strong opponent in a Rossa side who are in great physical condition and look capable of reversing last year’s quarter-final result