St Pauls FonaCAB Ulster Minor Football Tournament, semi-final
Bredagh 3-8-0-21 Clontibret
Kevin Herron reports from Pairc Naomh Pol
DESPITE conceding 3-2 in a five-minute period in the first half, Clontibret fought back and booked their place in the final of the St Pauls FonaCAB Ulster Minor Tournament with a 0-21-3-8 victory over Bredagh on the Shaws Road on Sunday afternoon.
Midway through the first half, Tiernan Conway shot home and gave Bredagh the lead for the first time and it coincided with a five minute period of dominance and two further goals from Jack McConville which had their side in front at the break.
However, the Belfast side went over 30-minutes without a score and Clontibret pressed on after hitting the front midway through the second half as they booked their return to the Shaws Road for the New Year’s Day decider.
It was four weeks since both sides were in action on the opening day of the tournament, Clontibret having easily accounted for Derrygonnelly with Bredagh needing a penalty shoot-out to see off Southern Gaels on the Saturday evening.
Clontibret were first off the mark when Evan Treanor shot the opening point, but after a patient move Jack Watson squeezed a high shot from a tight angle between the posts to level.
The Monaghan Champions forged back in front when Treanor took an offload from team-mate Oliver Kelly and pointed, with a Daniel Boylan free following in the aftermath.
Midway through the half the opening goal arrived and it fell to the locals from Bredagh. A neat interchange between Jack Watson and Valo Marttila saw their side make inroads, Dara McCabe then saw possession and spotted Tiernan Conway unmarked to slip a low shot past Conal Thornton in the Clontibret goal.
Things got better two minutes later when hero from the quarter-final shoot-out Jack McConville shot in a second goal, but their purple patch was far from over.
Watson fisted over a point and when Gavin Farry’s attempted score dropped invitingly to McConville he gleefully shot low past Thornton for his side’s third goal in the space of four minutes.
A further fisted point from Harry O’Neill had the Down outfit 3-3-0-3 ahead by the 20th minute.
Clontribret steadied things through a Malachy Treanor score and tagged on another two without reply, Shane Byrne swept over and then turned provider for Daniel Boylan to double his tally.
Jack Watson added to his individual tally after combining with Valo Marttila and swinging over, but Clontibret narrowed the deficit in the closing minutes of the half.
Boylan dropped over his third score and on the stroke of half time a free from outside the arc was converted by Charlie Mone as Bredagh’s nine-point advantage ten minutes earlier had eroded to four (3-4-0-9) at the interval.
An early Shane Byrne angled score had Clontibret on the front foot after the restart with Darragh Keenan adding a further point 60-seconds later.
The bare minimum separated the sides following a floated Oliver Kelly point and by the 42nd minute the Monaghan men were back on terms after Keenan’s long range attempt dropped short and Jack Brady fisted over the equaliser (0-13-3-4).
Clontibret were ahead for the first time since the 15th minute midway through the second half after Charlie Mone switched the play to Evan Treanor to pop over.
Treanor brought his tally to three for the afternoon and his side’s lead further extended in the aftermath.
Having already hit six-unanswered points Darragh Keenan fisted over from close range, Mone and Treanor clipped and a further Daniel Boylan point in the 57th minute had their side 0-19-3-4 to the good.
It looked as though Bredagh might have ended the second period without a response – without a score since the 27th minute, however Gavin Farry converted a close range free.
They gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Colm McDonald awarded a free for a breach and captain Luke Doran opted for a two-pointed attempt that sailed over.
Scores were traded in injury time as Evan Treanor’s point was cancelled out by a Jack McConville score deep into the three added minutes.
Bredagh would have hoped for a further chance to get a goal that would have forced extra time, but they were caught out with a breach of their own and it allowed Boylan to score the resulting free with the last kick of the game as Clontibret celebrated a return for the Ulster Minor decider for the first time since 2002, when they defeated Armagh Harps.
BREDAGH: J McIntyre, M Tohill, L McMahon, J Skelton, L Doran (0-2,1×0-2ptf), P Cooke, C McKee, J McEvoy, H O’Neill (0-1), J McConville (2-1), J Watson (0-3), V Marttila, G Farry (0-1f), T Conway (1-0), D McCabe. SUBS: C Hutson for V Marttila (45), J McQuillan for D McCabe (56).
CLONTIBRET: C Thornton, N Fanthorpe, J Sullivan, M McNamee, A Windrum, O Kelly (0-1), O Boylan, J Brady (0-1), S Hamill, D Boylan (0-5, 0-2f), E Treanor (0-6), S Byrne (0-2), M Treanor (0-1), C Mone (0-3, 1×0-2ptf), D Keenan (0-2).
REFEREE: Colm McDonald (St Galls)
