Featured Image: St. Ciaran’s Ballygawley, winners of the Conor Marron Trophy
St Ciaran’s Ballygawley produced a dramatic late comeback to defeat hosts St Louis Ballymena and claim the Connor Marron Memorial Trophy in the annual Year 8 boys’ football competition.
Just a week after their defeat in the Martin O’Farrell Final, the Tyrone school showed great character to bounce back and secure silverware in Ballymena.
Both finalists progressed through the morning group stages with perfect records, winning all four of their matches to qualify automatically for the semi-finals.
In the quarter-finals, St Mary’s CBGS overcame St Patrick’s Keady, while St Pius X accounted for Rathmore Grammar to book their places in the last four.
Heavy rain arrived for the semi-finals, but it did little to halt the attacking football on display. St Ciaran’s powered past St Mary’s CBGS on a 3-3 to 0-1 scoreline, while St Louis secured their place in the decider with a 2-7 to 2-0 victory over St Pius X.
The hosts looked set for victory in the final after leading by two points at the break, with a goal from Conleth Magee proving crucial. Fiontann McCoy was also among the scorers as St Louis held the advantage for much of the contest.
Beaten Finalists, St. Louis Ballymena
St Ciaran’s stayed in touch through the efforts of Player of the Tournament Matthew Donaghy and his twin brother Ronan, both of whom contributed important scores.
The game remained finely poised throughout a fiercely contested second half. Scores from Woods and Matthew Donaghy levelled matters with just two minutes remaining, setting up a thrilling finish.
St Louis then came agonisingly close to reclaiming the lead, only to see a clear goal chance brilliantly cleared off the line. The momentum swung decisively in Ballygawley’s favour and goalkeeper Tommy Riley seized the moment.
Riley calmly converted a late free to put St Ciaran’s ahead for the first time in the match with just a minute remaining. From the resulting kick-out, St Louis were penalised for failing to clear the required distance, and the Ballygawley goalkeeper stepped up again to split the posts and seal victory.
His late heroics ensured the Conor Marron Memorial Trophy returned to Tyrone for a second successive year and completed a memorable victory for St Ciaran’s.
In the Aidan Walsh Shield competition, St Patrick’s Maghera emerged victorious after defeating St Malachy’s in the final. Maghera had booked their place in the decider by overcoming the St Louis Development team in the semi-final, while St Malachy’s advanced with a win over Aquinas.
Following another highly successful tournament, Connor Marron and Aidan Walsh parents were in attendance to present both trophies, bringing the curtain down on a memorable day of football in Ballymena.
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