Heartbreak for students
Coláiste Eoin side beaten
G’COL CHEATHARLACH 1-4 COLÁISTE EOIN 0-7
THE heartbreak of losing a penalty shoot-out befell a talented Coláiste Eoin Hacketstown side in the Carlow PP Schools Senior Football ‘B’ final in IT Carlow.
The Carlow border school boasted 12 Co. Wicklow men in their ranks with two Kiltegan and two Knockananna footballers in the starting 15, six Ballymanus players on the subs bench along with another Knockananna player and a Coolkenno man.
Tinahely Senior football manager Alan Costello is the new Principal in Coláiste Eoin and he was on the line alongside Darragh Kelly from Kilkenny who teaches at the school and things were looking very healthy for the Hacketstown students when they opened up a 0-5 to 09-2 lead against their Carlow town counterparts after 20 minutes thanks to fine scores from Billy Lawlor, three points from the very impressive Rory Maguire (two frees) and a single from Kiltegan’s Ciaran Harmon.
However, disaster was to strike the Coláiste Eoin side when Tomás Ó Cuilin pounced on a breaking ball in the Coláiste Eoin square and buried the ball to the roof of the net.
The Coláiste Eoin students were adamant that the ball had not crossed the line but with no official umpires the referee was left to take the word of a Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach supporter and the protests of the Coláiste Eoin players went unheard.
In a game as defensive and as tight as this one that goal was always going to be a major score and so it would prove with Coláiste Eoin recording two more points over the course of the game through Maguire and a bomb from Lawlor and how the Hacketstown students weren’t out of sight by the time the full-time whistle sounded is and will always remain a mystery as they spurned chance after chance.
With three finals down for decision on the one pitch, extra-time was not an option, so it was straight to penalties for the two teams. In another disconcerting element to proceedings, one of the teams from the ‘A’ final that was to follow took to the now vacant half of the field and began warming up which was not ideal for the kickers by any stretch of the imagination.
Fears that this was Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach’s night came as early as the first penalty when the best player on the field for the Carlow town side, Fiachra Mac Giolla slipped as he struck the first penalty but yet the ball still snuck in past Brandon Ryan in the Coláiste Eoin goal.
The Hacketstown students would miss their first two penalties and would find themselves 3-0 down before the recovery began in earnest when Cormac Connolly finished beautifully past Daniel Ó Donagáin.
This was followed by a great save from Kiltegan’s Ryan before Seán Moran closed the gap to one at 3-2 and when Brandon Ryan got down low to save from Lúc Ó Ceallaigh it was down to full-back Anthony McDonald to level and send the game to sudden death.
Unfortunately, the Clonmore man got under the ball for a miss which his performance didn’t deserve.
Disappointment was the main emotion in the immediate aftermath, but this talented young side can hold their heads high after a very impressive showing.
Coláiste Eoin: Brandon Ryan (Kiltegan); Kevin Kennedy (Knockananna), Anthony McDonald (Clonmore), Darragh McKernan (Clonmore); Cathal Sheehan (Knockananna), Cormac Connolly (Clonmore), Adam Smith (Clonmore); Luke Connolly (Clonmore, capt.), Rory Maguire (Clonmore); James Whelan (Clonmore), Billy Lawlor (Clonmore), Ciaran Mooney (Clonmore); Ciaran Harmon (Kiltegan), Seán Moran (Clonmore), Eoin Connolly (Clonmore). Subs: Niall Byrne (Coolkenno), Seán Harmon (Ballymanus), Cathal Foley (Clonmore), Connor Byrne (Ballymanus), David Viera (Ballymanus), Adam Byrne (Ballymanus), Seán Murphy (Ballymanus), Adam Kinsella (Knockananna), Bryan Teevan (Clonmore), Ewan McRae (Ballymanus), Aaron Kelly (Clonmore), Aaron Davis (Clonmore), Conor Mulvany (Clonmore).