Dream dies for Peter’s
Summerhill side crash out at last eight stage
COLAISTE EOIN 2-14 ST. PETER’S COLLEGE 3-8
ST. PETER’S College crashed out of the Top Oil Leinster Schools Senior football ‘A’ championship at the quarter-final stage after a tough battle against Coláiste Eoin in Ballyboden on Wednesday.
The Summerhill boys struggled in the group stages but produced a statement victory over Good Counsel in their opening knockout fixture.
However, in hindsight that may have been their ‘cup final’ performance as they were constantly playing catch-up against their south Dublin opponents.
Owing to a mistake by referee Ken Gunning, they actually believed they were level deep into added-time, at least until Dara Púirséil kicked a 62nd-minute point that gave Coláiste Eoin an official one-point win (2-13 to 3-9) that should have been three.
All hell would have broken loose without the ‘winning’ score, with Coláiste Eoin feeling something was amiss, a hunch that would have been confirmed when they checked their video footage of the game afterwards.
Gunning appears to have allocated a Coláiste Eoin point to St.
Peter’s during the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter he had a long consultation with his umpire, with both looking at notebooks. Despite the long chat, the referee later denied that they had different scores.
In fact, St. Peter’s own ‘Future Leaders’ Twitter account, run by their TY’s, was tracking the score perfectly until after the incorrect score became known, and they added two phantom points that simply didn’t happen in the 48th minute.
Who knows what the outcome would have been had St. Peter’s held on for the ‘draw’, but to be fair they would find it hard to argue that it would have been deserved. Coláiste Eoin started with a better intensity and were four points up inside nine minutes.
Their half-forward line scored three of those points and ended with eight from play between them as St. Peter’s failed to get a handle on their excellent scoretaking.
The Wexford school had been playing with 14 in those early moments because of the sin-binning of Leigh Newport for a late tackle after 16 seconds.
Less than 16 seconds after he came back on, St. Peter’s broke on the right wing and Conor Kehoe set up Tomás Murphy for the game’s opening goal. That was their only score in the first 23 minutes as Coláiste Eoin moved 0-7 to 1-0 ahead.
Despite not having much of the play, two late Shane Pettit deadballs left the Wexford school just a goal down at the break and gave them every chance of pushing on, if they managed to find top gear.
Donal Mac Duinnsléibhe scored the opening point of the second-half, but things suddenly took a turn for St. Peter’s in the 37th minute.
Tomás Murphy was fouled for a penalty that Pettit converted, and in the aftermath of the goal Jack O’Leary was struck by Pádhraic Ó Luineacháin and the Coláiste Eoin full-back was sent-off.
Despite pulling within one (0-9 to 2-2), St. Peter’s didn’t immediately get back on terms after the goal.
Two Cuán Nuinseann points were cancelled out by Pettit and Kehoe, but things were about to take another swing away from the Summerhill lads.
Seconds after Iain Ó hEithir netted for the Dublin school, Stuart Hession received a second yellow card for St. Peter’s (1-11 to 2-4).
Justin Moran cut two points off the deficit, only for Dónal Mac Duinnsléibhe to net again and make it a five-point game heading into the last ten minutes.
St. Peter’s didn’t really look like making a dramatic comeback until Pettit’s long ball was clutched by David Cantwell and dispatched past Oisín Ó Cróinín at the second attempt.
While actually down by three, it was just one in the referee’s notebook and they believed they had ‘levelled’ the game through Dylan O’Neill in the 61st minute.
However, Púirséil saved the referee’s blushes and complete mayhem by creeping his strike just inside the left upright in the second minute of added-time to send Coláiste Eoin through and end the Senior season for the St. Peter’s boys.
St. Peter’s: Cian Byrne (St. Mary’s, Rosslare); Stuart Hession (Volunteers), James O’Leary (Our Lady’s Island), Diarmuid O’Leary (St. Martin’s); Zac Firman (St. Martin’s), Leigh Newport (Our Lady’s Island), Leigh Whelan (Ballyhogue); Liam Schokman (St. Anne’s), Justin Moran (St. Anne’s, 0-2); Luke Kavanagh (St. Martin’s), Shane Pettit (St. Fintan’s, 1-4, 1-0 pen., 0-2 frees, 0-1 ‘45), Jude Bates (Kilmore); Conor Kehoe (Sarsfields, 0-1), Jack O’Leary (St. Fintan’s), Tomás Murphy (Blackwater, 1-0). Subs. - David Cantwell (St. Martin’s, 1-0) for Bates (24), Conor Mahoney (Glynn-Barntown) for Whelan (31), David Codd (St. Martin’s) for Mahoney (47), Dylan O’Neill (Shelmaliers, 0-1) for Jack O’Leary (52).
Coláiste Eoin: Oisín Ó Cróinín; Maitiú Mac an Tuile, Pádhraic Ó Luineacháin, Cormac Ó Duibhir; Breandán Ó Scanláin, Iain Ó hEithir (1-0), Conor Seoighe; Brian Mac Síthigh, Séamus Ó Fiachna (0-1 ‘45); Cuán Nuinseann (0-3, 1 free), Luke Breathnach (0-4, 1 free), Liam Ó Fiachna (0-3); Dara Púirséil (0-1), Dónal Mac Duinnsléibhe (1-1), Seán Ó Cúanaigh (0-1). Subs. - Killian Ó Sé for Mac an Tuile (45), Oisín Ó Grádaigh for Nuinseann (52), Conall Ó Tuathaill for Ó Fiachna (60+4).
Referee: Ken Gunning (Westmeath).