Connacht title for Summerhill juveniles
HEARTBREAK AS SENIORS LOSE ON PENALTIES, SUMMERHILL JUVENILES THOUGH ARE CONNACHT CHAMPIONS
SUMMERHILL COLLEGE 6-7 ST COLMAN’S 2-6
Connacht Schools A Juvenile Football Final
JUDGED on any known standards this was a highly-impressive performance by an above average Summerhill side! After a tentative opening, they took control of the game and dominated from there to the finish.
Mark Breheny’s young side looked an accomplished outfit against a highly rated Colman’s side at the Connacht GAA Centre on Thursday last.
In doing so, they won the Connacht Schools Juvenile title, and gave due notice of bigger things to come going forward.
Physically, they were much stronger than the opposition, and displayed the better teamwork throughout the contest.
And yet, Colman’s opened the game promisingly and took the play to the opposition in the opening minutes.
They led by 1-1 to a point after five minutes. Colman’s had their goal from Dara Hurley after he latched on to a high outfield ball.
Prior to that, his brother Niall had a goal bound effort brilliantly saved by Donncha Byrne in the Summerhill goal.
During this spell in the ascendancy, they missed at least two other goal chances. As the play evolved, Summerhill gave notice of their ability with some razor-sharp play, particularly in attack.
They split the Colman’s defence repeatedly and came away with scores for their efforts.
Shay O’Neill scored their first goal after he fisted a Ronan Niland centre to the net on ten minutes.
After Peter Gallagher kicked a point from a placed ball for the losing side, Summerhill enjoyed a spell of dominance that saw them score 2-3 without reply from the losing side.
Corey O’Dowd and Conor Flynn scored the goals, with Dylan Walsh, Eli Rooney, and Eoin Stenson kicking the points.
Colman’s heads dropped for a time, but their spirit never waned.
Summerhill deservedly led by 3-5 to 1-2 at half time.
Summerhill would enjoy the advantage of the wind in the second half making the Mayo lads’ task all the more difficult.
The Sligo school once again took control of the play after the short whistle. After Ronan Niland for Summerhill, and Niall Hurley exchanged points, Summerhill struck a mortal blow to Colman’s chances when Eoin Stenson soloed through and blasted the ball to the net.
It was a defining moment in the game, coming as it did so early in the new half.
A Niall Hurley point for Colman’s only served to stem the flow of scores for the winning side.
Then Summerhill ended the game as a contest with two goals of rare quality from Dylan Walsh.
He soloed through from deep for the first before dispatching the ball in the net with some force.
The second was equally good as he finished with aplomb after a fine move. This left Summerthill ahead on a score of 6-6 to 1-4.
Colman’s then began to display their best form of the entire game and two points from Conor Lydon and Matthew Morris helped to give them some respectability.
As the game reached its inevitable conclusion, Summerhill introduced several of their substitutes without any major dip in their performance.
Corey O’Dowd kicked their final point of the match.
Just before the final whistle, Peter Gallagher scored a goal for Colman’s from a 13-metre free through a crowded goalmouth. It didn’t affect the result but it underlined Colman’s doggedness against a superior force on the day.
Summerhill’s win will make up in some way for their senior ‘A’ final defeat on the previous day at the same venue.
SUMMERHILL COLLEGE: D Byrne; R Harte, R O’Kelly-Lynch, P Kearns; L Conway, D Street, C O’Callaghan; C O’Dowd (1-1), D Walsh (C) (2-1); E Stenson (11), R Niland (0-3,2fs), K Davitt; C Flynn (1-0), S O’Neill (1-0), E Rooney (0-1).
Subs used: M Carroll for C Flynn; G Lynch for R O’Haire; D Scanlon for C O’Dowd; P Irwin for S O’Neill.
ST COLMAN’S: D O’Brien; M Foody, A O’Boyle, H Smyth; M Birmingham, C Lydon (0-1), E McGreal; P Gilmore, A Killeen; P Jennings, M Morris (0-2), D Hurley (1-0); D Gallagher, P Gallagher (1f-1), N Hurley (0-2).
Subs used: J Finn for M Birmingham; J Dillon for H Smyth; E Jennings for A Killeen; B Gleeson for P Jennings.
REFEREE: A Hardiman (Roscommon).
The main man: Dylan Walsh is the choice. He controlled the vital midfield sector and scored an impressive tally of 2-1.
MARK BREHENY’S YOUNG SIDE LOOKED AN ACCOMPLISHED OUTFIT AGAINST A HIGHLY RATED ST COLMAN’S SIDE.