Peter’s one step away from major football win
GAA Summerhill boys secure place in first final since 1996
ST. PETER’S College advanced to their first Top Oil Leinster Post Primary Schools Senior ‘A’ football championship final since 1996 with victory over the Wicklow Schools in St. Patrick’s Park on Wednesday.
The Summerhill boys had been clinical in dispatching Coláiste Eoin and Knockbeg in the previous rounds, but they were given their sternest test to date against a group of Wicklow lads with plenty of footballing ability.
With eleven schools represented, seven in the starting line-up, Wicklow came into the game as favourites, on the back of an eye-opening win against Marist of Athlone in the quarter-finals.
A contrary ‘we’ve only got one school’ was one of the many non-stop chants from the typically vocal Wexford support. If their classmates didn’t boisterously show that was, in fact, an advantage, then the Peter’s players did with a display only possible after years of competing together.
The tackling and defensive play was the big difference between the sides. Both teams attacked, had spells of dominance and boasted strong performers all over the field. The Wexford lads dominated in the tackle though, turning over ball after ball.
They undoubtedly have some rough edges, which gives opponents hope. It will probably also mean that they head into the title decider against Moate on Saturday as underdogs. However, beware of the team which is superiorly organised and bursting with energy and hunger.
They flew out of the traps in this one, keen to set a tempo that Wicklow would struggle to match. When Rory O’Connor was felled in the fourth minute, Our Lady’s Island clubman Cathal Devereux popped over his tenth point in three games, and he would go on to add another five.
Goal chances were few and far between, for both sides, but St. Peter’s had a glimmer of an opening in the fifth minute. The ball was worked well between Peter Barry and Ben Moore to David Gouldson, but the wing-forward’s fisted effort was well blocked by Mark Jackson.
A driving run down the left wing ended with Rory O’Connor tapping over his first score. Dylan Lyne was fouled in the twelfth minute and Barry O’Connor made no mistake from 20 metres out to the left of the posts.
After Brian Deeny was dragged back, Devereux made it 0-4 to nil but Wicklow ended the opening quarter with their first score, a well-taken dead-ball from the impressive Conor Byrne.
Peter’s dodged a bullet seconds later when Cal Connolly’s point attempt dipped low and clanked the post.
A blocked Lyne shot resulted in a ‘45 that Rory O’Connor played short to his cousin, Barry, who nailed his second point. When Rory also got his second moments later, St. Peter’s looked to be coasting, leading by 0-6 to 0-1.
A period of pressure at the other end saw Cathal Kelleher point, and then against the backdrop of a loud crowd, Mark Jackson cantered forward and drilled a free that would have been a lot trickier had it not been moved in for backchat.
Momentum is a fickle thing, and it disappeared quickly for Wicklow. Devereux started the Peter’s run with a stunning point from a tight angle, and Ben Moore plucked a long Rory O’Connor ball out of the sky and pointed before Barry O’Connor converted another dead-ball.
With a 0-9 to 0-3 lead at the break, clearly a quick St. Peter’s start to the second-half would have killed off the Wicklow hopes. However, they took 14 minutes to register their first point against a light breeze.
The Garden county boys managed to pull three points back in that time and largely dominated possession-wise and territorially. Kelleher scored again, Jackson registered his second free, and Mark Barrett clipped over a nice minor to make it 0-9 to 0-6.
Every time Wicklow got within touching distance, St. Peter’s were able to respond. Devereux’s best point of the afternoon, a left-foot boomer from the left of goal, broke the scoring hiatus. He added a free after a foul on Barry O’Connor two minutes later.
The Wexford school had a chance to wrap up their final place when Rory O’Connor flew through but his shot whizzed just wide of the post. Then it was Wicklow’s turn to have a spell, with Luke Evans and Ross Coogan reducing the arrears to a goal (0-11 to 0-8).
With ten minutes left, and the game on a knife-edge, St. Peter’s prevented their opponents from scoring again until the second-tolast touch of the game.
In between they further enhanced their lead with Devereux and the marauding David O’Keeffe putting them 0-13 to 0-8 ahead going into added time.
Four minutes into overtime Cathal Kelleher flew away on the right wing.
Maybe the cynical foul was the way to go but to their credit, the Peter’s defenders tried to halt him fairly. It didn’t work, and he fed across goal for Evans to punch to the net.
Despite having conceded an injury-time goal in consecutive games, St. Peter’s were able to relax after the kick-out, with referee John Hickey’s whistle going immediately to signal a final place for the Wexford school for the first time in over two decades.
In that decider, St. Peter’s will play Moate, conquerors of Good Counsel, looking for only their second-ever Leinster ‘A’ title, their first since 1992.
That fixture is down for decision on Friday in O’Moore Park, Portlaoise, at 1 p.m.
St. Peter’s College: Richie Ryan (Glynn-Barntown); Eoin O’Leary (St. Martin’s), Ben Maddock (St. Martin’s), David O’Keeffe (Taghmon-Camross, 0-1); Quinn Saunders (Our Lady’s Island), Conor Firman (St. Martin’s, capt.), Finn O’Driscoll (St. Anne’s); Brian Deeny (Volunteers), Rory O’Connor (St. Martin’s, 0-2); Peter Barry (St. Martin’s), Ben Moore (St. Anne’s, 0-1), David Gouldson (St. Mary’s, Rosslare); Cathal Devereux (Our Lady’s Island, 0-6, 4 frees), Barry O’Connor (St. Martin’s, 0-3, 2 frees), Dylan Lyne (Glynn-Barntown). Subs. - Dylan Furlong (Sarsfields) for Barry (31), Michael Codd (St. Martin’s) for O’Driscoll (46), Jack Devereux (St. Martin’s) for Gouldson (47), Kyle Firman (St. Martin’s) for J. Devereux (58).
Wicklow Schools: Mark Jackson (0-2 frees); Cian Lee, Tom Maher, John Kavanagh; Jacques McCall, Thomas Kearns, Darragh Fitzgerald; Mark Barrett (0-1), Jack Mockler (capt.); Conor Byrne (0-1 free), Ross Coogan (0-1), Seán Gregory; Cal Connolly, Cathal Kelleher (0-2), Luke Evans (1-1). Subs. - Liam Miley for Connolly (31), Ross Ward for Miley, inj. (38), Eoin McTague for Mockler (50).
Referee: John Hickey (Carlow).