Jocks claim first senior trophy
Dreadnots 1-10
NAOMH Mairtin announced themselves as one of the elite teams of Louth football when they claimed a first ever senior trophy by landing the Cardinal O’Donnell Cup at The Grove on Saturday afternoon.
The scenes on the field after the final whistle as supporters and players celebrated wildly illustrates just what it means to the Monasterboice club to finally make their mark at this level.
Of course the out-pouring of emotion was more than just about winning a final, as few need reminding that the club has endured some difficult times of late. The recent passing of stalwart Benny Reilly, followed on from the tragic loss of Shane Whelan, and it was fitting that captain Mick Fanning in his acceptance speech revealed that the club’s thoughts were very much with both men as they celebrated this success.
The Monasterboice were good value for their win, although they did make it hard for themselves and needed an extra twenty minutes before they could finally get their hands on the trophy.
Having allowed a six-point lead to slip in the closing stages they Mairtins showed remarkable character in extra-time as they recovered their composure and finally became more clinical in front of the posts to ensure a five-point win.
Although it was nerve-wracking in the end for the Mairtins, it did make for highly entertaining conclusion to a contest where the Monasterboice side looked to be cruising to victory for long periods.
The opening three-quarters was more akin to the pace of a early-season encounter than a major final, but the intensity in the closing stages of normal time and into extra-time elevated the game to a new level, making it a much more satisfying victory in the end.
For much of the opening three quarters of the game the Jocks were in control with their greater hunger and cohesion ensuring they were very much on top against a Dreadnots side that looked out of sorts.
However, they were almost made pay a heavy price for a series of missed chances, having kicked a total of 15 wides and also seeing a first half Sam Mulroy penalty saved by Kenneth Shevlin on 17 minutes.
Despite those failures, the Mairtins managed to go in at the break leading by 0-6 to 0-3 with Stephen Campbell, Conor Healy, JP Rooney and Conor Whelan contributing to the scores, while Paraic Smith’s accuracy kept the Dreadnots in touch.
The Mairtins could have been out of sight at that stage but they appeared to have atoned for those errors when a 52nd point from JP Rooney had them leading buy 0-10 to 0-4.
However, they were unable to kick on from there and with Smith in excellent form, the game was not put beyond the Dreadnots, who finally found a spark in their game.
Anthony Williams blasted the ball over the bar from close range while Smith was denied a goal by Craig Lynch before he stroked home a penalty on 51 minutes before adding a point to bring the gap back to 0-10 to 1-6.
In an exciting finale, Rooney looked to have wrapped up victory in injury time but two late Smith points tied things up at 0-11 to 1-8 and forced the game into extra time.
The Clogherhead men looked to have a spring in their step when they returned and the odds were stacked in their favour when Anthony Lynch put them ahead for the first time. However, the Mairtins dug deep and points just before the break from Rooney and Sam Mulroy restored both the lead and their confidence.
The second period of extra time saw the Jocks seize their opportunity and this time they were much more clinical in front of the posts as they finally put the game to bed with Healy, Padraig McDonagh and Wayne Campbell all on target.
It was a frustrating conclusion for the Dreadnots and that was borne out when they lost both Barry Faulkner to a red card and seconds later James Califf to a black card, but they can have few complaints as the Mairtins went on to record a memorable win.
NAOMH MAIRTIN: Craig Lynch; Paul Berrill, Michael Fanning, Thomas Sullivan; Padraig McDonagh 0-1, Conor Healy 0-3, Eoghan Callaghan; Wayne Campbell 0-1, Gavan Mooney; Stephen Campbell (0-2), JP Rooney 0-6, Sam Mulroy 0-1; Conor Whelan 0-1, Bryan McQuillan 0-1, Brian Berrill (0-2). Subs: Fra McCullough for S Mulroy, Mark McCullough for F McCullough, Sam Mulroy for B McQuillan, Luke Harrington for S Campbell BC, Patrick Sullivan for C Whelan BC, Val Leddy for L Harrington.
DREADNOTS: Kenneth Shevlin; Brian Gargan, Padraig Rath, Derek Shevlin; Aaron Scullion, Anthony Williams 0-1, Dermot Campbell; James Califf, Fergal McGuigan; Liam Shevlin, David O’Brien, Pat Lynch 0-1; Peter Kirwan, Páraic Smith 1-7, Richard Kirwan. Subs: Anthony Lynch 0-1 for D O’Brien, Barry Faulkner for A Scullion, Cian McEvoy for Fergal McGuigan, Carl Monaghan for R Kirwan, David O’Brien for J Califf BC
REFEREE: Paul Kneel.