Victory for Shamrock Gaels in Minor final
SHAMROCK GAELS EASTERN HARPS 4-14 2-8
MINOR Division 1 League Cup Final SHAMROCK Gaels minors proved too strong for Eastern Harps in the Division 1 League Cup final last Friday evening in Markievicz Park. Played in perfect conditions, Eastern Harps got off to a great start with an impressive long range free of the ground from Marcus Meehan which was followed up by a point from centre back Bryan Molloy.
However the Gaels responded with a goal from Dylan Willis after four minutes after Seamus Hailstones had created the opening after a great run. Eastern Harps had a chance for a goal immediately afterwards however Kacper Grzenda saw his shot go narrowly wide. The Harps continued to dominate the opening fifteen minutes with Daniel Lyons in the Gaels goals saving from Gavin Gardiner only to be beaten a minute later from Luke Kielty after a goalmouth scramble and confusion in the Gaels defence. The Gaels on the other hand were wasteful up front with a number of wides. Lee Deignan settled the Gaels nerves with a goal on twenty minutes as he sidestepped Alan Davey in the Harps goal. The Gaels now started to dominate with the Harps struggling to cope with the Gaels pace and especially brothers Lee and Shane Deignan in the full forward line with both scoring in the closing stages of the half to leave the half time score 2-6 to 1-4 in favour of the Gaels.
The Harps came out fighting in the second half with Luke Hogge winning the throw in and after a great run, Daniel Lyons was forced to pull off a great save to deny Hogge.
Shawn O’Hara then converted two quick points, one from a free however the Deignan brothers combined with Shane scoring his first goal to maintain the Gaels advantage. Harps got a further boost when influential Gaels midfielder Sean Carroll was black carded after six minutes, however they failed to take advantage and it was the Gaels who moved up a gear with four quick points to extend their lead.
Shane Deignan then popped up for his second goal after Dylan Willis put him through having won a throw ball at midfield. This effectively ended the game as a contest and the Gaels were now in a commanding lead.
There was, however time for one more goal from Harps with Kyle Cosgrove scoring an impressive goal from distance after another strong run by Luke Hogge. The Gaels finished the scoring with Seamus Hailstones pointing to give the Gaels a deserved twelve point win.
Best for Gaels were Evan Lyons, James Carroll and the Deignan brothers who scored 3-9 between them while Luke Hogge, Kyle Cosgrove and Shawn O’Hara impressed for Harps.
SHAMROCK Gaels: Daniel Lyons, Evan Lyons, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Seamus Hailstones (0-2), Patrick Benson (0-2), Christian Monaghan, Sean Carroll, James Carroll (0-1), Michael Barry, Dylan Willis (1-0), Dillon McDermott, Shane Deignan (2-4), Lee Deignan (1-5). Subs: Aaron McKenna for S Carroll (BC), Eoin Dwyer for Christan Monaghan, Conor Kearns for L Deignan. Dylan Burke, Ultan McKenna, Brendan Hailstones, Adrian Benson, Shane McCann, Dylan Mullen. EASTERN Harps: Alan Davey, Tomas Taheny, Bryan O’Hanlon, Kacper Grenda, Bryan Molloy (1-1), Marcus Meehan (0-2), Luke Hogge (0-1), Kyle Cosgrove (1-0), Shawn O’Hara (0-4), Ciaran Dorrian, Kaelum Byrne, Gavin Gardiner, Luke Kielty (1-0). Subs: Kieran Breheny for Kaelum Byrne, Fionn O’Donnell for Luke Kielty, Oskar Grzenda for Kacper Grzenda, Ciaran Hannon, Sean O’Connor, Michael Kielty. REFEREE: John Gilmartin