Hackett wonder point and Singleton goes help St Mary's find a way past Fenagh

As they have done so many times in the past, St Mary's Kiltoghert somehow found a way past a relentless Fenagh St Caillins to retain their Leitrim ACL Division 1 title after an extra-time classic last Saturday in Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada.

If anyone thought this would Leitrim GAA's version of a phoney war, they were very much mistaken as St Mary's and Fenagh went at it tooth and nail in a thrilling game that went all the way to extra-time and looked as if it was heading for penalties until Conor Hackett landed a monster two pointer with just over two minutes  left on the clock.

That score was set up by a miraculous Ben Guckian catch who promptly cramped up, leaving Mary's a man short as they probed Fenagh's defence. They seemed to be  going nowhere until Hackett took matters into his own hands, unleashing a 50 yard bomb over the crossbar.

Fenagh went all out for an equaliser but Mary's lifted themselves, winning the battle for possession to retain their title as players collapsed all around the field.

Other than both teams needing a fair bit of rest ahead of the  championship, both will take a lot from this game - St Mary's again dug deep to win a tight game and they did it without Gavin Reynolds who broke his ankle against Glencar Manor. Reynolds had been earning rave reviews in the League and his loss was keenly felt last Saturday.

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Fenagh absolutely bossed the midfield exchanges for long periods with their size and mobility making them a formidable challenge for any team but a succession of costly wides during the second half when they pinned St Mary's in their own half eventually came back to haunt them.

It seems strange to say that a team who scored 21 points have a scoring problem but perhaps it is more accurate to say they have an execution problem as they failed to take two great goal chances, albeit brilliantly saved by Killian Gaffey, and make the most of their midfield dominance.

But it is also fair to say that St Mary's exposed chinks in the Fenagh defence, their slick passing and mobile forwards landing key scores as Cian Singleton pounced for two crucial goals in a three minute spell in the first half.

St Mary's got off to a good start, two Paul Keaney points followed by a well worked Conor Hackett score but a great run & score from Oisin McLoughlin  got Fenagh up and running after eight minutes. Colm McLoughlin bombed a huge two pointer quickly followed by a Jack Gilheaney point as Fenagh took the lead on 10 minutes.

The Fenagh St Caillins team who were defeated by St Mary's Kiltoghert Picture: Willie Donnellan

But it didn't last long as intricate St Mary's passes saw Cian Singleton released in the full-forward line. Bearing down on goal, Singleton appeared to drop the ball but toe-poked the ball past Shane Doonan for a killer goal after 11 minutes.

Paul Keaney hit a free before Senan Bohan forced a turnover and two quick passes later, Singleton was found unmarked in front of goal and he made no mistake. Mary's were flying and went seven clear when Keaney converted a free.

Then came a slow burning but highly effective Fenagh fightback, Fergal McLoughlin finishing off a great break that had the hint of a goal. Sub Aaron McLoughlin set up James Gilheany for a good point while Jack Gilheany drove a goal chance wide.

Aaron McLoughlin  landed a point before Fergal McLoughlin hit a massive two pointer to get the gap down to two points. A breach of the three man rule saw Keaney ease the pressure with a free.

Killian Gaffey's  kickout found Diarmuid Kelleher and it set up Ben Guckian for a point but Fenagh hit back with a huge Ryan O'Rourke two pointer, despite Gaffey protesting that he had got a touch. The St Mary's keeper had better luck a minute later when he fielded another O'Rourke attempt.

St Mary's finished with a Keaney free that came after dissent saw the ball moved forward from virtually the halfway line to leave St Mary's 2-8 to 0-11 ahead at the halftime break.

Fenagh almost levelled a minute into the second half but Tom Gilheany saw his shot saved by Gaffey with the resulting 50 falling short. St Mary's sub Daire Farrell finished off a good move with a point before Gaffey denied Oisin McLoughlin a goal after five minutes, the fifty again going wide.

Oisin McLoughlin was Fenagh's main driving force and he created a point for Tom Gilheany and points from Riordan O'Rourke and Oisin McLoughlin left a point in it after 39 minutes. Daire Farrell again got on the end of a good move to point but Ryan O'Rourke answered from a free two minutes later.

Both sides were missing chances, Mary's leaving two frees short and a wide while Ryan & Riordan O'Rourke missed for Fenagh. Ben Guckian saw a fisted effort deflected for a fifty converted by Gaffey with seven minutes to go but Fenagh were pouring forward.

Oisin McLoughlin's ball over the top allowed Ryan O'Rourke to score as the game ticked into added time and Fenagh drew level after 32 minutes from an O'Rourke free. Daire Farrell got his third of the half to edge St Mary's back in front but with time up, Ryan O'Rourke cut inside to score and send the game to extra time.

Fenagh started extra-time well as Daniel McLoughlin finished a well worked move with a point but Paul Keaney, booked a minute earlier for dissent, pointed. Ryan O'Rourke converted a free that was moved up for dissent but when a Fenagh player didn't move out of the way of a Mary's free, the ball was moved up with Keaney converting.

That left it all square once more and Fenagh again regained the lead with a point from Dara Greenan, brought back on, after just 20 seconds of the second period. Jack Gilheaney got booked for a dragging Senan Bohan with Paul Keaney converting the free but now it was St Mary's who were creating the chances.

With players going down injured and cramping the game became disjointed before Conor Hackett came up with his match winning rocket as Fenagh were unable to respond a final time.

ST MARY’S KILTOGHERT

Scorers: Paul Keaney 0-9, 7f; Cian Singleton 2-0; Daire Farrell & Conor Hackett (tp)  0-3 each; Ben Guckian & Killian Gaffey (50) 0-1 each 

Team: Killian Gaffey, Adam Reynolds, Mark Diffley, Ashley Maziya, Aaron Gardiner, Diarmuid Kelleher, Oisin Bohan, Ben Guckian, Nicholas McWeeney, Cian Reynolds, Paul Keaney, Brian King, Cian Singleton, Conor Hackett, Senan Bohan. Subs: Daire Farrell for King (HT); Josh Maye for S Bohan (46); James McGrail & Mark Lenehan for Kelleher & Maziya (55); Maziya for A Reynolds (67); Kelleher & S Bohan for McGrail & C Reynolds (70)  

FENAGH ST CAILLINS

Scorers: Ryan O'Rourke 0-7, 3f; Fergal McLoughlin 0-3; Oisin McLoughlin (f) & Colm McLoughlin 0-2 each; Dara Greenan, James Gilheaney, Jack Gilheany, Tom Gilheany, Daniel McLoughlin, Riordan O'Rourke & Aaron McLoughlin 0-1 each

Team: Shane Doonan, Conal McGovern, Donal Wrynn, Dara Greenan, Caillin O'Rourke, Eoin McLoughlin, Oisin McLoughlin, Colm McLoughlin, Jack Gilheany, James Gilheany, Tom Gilheany, Daniel McLoughlin, Ryan O'Rourke, Fergal McLoughlin, Riordan O'Rourke. Subs: Aaron McLoughlin for Greenan (15); Mark Keegan for James Gilheany (25); Aaron Smith for F McLoughlin (55)

Referee: Eamon Dolan