Aughavas are heading for the Connacht junior final after last-minute drama in Ballinamore

Late points from Darren Shortt sealed Aughavas's place in the Connacht final after a remarkable battle with Galway champions Cárna-Caiseal in Ballinamore.

This semi-final clash in Pairc Shuin O’Hesiln took up an odd rhythm as both teams had their purple patches, and then suddenly, level heading into the last quarter of an hour, neither team could score despite creating good chances.

The game seemed to come to life and shut down all in one go as a second-half goal for Cárna-Caiseal drew them level, but neither team could find the mark for a long time after, until Aughavas showed the composure to pull the game out in the final moments.

Aughavas, who amazingly never fell behind in the game, came under massive pressure from Cárna-Caiseal in the second half and put in a heroic defensive effort to keep themselves ahead of a Cárna-Caiseal team that has been taking over matches late on in the Galway championship.

That defensive resolve paid off as, with the game level and a minute to go, a Cárna-Caiseal breach of the four-back rule gifted Darren Shortt a simple free.

He added a slick point from the left side of the arch just after, wheeling away with his fist in the air, having sealed his team's place as the first Leitrim Junior team to reach the Connacht final since Eslin in 2010.

It was a dream start as a goal within two minutes for late replacement full forward David Charles put Aughavas ahead just before top scorer Darren Shortt got his first point of the game to cement a solid start for the south Leitrim men.

Cárna-Caiseal hit back with a pair of points from their electric corner forward Dara O’Cualáin.

Aughavas primarily played the ball into their forwards early and often, but when they managed to break the high Cárna-Caiseal press, they caused them real issues.

Liam McIntyre broke forwards through the middle, carrying the ball 50 metres with two Galway men on his heels before he played in David Charles, who slotted over a point to bring his tally to 1-1.

Dara Ó Conchubhair pulled a free from the left side of the arch for Cárna-Caiseal wide before Joey O’Brien extended the Leitrim men's lead when he hit a right-footed shot on the loop over the bar.

Cárna-Caiseal were making chances, but shot selection was questionable, and they struggled to find their mark from scorable opportunities, hitting wides in double digits by the end of the game.

The number of scorable frees for both teams in the game was huge, with Dara O’Cualáin getting two in quick succession, missing the first from the left side of the arch and pinging over the next from the right side.

Cárna-Caiseal had the better of midfield for long periods of the game and almost ran in a goal after 20 minutes when they took a stray kickout and ran at the Aughavas defence. A hand pass across played in Dara O’Cualáin, but Aughavas keeper Declan Brooks was out fast and made himself big to block the shot from inside the square.

Darren Shortt hit a point off the outside of his left foot to sneak over coming down the right-hand side of the 21.

Cárna-Caiseal dropped a number of shots short before half-time for Brooks, who was very solid under the high ball all day, to punch away.

Shortt added another point after selling two jinky dummies and cutting onto his left foot twenty-five metres out before Aughavas’s McBrien and Cathal McNamara hit the team's first wides in the last minute of the half.

Cárna-Caiseal proved their reputation as a second-half team early on as Dara Ó Conchubhair hit a free off the ground from all of forty-five metres a minute in. Ó Conchubhair was on the ball again a minute later, selling a dummy and playing the ball over the top of a defender to Jacob Ó Conaire, who fisted over, and Cárna-Caiseal were moving.

The impeccable shooting Aughavas showed in the first half seemed to disappear for large portions of the second half despite winning scorable frees.

McBrien sent a free wide from twenty-five metres five minutes in before Shortt took over on the next and slotted the ball between the posts for their first point of the half just after.

The opening goal was the spark Aughavas needed in the first half; they were waiting for something to bring them to life in the second as they weathered attack after attack from Cárna-Caiseal.

Cárna-Caiseal got what they were looking for when corner forward Seosamh Ó Cathasaigh took a solo and go on a free close to the goal and passed the ball across the slow-to-react Aughavas defence to Mikey Breathnach, who was taken down by the retreating Liam McIntyre.

Liam McIntyre was shown a yellow, and Dara O’Cualáin hammered the ball high and hard into the Aughavas net to level the game.

But they couldn’t capitalise on the momentum as seven minutes passed before Darren Shortt nudged Aughavas back ahead with a point from a free kick.

The pressure was massively on the Aughavas defence as James Canning put in a heroic block to deny Seán Ó Cuirrín a shot from 13 metres as the Cárna-Caiseal crowd screamed for another penalty.

Ó Conchubhair, who had just picked up a yellow card and was temporarily made to leave the field as a blood sub after a collision with an Aughavas player, marked his return with a two-point effort that fell wide of the post.

Cárna-Caiseal drew level through a Dara O’Cualáin free after the Aughavas men were guilty of their second breach of the three-up rule with five minutes to go.

Cárna-Caiseal followed up with three wides in the next four minutes before they committed their own breach to allow Darren Shortt to put Aughavas ahead again. In the last minute, in the mess of players vying for the loose ball off the resulting kickout, Joey O’Brien secured it for the South Leitrim Men.

The ball came back to Darren Shortt, who slotted over to seal the win for Aughavas and book their place in the Connacht final against Kiltimagh of Mayo in Pairc Sean MacDiarmuida on the 29th of November.

Cárna-Caisal

Éamonn Ó Malóid; Daniel Nash; Seán Ó’Coirbín; Máirtín Ó’Cualáin; Jacob Ó’Conaire; Maitiú O’Niaidh; Dylan Seoighe; Michael Coleman-Ó’Flatharta; Riocáird Ó’Guairim; Seán Ó’Cuirrín; Dara Ó’Conchubhair; Cathal O’Luideáin; Dara O’Cualáin; Mikey Breathnach; Seosamh Ó Cathasaigh. Subs: Eoin Mac Giolla Phádraic for Ó’Conchubhair (Blood Sub) (50); Ó’Conchubhair for Ó’Cathasaigh (53).

Scorers: Jacob Ó’Conaire (0-1); Máirtín Ó’Cualáin (0-1); Dara O’Cualáin (1-4,2F); Mickey Breathnach (0-1).

Achadh an Mheasea

Declan Brooks; Gary Mitchell; Fiachra Casey; Liam McIntyre; Eanna McNamara; Paul Bohan; Pearse Kenny; Shane O’Brien; Eoin Kenny; James Canning; Conor Canning; Cathal McNamara; Joey McBrien; David Charles; Darren Shortt. Subs: Niall McCabe for Gary Mitchell (49); Tomas O’Brien for James Canning (59). 

Scorers: David Charles (1-1); Joey McBrien (0-1); Darren Shortt (0-7,3f), Eanna McNamara (0-1).