St Mary's young guns becomes kings of Leitrim as second half blitz overwhelms Mohill

Defying the odds and a five point deficit, a young and hungry St Mary's Kiltoghert produced a superlative second half display to land their first Connacht Gold Leitrim Senior Football Championship title since 2013 when they outgunned favourites Mohill in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada on Sunday.

Midway through the second half, Mohill led by five points as it looked for all intents and purposes as if unlikely goal scorer Alan Tuthill would prove the hero, his first half goal giving the League champions a seemingly insurmountable lead in a game that was almost played like a game of chess with move and counter move.

Wild celebrations as St Mary's Kiltoghert claim Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC title - GALLERY

St Mary's Kiltoghert produced a stunning comeback as they recovered from a five point deficit to claim the Connacht Gold Leitrim Senior Championship title in dramatic fashion on Sunday, their 0-11 to 1-7 victory over Mohill seeing them lift the Fenagh Cup for the first time since 2013 and Observer photographer Willie Donnellan was there to capture the wild celebrations that followed .... see who you can spot!

Yet nobody told St Mary's and when Oisin Bohan fired over a point from a tight angle, it seemed to spark something deep in St Mary's as they unleashed a storm to reel off five unanswered points in less that five minutes. With the crowd roaring them on, the Carrick men reeled off scores from Paul Keaney, Jack Casey, Conor Farrell and Conor Hackett to incredibly draw level.

Mohill had the chance to go back in front but when Keith Beirne opted to hit his free short to Keith Keegan and he offloaded to sub Ronan Kennedy, we couldn't believe our eyes as the normally deadly accurate Kennedy saw his effort fly to the left of the St Mary's posts.

The Carrick men needed no further invitation - Paul Keaney thumped over a long range free and despite them missing chances that could have killed off this game, great work from Diarmuid Kelleher set up the lively and impressive Jack Casey for a point with less than three minutes of normal time to go.

It wouldn't be a County Final if it didn't get tense before the end as a James McGrail black card left St Mary's a man short for the three plus minutes of added time. It looked as if Mohill would have the chance to at least force a draw but they opted to look for a goal when points seemed to be there for the taking and the St Mary's defence held firm.

Keith Beirne did reduce the gap to a point before they lofted a ball into the danger area, sub Conor Quinn getting a fist to the ball but it careered a yard or two wide of the posts to spark off wild St Mary's celebrations when referee Mark McCloskey sounded his final whistle.

It was a tremendous upset on two fronts - Mohill were heavy favourites and even finding a St Mary's supporter who thought their team was going to win before the game was hard to do and then the 2020 champions held a five point lead and were seemingly in control.

But this young St Mary's side is a different proposition - they refused to give in and restricted Mohill's dangermen Keith Beirne and Jordan Reynolds to an enormous degree while James McGrail, Nicholas McWeeney, Paul Keaney, Jack Casey and sub Jack Barnes roared into the game.

Barnes typified this St Mary's effort - barely seconds on the field, his first act was to intercept a Padraig Tighe kickout to set up Casey for a point while his energy and combativeness as they knocked Mohill out of their rhythm to an enormous degree.

For Mohill, it is a devastating and mystifying loss as they lost their way in the second half and then couldn't find the composure they needed in those final minutes to force at least an equaliser. 

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James McGrail sees his shot saved by Mohill keeper Padraig Tighe Picture: Willie Donnellan

The tone was set for a tactical first half when an Alan Armstrong foul on a charging David O'Connell allowed Paul Keaney to point a second minute free. Mohill hit back with a lovely Alan McLoughlin effort from the wing two minutes later but Keith Beirne won a mark but over-enthusiastic marking of the spot by a St Mary's defender saw it moved in with Beirne tapping over.

From the kickout, Mohill could have goaled when Nicholas McWeeney was dispossessed and Jordan Reynolds sped in before firing a low shot inches wide of the far left post. McWeeney redeemed himself with a brilliant block on a Keith Beirne shot, the resulting fifty being cleared after James McGrail initially fumbled his catch.

McGrail then got involved at the other end as he took advantage of a wide open Mohill defence to charge through but Padraig Tighe was equal to his shot, diving to palm the ball away to safety. However, another foul on O'Connell was converted by Keaney to tie the scores.

Mohill edged back in front when Oisin Madden burst through to point on 13 minutes before both teams missed some good chances, Keaney from a free and Beirne from play and a free that hit the post. Another Beirne shot that fell short led to a Jordan Reynolds snap shot from a very tight angle but Sean Reynolds saved easily.

A foul on Conor Farrell saw Keaney convert on 22 minutes to tie the scores again but Mohill seemed to take a decisive grip on proceedings before halftime. First Keith Beirne somehow won a high ball against three St Mary's defenders to score.

Then came the game's only goal as the St Mary's defence got caught napping - a poor shot seemed easy meat for keeper Sean Reynolds but Alan Tuthill ghosted in from the wing and managed to get a touch to a bouncing ball to force it over the head of the keeper into the net.

A rattled St Mary's quickly conceded another when Keith Beirne fisted over to leave Mohill with a formidable looking 1-5 to 0-3 halftime lead given the nature of the contest.

The early second half action saw Domhnaill Flynn booked for a foul on Keaney, the free converted by St Mary's Man of the Match, although it was initially waved wide by the umpire before being over-ruled by referee Mark McCloskey. Gavin Reynolds also went into the book but it was missed chances that were causing Mary's more angst, James McGrail close to getting a goal on six minutes.

Keith Beirne held off his man to reopen a five point Mohill lead as St Mary's seemed to be shooting themselves in the foot with three wides from Keaney (free), McWeeney and Daire Farrell. However, everything changed on 15 minutes when Oisin Bohan gathered in the corner and cut in to score a fine point.

Two minutes later, Nicholas McWeeney's counter attack led to a point for Paul Keaney while sub Jack Barnes made an instant impression when he intercepted a poor kickout to set up Jack Casey for a point. Mohill tried to hit back but a mvoe broke down and St Mary's counter-attacked, corner-back Conor Farrell charging upfield to score a monster point.

From that kickout, Paul Keaney fielded and quickly found Conor Hackett who fired over and incredibly we were level. Mohill had a free to go back in front but in worsening conditions, Beirne played it short to Keith Keegan. His pass found Ronan Kennedy but the sub saw his shot drift wide.

Ronan Kennedy sees his shot head wide of the St Mary's posts Picture: Willie Donnellan

With less than seven minutes to go, St Mary's took the lead when a foul on Conor Hackett saw Keaney edge his side in front. Keaney then saw yellow but Keith Beirne's free was well off-target and it was a ravenous St Mary's who had the momentum. Jack Casey cut in along the endline before playing a ball across the face of the Mohill goal but Cian Singleton was unable to force the ball to the Mohill net.

However, great work from Diarmuid Kelleher saw him set up Casey for St Mary's last score of the contest with less than three minutes to go. They had a chance to extend the lead but Cian Singleton's shot didn't have enough power and Padraig Tighe pulled it down from under the crossbar.

Mohill fought like their lives depended on it but their normal ice-cold finishing in front of the posts deserted them. They got a boost when James McGrail was black carded for pulling down Domhnailly Flynn but both Ronan Kennedy and Flynn missed chances.

It seemed as if Mohill were going for goals earlier than they should have and with St Mary's flooding bodies back, getting through seemed impossible. Keith Beirne did convert a free and they forced one last chance, well over a minute past the three minutes of added time announced, but Conor Quinn couldn't direct his fisted effort on target and St Mary's celebrated a famous victory when the final whistle sounded.

St Mary's players celebrate with the Fenagh Cup Picture: Willie Donnellan

ST MARY’S KILTOGHERT

Scorers: Paul Keaney 0-06, 5f; Jack Casey 0-2; Conor Farrell, Conor Hackett & Oisin Bohan 0-1 each

Team: Sean Reynolds, Adam Reynolds, Conor Farrell, Nicholas McWeeney, Gavin Reynolds, Mark Diffley, Diarmuid Kelleher, Paul Keaney, James McGrail, Daire Farrell, Conor Hackett, David O’Connell, Jack Casey, Oisin Bohan, Cian Singleton. Subs: Jack Barnes for O’Connell (46); Brian Farrell for Bohan (62)

MOHILL

Scorers: Keith Beirne 0-5, 2f; Alan Tuthill 1-0; Alan McLoughlin & Oisin Madden 0-1 each

Team: Padraig Tighe, James Mitchell, Alan Armstrong, Liam Rowley, Alan Tuthill, Shane Quinn, Oisin Madden, Keith Keegan, Jonathan Reynolds, Sean Harkin, Keith Beirne, Domnhaill Flynn, Alan McLoughlin, Jordan Reynolds, Ronan Gordon. Subs: Caillin Canning for Tuthill (40); Ronan Kennedy for McLoughlin (44); Conor Quinn & David Mitchell for Jonathan Reynolds & Harkin (51); Fiachra McGuinness for Armstrong (62)

Referee: Mark McCloskey