Late goals and grit see Dromahair past Rinn Gaels to claim thrilling U20 Division 3 Championship title

Late goals and a refusal to give up saw Dromahair emerge victorious in a thrilling Cox’s U20 Division Three League final against a brilliant Rinn Gaels side in Leitrim Village last night.

Both teams showcased an impressive level of pure footballing skill, but it was Dromahair's knack for finding the net that ultimately won the game for the north Leitrim lads, with Adam Gethins, Oisín Conlan, and Dathaí McPadden all scoring second-half goals at just the right moments.

Rinn Gaels boasted a slew of tidy footballers across the field, tackling well at the back, while a wicked display of inside-forward play from Noah McNulty and Conor Reynolds was on show. Jonathan Boyle, at centre forward, caused plenty of problems for the Dromahair defence.

However, Dromahair held a physical advantage, and it showed. They played a rough defensive game and dominated the air all over the field, with a wonderful display of fielding that proved crucial - particularly when it came to winning ball around the middle and contesting high balls into the full-forward line late in the game.

The tackle rate of both teams was tremendously high in the first half with forwards having to work very hard to get clean shots away; however, there were plenty of scorable frees given away.

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While finals can often start cagey, both teams went at it from the throw-in. Rinn Gaels looked unbelievably dynamic up front, creating chances and scoring 0-3 from a possible 1-4 in the opening four minutes, courtesy of points from McNulty and Reynolds.

Dromahair gave a glimpse of their threat five minutes in when a crisp passing move and some clever movement down the right touchline set up Shaun Conlan, who slotted away a goal from a tight angle. Dromahair followed that up with a long-range point, but some ill-discipline in defence saw their lead short-lived as McNulty fired over a free to level the game.

The movement in both inside forward lines was excellent, and the quality of kick passes inside matched it. Dromahair made good use of the forward mark, with Adam Gethins almost scoring after taking a high ball. At the other end, a slick kick pass found David Liu Doyle, who rode a tackle and hand-passed across before curling over a beautiful two-pointer off his right foot.

Rinn Gaels built some momentum a minute later when McNulty burst through the Dromahair defence, shrugged off three tackles, lost and regained the ball, and drove it over from close range to restore their three-point advantage.

Dromahair responded in style. A beautiful cross-field pass of the outside of wing-back Tom Sweeney’s boot found corner-forward Karl Gethins, who ran down the left endline and fired over at close range. After both teams exchanged wides during a tense spell, Gethins converted a free after being pushed by Brian Liu Doyle. Dromahair then won the next kickout and moved the ball quickly through the Rinn Gaels' defence, allowing Adam Gethins to score from 30 metres.

Rinn Gaels were awarded a 50-metre advance after Dromahair’s Zak Gethins, who received a yellow card shortly after for a mistimed shoulder, was penalised for dissent. However, the chance came to nothing. McNulty won and converted another free after a high tackle from Dromahair corner-back Dean Williams, before trading scores with Adam Gethins. The teams went into the break with Rinn Gaels ahead by two.

The second half opened with a bang. Daire McGirl was called into action immediately, pulling off a crucial save in a one-on-one with Adam Gethins. Down the other end, Jonathan Boyle won and converted a free in heavy traffic to extend the lead.

McNulty hit another point a minute later after a quickly taken free from Conor Reynolds. Rinn Gaels looked to be taking control as Dromahair began missing chances and getting dispossessed. But as they had done all day, Dromahair struck when it mattered most.

A move down the right ended with Adam Gethins being wrestled to the ground inside the six-yard box by two Rinn Gaels players. A penalty was awarded, though surprisingly, no black cards were shown, to the frustration of Dromahair supporters and management. Ignoring the controversy, Gethins slotted the penalty hard along the ground into the left corner.

Dromahair followed up with three unanswered scores from Peter Cogan, Gethins again, and Oisín Conlan, who made a huge catch in midfield before kicking over the bar on the run.

The north Leitrim men were fired up now, and Aaron Cleary picked up a yellow card for a diving push on a Rinn Gaels player near the sideline. Despite the foul, Gaels retained possession, and McNulty won and converted another free from in front of goal.

The next kickout from Ben Harte was a monster, clearing midfield and landing with wing-forward Dathaí McPadden, who broke through the scattered Rinn Gaels defence and buried the ball into the bottom right corner to level the game. Conor Reynolds answered quickly with a sweet left-footed point to restore the Gaels' lead.

But the momentum shifted again when Dromahair’s Aaron Cleary was shown a second yellow card, reducing them to 14 men for the final 15 minutes. McNulty converted the resulting free. McNulty then added a high looping point, followed by another from Reynolds, who was set up beautifully by Jonathan Boyle with a neat kick pass and quick hands.

With the game level, the intensity ramped up. Both teams defended ferociously. Dromahair turned over Rinn Gaels' Ben Cunningham on the edge of his own defence, seemingly gaining a key possession. However, corner-forward Zak Gethins was lucky to avoid a second yellow for aggressively charging over Cunningham as he attempted to get the ball to take the free.

The result was a hop ball, but Gethins remained on the field—a lucky break for Dromahair. Just two minutes later, he intercepted a short Rinn Gaels kickout and rifled the ball into the near post net to put Dromahair ahead with only a minute left.

Rinn Gaels fought back, grabbing a point courtesy of Jonathan Boyle, but it was too little, too late. Dromahair held on to win by two points and claim the League title.

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ST PATRICK'S DROMAHAIR

Scorers: Adam Gethins 1-4, 2f; Dathí McPadden 1-1; Zak Gethins, Shaun Conlan & Oisin Conlan 1-0 each; Karl Gethins 0-2; Peter Cogan 0-1

Team: Ben Harte, William Hudson, Aaron Cleary, Dean Williams, Tom Sweeney, Cian McMorrow, Luke McMorris, Oisin Conlan, Shaun Conlan, Niall O’Donaghue, Adam Gethins, Dathaí McPadden, Zac Gethins, Karl Gethins, Peter Cogan. Sub: Ronan Cogan

RINN GAELS

Scorers: Noah McNulty 0-10, 4f; Conor Reynolds 0-3; David Liu Doyle (tp) & Jonathan Boyle (f) 0-2 each

Team: Daire McGirl, Jack Gannon, Tommy Reen, John McGarrey, Oisin Maguire, Keelan Lyons, Nathan Ryan, David Liu Doyle, Riaghan Ward ,Brian Liu Doyle, Jonathan Boyle, Ultan McNulty, Conor Reynolds, Noah McNulty, Cian McCormack

Referee: Seamus Mulhern