St Mary's hold off MacDiarmada Gaels challenge to claim Under 20 title

St Mary's Kiltoghert 1-11
MacDiarmada Gaels 1-10 (After Extra Time)

St Mary's Kiltoghert won an epic Leitrim 2022 Under 20 Division One football championship final by one point in Kiltubrid on Friday night last.

They were taken to extra-time by a gallant MacDiarmada Gaels side in a stirring contest that was a full value for money for the 250+ spectators who turned up in very difficult weather conditions.

It was end to end action for most of the eighty minutes of the absorbing contest.

The game was played in continuous rain and for about two-and-half hours prior to it a deluge had hit the county, which eased off just prior to the throw-in.

It is a great credit to Kiltubrid that the pitch was still playable in the circumstances. It was also a great credit to both sets of players, who adapted so well to the slippery underfoot conditions.

Over the course of the game, St Mary's just slightly shaded it in the overall exchanges to become victors at the end.

A strong second quarter MacDiarmada Gaels performance gave them a deserved five point's interval advantage.

After that, St Mary's lorded it for over 22 minutes in the second half and the tables turned on MacDiarmada Gaels with St Mary's grabbing a three point lead.

However, a determined finish at the end of normal time by MacDiarmada Gaels forced extra-time.

In the first period of extra-time St Mary's came back to claim a two point advantage.

St Mary's then held on in the final extra-time period to win but MacDiarmada Gaels had reduced the gap to a single score by the time the full time whistle sounded.

St Mary's started with a bigger pep in their step and Andrew McKenna split the MacDiarmada Gaels posts with a point from play and a free in the opening six minutes.

However MacDiarmada Gaels began to find their feet after Paul Moran put over a 16th minute free which was brought forward following a dissenting incident by one of the St Mary's men.

MacDiarmada Gaels' Killian Maguire was shown yellow two minutes later.

Conor Hackett whipped over a St Mary's point shortly afterwards and St Mary's goalkeeper Niall Crowe then made a timely save with his feet from a goal bound Paul Moran shot at the expense of a '45.'

However MacDiarmada Gaels grabbed the lead for the first time on 21 minutes when Michael McKiernan blasted to the net from close range after being put through by Jack Foley. From now to the end of extra time it became a tit for tat encounter.

After they took the lead MacDiarmada Gaels upped their performance several notches and built up an 0 – 5 lead by half-time, holding St Mary's scoreless in this period.

Paul Moran pointed two frees and fired over from play for the Ballinamore Sean O'Heslin's Kiltubrid amalgamated team during this spell and Danny McWeeney flicked over another point.

At the interval the Kiltubrid pitch scoreboard read MacDiarmada Gaels 1 – 5 St Mary's 0 – 3.

On the resumption St Mary's goalkeeper, Niall Crowe had to make a goal denying save from MacDiarmada Gaels' Senan Harte just two minutes into the second half action.

After that St Mary's found their feet again and put MacDiarmada Gaels under the cosh for the next twenty minutes of the action while holding the Gaels scoreless and getting back on level terms.

Following that, St Mary's then established a four point margin.

In this spell Andrew McKenna slotted over two St Mary's frees while Mark Lowe and Jack Casey whipped over a point each to level matters on the 45 minutes mark.

MacDiarmada Gaels Michael McKiernan was shown yellow in this spell.

Entering the final quarter Andrew McKenna finished the ball to the MacDiarmada Gaels net and Jack Casey tapped over a free some seven minutes later to put St Mary's firmly in the driver's seat.

MacDiarmada Gaels, who hadn't scored since the second half started, eventually got their fight back going late on with Paul Moran pointing to raise their first flag 28 minutes into the second half.

After that, the Gaels fought on with Barry McWeeney tapping over a free and Senan Harte pointing at the death to send the final to extra time.

Indeed MacDiarmada Gaels hit the post late on and had another chance for a point that went wide and the game went to extra time.

Barry McWeeney slotted over a free two minutes into the first period of extra time to put MacDiarmada Gaels in front for the first time since half-time. But a Jack Casey pointed free for St Mary's levelled matters five minutes later.

St Mary's then forged ahead in the closing minutes of extra time's first period with Casey converting another free and whipping over a point from play to give his side a 1 – 11 to 1 – 9 advantage when referee, Enda Egan sounded the end of extra-time's first period.

Two minutes after the start of the second period of extra-time MacDiarmada Gaels' Naoise McManus split the St Mary's uprights to narrow his opponent's lead to the minimum.

In what was a welter of excitement for all in the Kiltubrid pitch, MacDiarmada Gaels, during the last eight minutes of extra-time, drove forward but were unsuccessful in their bid to force a draw.

During this eight minute spell St Mary's defended their one point lead steadfastly and emerged as the delayed 2022 Leitrim Division One football championship champions when the long whistle was sounded.

ST MARY'S KILTOGHERT
SCORERS: Andrew McKenna 1 – 4 3f; Jack Casey 0 – 5 2f; Conor Hackett 0 – 1; Mark Lowe 0 – 1.
TEAM: Niall Crowe; Eoin Gibney, Mark Lenehan, Ashley Maziya; Kyle McCrann, Cian Singleton, Mark Lowe; Brian King, Gavin Reynolds; Ben Guckian, Conor Hackett, Emmett Regan; Andrew McKenna, Jack Casey, Brian McKenna. Subs: Sam Barnes for B. McKenna (HT); Gerard Murtagh for Gibney (50); Dean Earley for A. McKenna (61); Ronan Noone for Lowe (78).

MACDIARMADA GAELS
SCORERS: Paul Moran 0 – 4; Michael McKiernan 1 – 0; Barry McWeeney 0 – 2 2 f; Danny McWeeney, Senan Harte & Naoise McManus 0 – 1 each.
TEAM: Blessed Ncube; Michael McBride, Eoin Connaughton; Killian Maguire; James Honeyman, Senan Harte, Seamus Wisley; Michael McKiernan, James Foley; Con Doyle, Paul Moran, Tommy Smyth; Danny McWeeney, Iarlaith O'Brien, Barry McWeeney. Subs: Eoghan Shanley for Connaughton (25); Naoise McManus for Smyth (51); Gavin Darcy for Maguire (57); Marc Gannon for Honeyman (75).

REFEREE: Enda Egan