St Joseph's win high scoring thriller

They may have started as underdogs but a physically powerful and fully committed St Joseph’s defied the odds and the conditions to stun a favoured Glencar Manorhamilton in Sunday’s Newtowngore Engineering U17 FC Division 2 Final in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada.

The physical power of the St Joseph’s combination was evident around the middle of the field as the Aughavas and Carrigallen side dominated the midfield battle through the superb Man of the Match Eanna McNamara with great assistance from Tommy Kearney, Conor Shortt and Fionnan Harte.

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Upfront, Joey McBrien, Darren Shortt, Kalum McLoughlin and Harry Wilson were all able to pick off scores as they hit on the break against a Glencar Manorhamilton team who had to force the pace to get back into the game.

An evenly matched first half saw both teams have periods of dominance, a McNamara goal on 13 minutes sending Joseph’s 1-4 to 0-4 in front but Glencar Manorhamilton, inspired by the mercurial Jack Kelly, with a 2-2 blast in the space of five minutes to take a two point lead.

Two late Joseph’s point tied the scores at halftime and we were expecting more of the same in the second half but four Darren Shortt points in the first 11 minutes saw St Joseph’s grab control of the game and no matter what a defiant Glencar Manor tried, they could never get back on even terms with their rivals.

They didn’t stop fighting, a second Matthew Devaney goal with less than seven minutes to go cutting a nine point gap back to six but two minutes later, the tireless Liam McIntyre broke from his own half and set up Kalum McLoughlin for the clinching third goal.

St Joseph’s made the early pace with Joey McBrien opening the scoring with a fine point after two minutes. Eanna McNamara set up Kalum McLoughlin two minutes later but Ryan Gilligan fired over a good point from 35 yards to open up Glencar Manorhamilton’s account two minutes after that.

Joey McBrien was causing problems for Manor as he saw a shot blocked at the expense of a fifty before a fabulous pass from Harry Wilson saw McBrien finish off a swift counter-attack in style.

Jack Kelly gave glimpses of the danger he’d pose with a spectacular catch before shooting narrowly wide but St Joseph’s were definitely in the ascendancy when Harry Wilson’s crossfield pass found Gary Mitchell in oceans of space. He beat a tackle and then found an unmarked McNamara steaming through the middle for an easy goal.

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Kalum McLoughlin followed up with a point after a McBrien free fell short but Jack Kelly started to haul Glencar Manor back into the game, first firing over a lovely point on 16 minutes. Another quickly followed as he gathered a long ball, twisted sharply and curled a lovely shot over the bar.

Kelly was causing huge problems as he evaded his man along the endline. He found Oisin Gurn free in front of goal but St Joseph’s keeper Cian McHugh made a great save only for the ball to rebound to Matthew Devaney who drove the ball to the net on 21 minutes.

Glencar Manor won the kickout and did what they do best, they got the ball to Jack Kelly and the corner-forward did what he does best, twisting and turning before firing a superb shot from a tight angle into the St Joseph’s net.

That left a shell-shocked St Joseph’s two points but they regained a foothold in the game and Fionnan Harte finished off a good move with a fine point before Kalum McLoughlin scored from a tight angle to leave the team’s level at halftime, 1-6 to 2-3.

A Darren Shortt free inside the opening minute of the second half put St Joseph’s back in front and he followed up with another two minutes later. He then played a one-two on six minutes and suddenly St Joseph’s were three clear.

Glencar Manor failed to clear their lines and Shortt hammered over his fourth in a row before Harry Wilson got in on the act, firing over after Kalum McLoughlin won a throw-ball. Joey McBrien chipped a shot over the bar seconds later with a goal on the cards as the lead was now out to six points.

Glencar Manor tried to hit back but a superb Bailey McBride shot was matched by a superb full-length diving save from Cian McHugh, although Darragh Boylan did follow up with a point for the north Leitrim men.

But all looked lost for Manor when St Joseph’s were awarded a hotly disputed free when a Manor player in possession was knocked over by a St Joseph’s player who himself had been knocked by an opponent. Referee Seamus Mulhern judged the St Joseph’s player was fouled first and they swiftly got the ball to Eanna McNamara.

The midfielder broke clear on a long solo run before finding Harry Wilson who produced a brilliant finish to find the net for St Joseph’s. Darren Shortt followed up with a great individual score, catching a long ball before soloing through to point.

Glencar Manor raised the possibility of a dramatic finish when Jack Kelly won a free after being fouled off the ball. The running Kelly spotted Matthew Devaney in space and hit a precise pass with Devaney firing to the net from close range.

That left six points in it again but St Joseph’s ensured there would be no late heroics when Liam McIntyre broke up a Manor attack in his own attack and just kept going. He broke through and found Kalum McLoughlin who broke through a tackle to easily finish to the net.

Darren Shortt could have added a fourth St Joseph’s goal but shot wide while St Joseph’s finished with 14 after a black card for Tommy Kearney, Jack Kelly converting the free to bring to an end an entertaining contest played in very difficult conditions.

Check out part one of our fans gallery from the Smith Monumentals IFC & Newtowngore Engineering U17 Division 2 Finals

Observer photographer Willie Donnellan was a busy man with his camera at Sunday's Smith Monumentals IFC & Newtowngore Engineering U17 Division 2 Finals in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada - check out our gallery of fans photos to see who he snapped!

ST JOSEPH’S

Scorers: Kalum McLoughlin 1-3; Darren Shortt 0-5, 2f; Harry Wilson 1-1; Joey McBrien 0-3; Eanna McNamara 1-0; Fionnan Harte 0-1

Team: Cian McHugh, Liam McIntyre, Cian Nolan, Gary Mitchell, Ben Harte, Conor Shortt, Fionnan Harte, Eanna McNamara, Tommy Kearney, Harry Wilson, Kalum McLoughlin, Darren Shortt, Joey McBrien. Subs: Andrew Lee for Wilson (50); Conor Downes & Jack McIntyre for Mitchell & C Shortt (58); Gavin Gallogly for McBrien (51)

GLENCAR MANORHAMILTON

Scorers: Jack Kelly 1-3, 1f; Matthew Devaney 2-0; Darragh Boylan & Ryan Gilligan 0-1 each

Team: Shaun Sheridan, Ross Johnston, Conor Galvin, Joseph McEvoy, Luke Farrell, Barry Loughlin, Caoimhin McManus, Bailey McBride, Matthew Devaney, Darragh Boylan, Ryan Gilligan, Oisin Gurn, Jack Kelly. Subs: Evan Gilligan for Loughlin (37); Jack Attard & Kevin Keaney for Gurn & Galvin (47); Eoghan McLoughlin for McEvoy (52)

Referee: Seamus Mulhern