SEAN MACCUMHAILL’S WERE impressive winners against St Naul’s in this afternoon’s County U-21B final at O’Donnell Park.
Sean MacCumhaill’s 0-17
St Naul’s 1-7
With all six members of the forward line on the mark in the first half and the full-forward trio of Oisin Gallen, Chad McSorley and Carl Dunnion accounting for 13 points between them.
And but for the brilliance of Gavin Mulreany in the St Naul’s goal, who made four top drawer saves, the margin of victory for Mark O’Sullivan’s team could have been much more.
It took just two minutes for Fintan Griffin, only for Ian Campbell to level matters up for St Naul’s.
The Mountcharles side had their goalkeeper Mulreany to thank for making two excellent saves inside of the first 10 minutes. Firstly the net-minder scampered from his line to make stop from Chad McSorley and then got down to his right to brilliantly bat an Oisin Gallen shot away.
That enabled St Naul’s to edge in front on 14 minutes when Daniel Brennan cut in from the right, 0-2 to 0-1, only for Sean Friel to tie it up again and Carl Dunnion’s sweetly struck pair points was enough to MacCumhaill’s to go 0-4 to 0-2 up.
Niall McCloskey and McSorley added another brace as MacCumhaill’s started to press their advantage.
After 23 minutes, it was 0-8 to 0-4 for MacCumhaill’s with Gallen having opened his account from a free and Padhraic Patton pointing, while Brennan and Daniel Meehan registered for St Naul’s.
Interestingly, Gallen’s point meant that numbers 9-15 had all scored in the first half for the team from the Twin Towns.
Mulreany made another fine save, this time from Fintan Griffin, two minutes before half-time as Dunnion slotted over his third of the half from the rebound and with the wind in their sails, McSorley made it 0-10 to 0-4 for MacCumhaill’s.
Peadar Mogan, with a routine free for St Naul’s, scored the last point of the first period. At the break, MacCumhaill’s were 0-10 to 0-5 up.
McSorley, on 36 minutes, scored the first point of the second half although St Naul’s had a sniff of goal soon afterwards but Sean Meehan could only screw his shot wide when in on Eoin Gallen.
Friel, the MacCumhaill’s midfielder, made some inroads on 40 minutes only to see his shot deflected wide.
Dunnion and McSorley scored to edge MacCumhaill’s 0-14 to 0-5 in front on 46 minutes. McSorley then played in Gallen and in what appeared to be a certain goal on 48 minutes, again Mulreany saved his team from conceding a goal for the fourth time.
When McSorley got in on Mulreany on 50 minutes, the MacCumhaill’s forward was content enough to punch over – it was McSorley’s fifth point of the day. Gallen soon added two plumply struck points for his personal third and fourth.
Daniel Meehan’s goal in injury time was at least some consolation for St Naul’s.
By then it was long since over as a contest. MacCumhaill’s had done more than enough to get their hands on the trophy.
MacCumhaills: Eoin Gallen; Conor Griffin, Christopher Gallagher, Christopher McCafferty; Cormac Muldoon, Ronan McMenamin, Adam Lynch; Luke Gavigan, Sean Friel (0-1); Fintan Griffin (0-1), Niall McCloskey (0-1), Padhraic Patton (0-1); Oisin Gallen (0-4, 2f), Chad McSorley (0-5, 1f), Carl Dunnion (0-4). Subs: Matthew Gavigan for Friel (54, black card), Karl Hughes and Sean Duffy for Griffin and McCloskey (57), Caelum Bonar and Rory Mulligan for McSorley and Dunnion (59), Conor Glackin for O Gallen (60).
St Naul’s: Gavin Mulreany; Cathal McGlynn, Diarmuid Gallagher, Jamie Burke; John Relihan, Conor Gavigan, Martin Breslin; Brendan McCole, Jamie Murray; Ian Campbell (0-1), Peadar Mogan (0-2, 2f), Shaun Griffin; Sean Meehan, Daniel Meehan (1-0), Daniel Brennan (0-2, 1f). Subs: Brian Griffin for Burke (26), Ryan McBrearty (0-1) for S Meehan (41), Freddie Cullen for Griffin (43).
Referee: Jimmy White (Killybegs).
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