Eglish Under-14 ease past Ardboe in decider

Eglish 3-13  Ardboe 0-11

THERE was a significant sea change in terms of match momentum at Coalisland as Eglish turned round an interval deficit of four points to triumph by 11 in the end in the Tyrone Under-14 Grade One League Final.

The size of the winning margin masks a gallant effort on behalf of the O’Donovan Rossa who played some fine football during a first 30 minutes that yielded them 0-8 to 0-4 in reply.

Eglish looked sharper than they had been from the start of the second half but it was only in the closing ten minutes that Eglish pulled clear on the scoreboard. Eglish were chasing the U-14 Grade One double on the day following their championship victory earlier in the campaign. The St Patrick’s certainly faced questions on achieving that feat at the midway stage on Saturday but they responded very well to that task and duly flipped the game on its head.

There were plenty of skilful displays by players from both teams at Fr Peter Campbell Park plus commitment and energy abounded as the story of the match unfolded under sunny but somewhat chilly weather conditions.

Luke Muldoon drove over the game’s first point for Ardboe inside a minute and Ciaran McKeown followed up with a point to put the loughshore lads two in front.

Eglish’s Matthew Daly went on a great run deep into the Ardboe defence but keeper Senan Devlin collected Daly’s effort. Ardboe counter-attacked and influential midfielder Odhran Coleman claimed his opening point.

Ryan Gildernew stopped the scoring wait for Eglish with a 13th minute point after some of his side’s earlier shots had missed the target. Coleman and Ardboe launched forward to leave three the gap.

Two Brian Og McGuckin place kicks brought Eglish within one before Conan Doris and Daire McKeown had efforts for the O’Donovan Rossa side. Brogan Devlin and Odhran Coleman continued the Ardboe run of points to push them five clear by the 27th minute.

Eglish managed to pull one back through a Brian Og McGuckin free before half-time as Ardboe showed ahead by 0-8 to 0-4 with 30 minutes remaining.

The St Patrick’s made their first big impact on proceedings two minutes into the second half when Matthew Daly drove forward and Ethan Gildernew was on hand to rattle home the game’s opening goal.

Matthew Daly then drew Eglish level via a 34th minute point but Arboe responded effectively as Odhran Coleman angled over a lead point. Brian Og McGuckin, however, gained parity for the St Patrick’s prior to the sides swapping points from Odhran Coleman and Og McGuckin.

The teams were all-square passing the 50th minute mark but Eglish began a scoring burst as two Brian Og McGuckin scores (free and play) were followed by a Daithi Corrigan fisted point. McGuckin curled over another fine score and Ardboe had to replace their keeper as well.

A brace of St Patrick’s goals then put the game beyond Ardboe as Senan Donnelly and Charlie McKenna provided finishes. McGuckin tagged on 0-2 and Eglish had completed the turnaround in fortunes.

The Ardboe squad will naturally be disappointed with how the second half panned out but they look like a group of players capable of bouncing back even stronger in the future. They showed enough here to supply ample optimism going forward.

Eglish too possess a squad full of promise and the U-14s have added to the silverware roll of honour enjoyed by St Patrick’s youth teams this season. It’s onwards and upwards then for both Eglish and Ardboe camps as thoughts turn towards 2024.