Captain Marcus seals glory for Galbally Under-14s

Galbally 2-12 Ardboe 1-14

GALBALLY joint captain Marcus McLaughlin struck for the winning goal in injury time at Killyclogher on Sunday afternoon as Galbally secured the club’s second ever Grade 1 U14 League title at the expense of Ardboe in a pulsating decider.

It was a contest that showcased all that is good about underage football between two well matched and well drilled sides and there was never much between them throughout.

The Pearses had led by a point at halftime but the young Rossas turned things around on the restart and they looked set for victory when leading by three with only two minutes left to play. A Galbally free closed the gap before McLaughlin surged up field to supply a cool finish to break Ardboe hearts.

Ardboe full forward Ciaran McKeown, who was superb throughout, opened the scoring with a point after only fifteen seconds but Galbally responded with a well taken goal from wing half back Daniel McCrory after as flowing move. Quick thinking from McKeown saw him send a free to the net and Caidan Hancock tagged on a point before Galbally got on top.

Jaiden Dorman, Finbar Quinn (2), Dara McVeigh and James Hurson hit five scores on the trot and it could have been worse for Ardboe but for a fine save from keeper Senan Devlin to deny Dorman in the 23^rd minute. McKeown scored from a mark and Ardboe were soon level thanks to points from Odhran Coleman and Matthew Mallon. Hurson and McKeown swapped points before a Quinn free gave the Pearses a slender interval advantage, 1-7 to 1-6.

A superb Quinn point opened the second half scoring before Ardboe enjoyed a good spell that saw them turn a two point deficit into a two point lead with McKeown getting three of them and Hancock also on target. A Quinn free coupled with an effort from play from Dorman had the sides level again and when McKeown and Quinn exchanged further scores it was 1-11 each with a dozen minutes left to play.

A fine save from Galbally keeper Paudi Hetherington thwarted McKeown’s first time shot but midfielder Ollie Mallon pointed from the rebound. Ardboe now had their tails up and when Coleman and McKeown both registered they led 1-14 to 1-11.

Galbally looked to be struggling but they found it from somewhere to mount a fightback with joint Captain Quinn narrowing the gap from a free.

A minute into injury time came the decisive score when Quinn played the ball to hard working midfielder Neil McElroy who charged through before taking the right option to fist the ball to McLaughlin who finished in style low to the bottom left hand corner of the net.

The Scorers

Galbally

Finbar Quinn 0-7 (5F), Daniel McCrory 1-0, Marcus McLaughlin 1-0, Jaiden Dorman 0-2, Jams Hurson 0-2, Dara McVeigh 0-1

Ardboe

Ciaran McKeown 1-8 (1-1F, 1M), Caidan Hancock 0-2, Odhran Coleman 0-2, Matthew Mallon 0-1, Ollie Mallon 0-1

The Teams

Galbally

Paudi Hetherington, Conor Hamill, Lorcan O’Neill, Stephen McVeigh, Brian Thomas Quinn, Marcus McLaughlin, Daniel McCrory, Neil McElroy, Ronan Ferguson, Joseph Quinn, Dara McVeigh, Jaiden Dorman, James Hurson, Ciaran McCloskey, Finbar Quinn. Sub: Shea Cassidy for Hurson

Ardboe

Senan Devlin, Eoin McKeown, Jimmy Canavan, Joseph Gillespie, Matthew Mallon, Tommy O’Hare, Conan Doris, Jack Muldoon, Ollie Mallon, Jack McGuigan, Odhran Coleman, Sean O’Neill, Conn McKeown, Ciaran McKeown, Caidan Hancock. Sub: Conan Coyle for O’Neill

Referee

Ciagan Patton, Naomh Eoghan