By 
St Ciaran’s Ballygawley 4-12 Carndonagh CS 2-15
IT ebbed and it flowed and both teams and sets of supporters took an almighty battering from the wind, but in the final reckoning St Ciaran’s Ballygawley were still left standing after a Markey Cup final for the ages.
Played on the 4G pitch in Owenbeg last Thursday afternoon – a rather exposed amphitheatre at the best of times – an unrelenting gale-force wind threatened to define, and possibly even derail, the game as a contest. Thankfully – it didn’t.
Instead, both teams made a really decent fist of playing against the breeze and there was never much between the two teams on the scoreboard. Carndonagh actually looked the most likely to take the spoils of victory as the clock ticked into injury-time; they led by a point and had momentum on their side, but St Ciaran’s summoned one last push and got their rewards.
A 61st minute goal from substitute Conan Canavan, firing straight and true to the net from an awkward angle, was the decisive score after an extremely eventful hour, and another sub, Jack Kelly, applied the cherry on top with a late insurance point.
The final whistle sparked memorable scenes of celebration among the St Ciaran’s fraternity as joint-captains Miceal Mullin and Darren McAnespie were presented with the prestigious title by Martin McConnell, who happens to be a former pupil of the school.
It certainly wasn’t easy won: Carndonagh, based in the Inish Peninsula in Donegal are presumably accustomed to windy conditions in that part of the world and played some really clever football into the breeze as they incrementally edged their way into the lead on the home straight. St Ciaran’s had other ideas, and when you finish your day’s work with four goals, two of which came from the boot of All-Ireland U20 winner Shea McDermott, you’re never going to be far away.
It was chaotic enough stuff at times, and after a slow enough start, the St Ciaran’s engine started to purr. Midfielder Darren McAnespie was on hand with two points from play, though a sequence of wind-assisted two points opened up a 0-7 to 0-3 lead to Carndonagh. It could’ve been worse only for a crucial goal-line clearance from St Ciaran’s cornerback Oran McGeary.
The conditions were truly testing and St Ciaran’s first goal of the hour had more than a degree of luck about it, McDermott’s pointed effort from way out on the flank flying like an arrow into the top-hand goal of the net. On the whole they were playing well with Miceal Martin bursting forward from centre-half back and late inclusion Michael McDermott showing well for the ball.
Carndonagh pounced for a goal of their own when Danny Óg Colgan embarked on a mazy run before slamming the ball to the net, but St Ciaran’s were equal to the task and their efforts yielded a second goal – McDermott unleashed a rocket of a shot after a clever handpass from Elliot Kerr. 2-3 to 1-9 at half-time having played into the teeth of the breeze – St Ciaran’s were ticking along nicely.
The second-half looked to be going very much to script when St Ciaran’s, now with the wind advantage, assumed control of the contest for a stage – Kerr clipped over a tidy point before an outrageous two-pointer from McAnespie, one of those scores that draws gasps of appreciation from the crowd.
Carndonagh were clever on the ball, however, and engineered scores from Hugh McGinn and Callum Kelly, leaving the sides level on the scoreboard despite another St Ciaran’s point from play, this time from Shea McDermott.
St Ciaran’s spurned a few scoring opportunities in the third quarter but pounced for a goal from Jude Curran after some quick-thinking from McDermott, who opted to play in the pass from a scoreable free-kick. Curran made no mistake when the opportunity presented itself with a cracking finish to the net.
They went 3-8 to 1-11 ahead after a fine point from Matthew Hughes, but Carndonagh were proving themselves to be a strong, resilient team, winning their fair share of possession from restarts and pushing forward in waves against a St Ciaran’s rearguard that was working extremely hard to stem the flow.
They picked off two more points, however, and things were looking dicey for the Tyrone boys, who released the pressure valve with a magical two-pointer from Marcus McLaughlin.
They weren’t out of the woods just yet though.
Carndonagh kept chipping away at the scoreboard and they reduced the deficit to a single point with 55 minutes on the clock after Dylan Doherty rose highest to claim an enterprising delivery, before dinking a precisely judged effort to the very bottom corner.
Carndonagh’s tails were up but St Ciaran’s nabbed a score down the other end of the pitch amid the bedlam, Marcus McLaughlin expertly hooking the ball over his shoulder to make it 3-11 to 2-13 on the scoreboard. It was very, very close in other words.
As injury-time approached, Carndonagh, for whom half-back Callum Kelly was consistently excellent, moved into the lead with successive scores from Joe Doherty (free) and Billy Seán Hume.
The initiative seemed to be with the Donegal school but St Ciaran’s held their nerve superbly. They were so unlucky not to be awarded a close-in free when it appeared that Marcus McLaughlin had been fouled (indeed, the free was offered the other way), but they regained possession and in the next attack, Conan Canavan fired the ball low and hard to net.
After a topsy-turvy, high-octane encounter, St Ciaran’s were in the ascendancy when it mattered most and they applied the coup de grace when Jack Kelly tagged on the final point of the day.
That was basically that – St Ciaran’s had prevailed; well done to one and all.
Scorers
St Ciaran’s Ballygawley: Shea McDermott (2-2), Darren McAnespie (0-4, 2 2pt), Marcus McLaughlin (0-3, 1 2pt), Jude Curran and Conan Canavan (1-0 each), Matthew Hughes, Elliot Kerr and Jack Kelly (0-1 each)
Carndonagh: Danny Og Cooney (1-2 ,1pt), Joe Doherty (0-4, 1 2pt,1f), Callum Kelly (0-3), Dylan Doherty (1-0), Patrick Doherty (0-2, 1 2pt), Tiernan Diver, Hugh McGinn, Billy Sean Hume and Donnacha O’Callaghan (0-1 each)
Teams
St.Ciaran’s Ballygawley: Dara O’Neill Oran McGeary, Odhran Callaghan, James Boyle, Callam McWilliam, Miceal Mullin, Elliot Kerr, Darren McAnespie, Matthew Hughes, Jude Curran, Shea McDermott, Conall Shevlin, Conor Quinn, Michael McDermott, Marcus McLasughlin. Subs: Conan Canavan for Quinn, Jack Kelly for Michael McDermott
Carndonagh CS:
Sam Coyle, Odhran Douglas, Tiernan Diver, Niall O’Donnell, Hugh McGinn, Senan Grant, Callum Kelly, Sonny Bonner, Joe Doherty, Thomas McGeoghegan, Patrick Doherty, Dylan Doherty, Donncha O’Callaghan, Danny Og Cooney, Billy Sean Hume. Sub: Conor McColgan for McGeoghegan
