Junior joy for Fintona as they edge out Drumragh

Fintona 1-10  Drumragh 0-12 (after extra-time)

A SEA of green-clad fans engulfed their footballing heroes from Fintona on Sunday as the most dramatic finale to this closely-fought Junior Championship decider saw the Pearses win the title for the first time in 48 years.

Promotion and the Pat Darcy Cup is their reward following Aaron McCarney’s late winner. For Drumragh, it’s the play-offs and perhaps the prospect of a place in Division Two still alive for them.

But it’s Fintona who were celebrating  as they relished this rare Champoionship triumph after a final which proved tentative until the closing stages.

Little separated the teams during the opening period as both worked to limit mistakes while trying to gain a foothold. It was Drumragh who probably had the better of the exchanges initially, before finding themselves trailing entering the closing stages of that half.

Midfield dominance worked well for the Pearses. Time and again Malachy McManus, Shane Devine and Patrick Colgan were on hand to win possession in that vital sector. Eoin Montgomery also did well, and they were soon being boosted on the scoreboard as well.

Tommy Murphy settled them and they really gained confidence after going two ahead. Point number two came courtesy of Sean McGale who raced through and fired over after good work from Ronan Maguire.

But, despite that boost, the Sarsfields just couldn’t find their range subsequently, as the withdrawal of Shane Cleary because of injury also affected them.

With the exchanges being very tentative, both teams struggled to find the form which had taken them to the decider. Although Drumragh enjoyed the best of the attacking options, their failure to convert left them open.

That was certainly evident when Fintona struck for the opening goal. It came after 11 minutes when a roving Pearses movement opened up the opposition rearguard. Great play from Cormac Watson and Caolan Donnelly saw them set up Eugene McCarroll who made no mistake with a great strike to the net.

Now the Pearses were 1-0 to 0-2 ahead, but they were unable to consolidate that advantage. Instead, misplaced possession undermined their threat, as Ben Monk and Sean McGale cut out the danger on numerous occasions.

Drumragh regained their composure relatively quickly after that goal setback. Points courtesy of team captain, Eoin Montgomery, brought them level again approaching the interval and then put them ahead by 1-1 to 0-3. It was what they deserved and highlighted the pre-match expectations for a close contest.

That’s how matters remained until half-time. Peter McGlinn fired over from almost identical positions for the Pearses, although their hopes of carrying that slender advantage into the break were thwarted when Eoin Montgomery’s late free left the score 0-5 to 1-2 and set up what looked set to be intriguing second half.

Both teams raised the tempo significantly on the resumption. As the minutes ebbed away and the tension increased, it was Drumragh who put the pressure on by continuing to win good possession in midfield. Importantly, though, they enjoyed better fortune on the scoreboard.

Points from Ronan Maguire and Tommy Murphy twice edged them ahead to lead by 0-7 to 1-3. They were also alert in the defence, where Gareth Haughey was on hand to deny Eugene McCarroll a second goal for Fintona.

But, despite these positive pointers, the issue was still very much in the balance. While Drumragh dominated in terms of possession, the lead certainly wasn’t big enough to generate any degree of comfort and Fintona still posed a threat.

Both teams were creating chances, and balls dropped short and wides added to the heightening excitement. Daniel O’Neill had a point disallowed as Drumragh tried to forge further ahead, but the tie was there for the taking as it entetered the closing stages.

Jared Brogan raced through to score the point of the game. Winning possession from a Fintona kick-out he raced forward and unleashed a brilliant left-footed shot over the bar. That brought the teams level and heralded an exciting finish.

Moments later Fintona were back on the attack, and Aaron McCarney fired over from a free to put them ahead for only the second occasion. They looked set to extend that lead, but desparate defending from Drumragh kept them in touch.

Most of the drama in the tie was reserved for those last nerve-wrecking moments. First, the experienced Gareth Haughey equalised for the Sarsfields. Fintona attacked again, and Aaron McCarney fired over to put them ahead with time fast running out.

Cian Murphy equalised for Drumragh before a great turnover saw them launch one final attack in search of the winning point. A foul on Ronan Maguire earned them a free, but the resultant shot went just wide to set-up extra time.

It could hardly have been more exciting during those added 20 minutes. Time and again, both teams attempted to forge ahead, only to be pegged back. They were level on eight occasions over the course of the 80 minutes, including three times in that extra time period.

Peter McGlinn edged the Pearses ahead at the start of added time, but Daniel O’Neill equalised for the Sarsfields. Aaron McCarney and Cian Murphy swapped points as Drumragh’s, Benny Drumm came close to grabbing a goal.

But time was running out. Aaron McCarney’s point was cancelled by the experienced Gareth Haughey to really set things up for the final stages.

Then came the dramatic finale. First McCarney edged Fintona ahead in added time. Drumragh got one more chance, but Cian Murphy’s shot went wide. Moments later the final whistle brought victory and promotion for Fintona and the play-offs for the Sarsfields to redeem themselves during the coming weeks.

THE SCORERS
Fintona
Eugene McCarroll 1-0, Aaron McCarney 0-5 (4 frees), Peter McGlinn 0-3 (2 frees), Caolan Donnelly 0-1, Jared Brogan 0-1.

Drumragh
Eoin Montgomery 0-3 (3 frees), Tommy Murphy (1 ’45), Gareth Haughey, Kian Murphy (1 free) 0-2 each, Sean McGale, Daniel O’Neill, Ronan Maguire 0-1.

THE TEAMS
Fintona
Cathal Gillespie, Conor McGowan, Mark McGlinn, Jared Brogan, Caolan Donnelly, Niall Murray, Pauric Kelly, Conor McGoldrick, Peter McGlinn, Aidan Donnelly, Eugene McCarroll, Marius Monaghan, Cormac Watson, Conor McGillion, Aaron McCarney.
Subs Tom McGrath for A Donnelly (32), Oran Hughes for C Watson (37), Tom Pat Gavin for P Kelly (46), Paul McGrath for Murray (60), Matthew Armstrong for P McGlinn (71), Cormac Watson for Brogan (78).

Drumragh
James Colgan, Eoin McGread, Eamonn Kerrigan, Ben Monk, Sean McGale, Patrick Colgan, Gareth Haughey, Malachy McManus, Shane Devine, Andy Colgan, Niall McCarney, Eoin Montgomery, Shane Cleary, Tommy Murphy, Ronan Maguire.
Subs Daniel O’Neill for S Cleary (inj, 15), Kevin Marron for N McCarney (47), Martin Taggart for B Monk (58), Benny Drumm for E Montgomery (67). Oran Devlin for D O’Neill (78).

Referee Gary Gormley, Drumquin.