GLENFIN CAME BACK from beyond the brink to defeat Naomh Colmcille in the Northern Board Under-16 Division 3 League final in Convoy this evening.
Glenfin 4-07 Naomh Colmcille 3-06
It was a result that barely seemed possible when Naomh Colmcille went ten points up with 11 minutes to go.
First-half goals by Ethan Coll, Christopher Mugan and Ronan McKinley looked to have Naomh Colmcille’s name on the silverware, but the game swung Glenfin’s way in a dramatic closing period.
Naomh Colmcille weren’t aided any by the sendings off of Coll and Oran Downey in that time, but the manner in which it unraveled for them was startling.
[adrotate group=”38″]Glenfin’s penchant for goals is still alive and well and Kyle O’Meara and Odhran McGlynn scored a goal apiece and Aaron McGlynn – better known, perhaps, for his exploits on the athletics track – netted twice as Glenfin snatched the prize with a late salvo.
Coll arched over in the 49th minute to make it 3-6 to 0-5 and, it seemed, it was only a matter of going through the motions for 11 minutes. That, perhaps, was Naomh Colmcille’s downfall as Glenfin – who had created several goal chances before then – hit back.
First, O’Meara fired past Matthew Whoriskey with a low finish.
[adrotate group=”37″]Four minutes later and Glenfin were within a goal as Odhran McGlynn took receipt of a long ball in and slotted home.
Almost instantly, Glenfin were ahead for the first time in the game when Aaron McGlynn, after taking a pass by Cian McGlynn, smashed to the net.
With Coll and Downey given their marching orders by Pat Barrett, the referee, Naomh Colmcille were pailing water from their vessel by that stage.
The coup de grâce was yet to arrive and it came, in the final minute, when Adam Marley slipped the ball inside and Aaron McGlynn neatly side-stepped before firing home.
Naomh Colmcille were stunned having taken charge from early on. McKinley and Keenan Diver, from a free, had them two ahead before O’Meara and Odhrán McGlynn levelled it up.
Another free from Diver, who had scored 1-8 in Naomh Colmcille’s semi-final win over Robert Emmets, restored the lead before Coll superbly arrowed to the net for the first goal of the night.
A second arrived when Mugan steered home after a move involving Shane Monaghan and McKinley.
When McKinley finished off for a third Naomh Colmcille goal – slotting to the net with his right foot after crashing a left-footed shot off the crossbar – it looked like curtains, with the Pairc Colcmille men 3-4 to 0-4 in front at the break.
[adrotate group=”46″]It looked enough and should have been enough but Glenfin refused to buckle and got their rewards.
Not only had they Irish champion athlete McGlynn on the mark, but former Irish schoolboy boxing champion Eoin McGarrell was also among the points late on.
Glenfin: Kealan McMonagle, Josh Bradley, Jack Marley, Odhrán McGlynn-O’Donnell; Cian McGlynn, Sean Bonner, Darren Marley, Aaron McGlynn (2-0), Eoin McGarrell (0-1), Odhrán McGlynn (1-4, 2f), Raymond Gallagher, Adam Marley (0-1), Kyle O’Meara (1-1, 1f). Sub: Sean Marley for Gallagher (23).
Naomh Colmcille: Matthew Whoriskey, Daniel Mugan, Jason Fitzpatrick, Mark Friel, Ben Scott, Oran Downey (0-1, 1f), PJ McBrearty, Ethan Coll (1-1), Christopher Mugan (1-0), Shane Monaghan, Jordan Gallagher, Keenan Diver (0-2, 2f), Ronan McKinley (1-2). Sub: Adam Callaghan for C.Mugan (51).
Referee: Pat Barrett (Milford).
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