St Eunan’s won through to the U-14A Championship decider on Friday evening with an impressive dismissal of Ardara.
St Eunan’s 3-12 Ardara 2-9
By Frank Craig, Ardara PRO
The Letterkenny lads trailed at the break by the minimum when a late Daryl Maguire effort for a point dipped at the last moment and ended up in the back of the black and amber net. Still, with the wind in their backs following the turnaround in Glenfin, they eventually got to grips with the south west outfit.
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Seconds in, and the O’Donnell Park side was off to a flier when Eoin Dowling banged in a goal. Ardara responded with points from Daniel McHugh and Kyle McCole but also squandered good opportunities with a number of careless wides. Another lapse in concentration at the back allowed Letterkenny to steal in once again and hit the net – this time through Caolan Collier – to instantly widen the gap from one to four.
A blistering run from deep by Maguire took Ardara out to three on 17 minutes. But with Eunan’s adding their first points of the contest to go with that earlier brace of three-pointers; it seemed at that juncture that the Cathedral cubs, even against the elements, were about to pull away.
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At 2-2 to 0-3 down, Ardara finally found some traction when they blitzed Eunan’s for four points on the bounce to reel themselves back into within just one of parity. Shane McHugh, Paul Walsh, Shane White and the lively Joe Kittrick were the players stepping up to the plate when it mattered for the Pearse Park outfit.
The impressive Ciaran Moore steadied Eunan’s momentarily. Though with Maguire’s speculative effort from wide ending up in the onion bag, it was Ardara that eventually led at the break.
Half-time: Ardara 1-7 St Eunan’s 2-3.
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Another disastrous opening from Ardara afforded Eunan’s a third goal when Dowling ghosted in once again to hammer past Matthew McGlynn. Ardara though were soon back in front when Paul Walsh’s neat thread sent Kyle McCole racing though to plant in the contest’s fifth goal.
A superb stop with his trailing leg by McGlynn kept Ardara noses in front. But the pendulum was to swing once again when a quickfire brace of overs from Seamus Breslin and Ciaran Tobin catapulted their side from one down to one up.
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Approaching the three-quarter hour mark, the spoils from this pulsating contest were still very much up for grabs when McCole tied matters up again, following more good approach play from Walsh.
Another pair of points from the influential Eunan’s duo of Dowling and Moore wrestled the momentum back their team’s direction as the contest slipped into its final 10 minutes. Ardara raced down the other end and converted through Walsh to leave matters still so delicately balanced, but slightly in Eunan’s favour, on a scoreline of 3-7 to 2-9.
However, in the final minutes that little bit of extra quality and cohesiveness in the young Letterkenny men finally told. Between then and the end they tagged on five uninterrupted points to cross the line with six to spare. It was slightly flattering but there was no doubt that the better side on the night had prevailed.
Moore (2), David Smith and substitutes Marc Canning and Donnachadh O Duibheannaigh all grabbed points before Declan Callaghan finally called a halt to matters. The Letterkenny lads now advance to face Termon in the decider after the Burn Road boys impressively saw off Aodh Ruadh in the other semi-final.
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St Eunan’s: Cillian Cribbon; Odhran Brogan, Noel O’Donnell, Liam Hannigan; Oisin Farren, Ciaran Tobin (0-1), Luke Cassidy; David Smith (0-1), Tony Gallagher; Ciaran Moore (0-4), David Boyle, Seamus Breslin; Caolan Collier (1-0), Eoin Dowling (2-3), Lorcan O’Donnell (0-1). Subs: Donnachadh O Duibheannaigh (0-1) and Marc Canning (0-1) for S Breslin and C Moore (both 43).
Ardara: Mathew McGlynn; Shaun Mooney, Shuan White, Lavente Takcaz; CJ Laverty, Charlie Kennedy, Shane McHugh(0-2); Daryl Maguire (1-1), Liam McShane; Daniel McHugh (0-1), Kyle McCole (1-2), Niall McMenamin; Joe Kittrick (0-1), Paul Walsh (0-2), Proinsias Molloy. Subs: Conor McNelis for D McHugh (57), David McCloskey for N McMenamin (59).
Referee: Declan Callaghan.
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