A KEVIN MEEHAN point six minutes from time sealed the Mount Errigal Hotel Junior B Football Championship for St Eunan’s at Downings’ expense in Convoy this evening.
St Eunan’s 1-10 Downings 0-12
Meehan’s score was the final act in a contest that went right down to the wire, with both sides playing their part.
It was John Byrne and Francis McGee’s Downings who might the brightest of starts with three points from play in the opening 90 seconds, with Ben Nugent, Brendan McGee and Eric Roberts on the mark. Roberts then added a fourth point as John Coleman’s St Eunan’s were guilty of a slow start.
There was a delay in proceedings as Dwyer Rafferty had to be taken from the ground in an ambulance after suffering what appeared to be a broken finger.
In his absence, Rafferty’s replacement Oisin O’Boyle excelled, planting in a long ball to Michael Moreton to score what would prove to be the only goal of the match on 10 minutes.
That, as Benin Thornton had pointed beforehand, brought the scores level at 1-1 to 0-4 and St Eunan’s pushed on to go in at half-time ahead by three points, 1-6 to 0-6, with Matthew McColgan and O’Boyle scoring twice, while Nigel Kennedy scored the last point of the half.
Downings reached their interval total with points from Nugent and Roberts.
The contest went one way and then the other in the second half. After Nugent popped over his third of the evening, Paul Crossan was on the mark for St Eunan’s to maintain the three-point cushion, 1-7 to 0-7.
However, Downings got level after three on the spin – through Sean McBride, John Boyce and a free from Christopher Carr before edging back in front when Martin McMcLaughlin, their full-back, scored an excellent long ranger.
At 0-11 to 1-7 down with time running out, St Eunan’s saw their opponents lose Michael Brolly to a second yellow card on 48 minutes.
St Eunan’s got level when McColgan scored a free and then went back in front through Moreton’s score. But the drama wasn’t finished there as Carr levelled before Meehan’s late winner.
St Eunan’s: Emmet Lynch; Kieran McIntyre, Gavin Maguire, Mark Forde; Benin Thornton (0-1), Stephen Nairn, Stephen Crossan; Nigel Kennedy (0-1), Paul Crossan (0-1); Matthew McColgan (0-3, 2f), Dwyer Rafferty, Kevin Meehan (0-1); Michael Coleman, Michael Moreton (1-1), Anthony Walsh. Subs: Oisin O’Boyle (0-2) for Rafferty (4), John Russell and Padraig McAleer for P Crossan and Walsh (36), John Keeney for Kennedy (44), Odhran Davis for Keeney (57).
Downings: John Rodden; Gerard Coyle, Martin McLaughlin (0-1), Ciaran McTeague; Naoise Cullen, Max McDaid, Ben Nugent (0-3); Gerard McGee, Michael Brolly; Andy Connors, John Boyce (0-1), Sean McBride (0-1); Eric Roberts (0-3), Brendan McGee (0-1), Seamus McBride. Subs: Christopher Carr (0-2, 2f) for McGee (half-time), Hugh McDaid for McTeague (44), Dale McFadden for Boyce (59).
Referee: Aidan McAleer (Naomh Padraig, Muff)
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