Gerry’s Prepared Veg. Under-16 Football Championship Division One Final
Donaghmoyne 1-6 Scotstown 0-9 13/9/12
Donaghmoyne and Scotstown will have to replay the Gerry’s Prepared Veg. Under-16 Football League Division Championship Final after they played out a low-scoring draw in difficult conditions at Emyvale on Thursday. Playing with the elements in the first half, Scotstown raced into an early lead, but the impressive David Garland scored the only goal to keep Donaghmoyne in touch and they looked set to win it when they led by a point inside second-half injury-time, but a great point from Kieran Treanor rescued Scotstown. The diminutive Garland was the star for Donaghmoyne, with good support from Michael Murnaghan, Stephen Cunningham and Niall Keenan, while twins Kieran and Kevin Treanor led the way for Scotstown, along with Philip O’Connell and Caolán McElwain, who came back on at half-time after dislocating a finger midway through the first half.
Scotstown made all the early running, with points by Conor McKenna and Kevin Treanor, who added a well-taken score after good work by Philip O’Connell. Kieran Treanor kicked a good point to make it four-nil to Scotstown, but Donaghmoyne got off the mark when David Garland linked up with Shane Woods and tapped over. The Fontenoys drew level when the lively Garland got on the end of a long ball from Michael Murnaghan to jink past his man and fire the ball into the net via the underside of the crossbar. Francis Maguire regained Scotstown’s lead after a one-two with Conor McKenna, but Michael Murnaghan replied from a 30-metre free following a foul on Niall Keenan and Donaghmoyne keeper Shane Garland made an important interception to keep the sides level when Shane McMahon tried to release Kieran Treanor. Scotstown did have the last say of the half when Maguire set up Kieran Treanor to kick a point and send the league runners-up in at the interval leading by 0-6 to 1-2.
A fine point from David Garland brought Donaghmoyne three minutes into the second half, before Shane Garland blocked a shot from Scotstown sub Jamie McCarey, who had been released by Kevin Treanor. McCarey got on the end of a move involving Caolán McElwain and Maguire to kick Scotstown’s first point of the second half, but Murnaghan won and scored a 30-metre free before setting up midfield partner Stephen Cunningham to edge Donaghmoyne ahead for the first time in the 42nd minute. Scores were hard to come by as conditions deteriorated until five minutes from time when Conor McKenna tapped over a 20-metre free for a foul on Jack Turley. Murnaghan edged Donaghmoyne ahead once more when he landed a point from a free from the left wing, following a foul on Thomas Finnegan, but Scotstown still had time to launch a late attack. Their chances looked over when Kevin Treanor went for goal and was blocked down and Brendan Boylan’s follow-up effort was also blocked, but they kept it alive and eventually worked it to Kieran Treanor, who showed admirable composure to curl the ball over the bar and level it up, giving Scotstown a second chance.
Donaghmoyne: S Garland; S Kelly, D Wilson, P Clinton; A Courtney, T Finnegan, R McDonald; S Cunningham (0-1), M Murnaghan (0-3f); S Finnegan, N Keenan, D Boylan; M Keenan, S Woods, D Garland (1-2).
Scotstown: C Toal; R McCarthy, C McElwain, P O’Connell; E McAloon, James Sherry (A), B McDevitt; J Turley (Capt.), B Boylan; James Sherry (B), F Maguire (0-1), S McMahon; Kevin Treanor (0-2), C McKenna (0-2, 1f), Kieran Treanor (0-3).
Subs: J McCarey (0-1) for McElwain (inj., 17 mins), C McElwain for James Sherry (B) (H-T), G Harraghy for Maguire (inj., 46), F Maguire for McCarey (59).
Referee: G Treanor (Truagh).
By michael Thu 13th Sep
