Colaiste Mhuire, Ballymote 1/0 Finn Valley College, Stranorlar
BALLYMOTE’S Coláiste Mhuire, pulled off something of a shock in their UMBRO FAI Schools Senior ‘B’ Boys Cup National Semi Final against Ulster champions, Finn Valley College, Stranorlar, at the Lakeside, Ballyshannon, last Friday, 30 January:
The Donegal secondary school must have had 80 per cent of the possession and the same amount of the chances created, but they were to leave with nothing after the only goal of the game came from nothing in the 58th minute:
At that stage the Alan Mannion managed Coláiste Mhuire had been reduced to 10 men with their resolute centre/half, Robbie Flannery, picking up a second yellow card after hauling down Raymond Foy four minutes earlier:
Everything was pointing in the direction of a Finn Valley win, but a very stubborn Coláiste Mhuire defence just wouldn’t give in:
They got the ultimate reward when in one of their few breaks, Gerry Brennan found himself in possession some 30 yards from goal: He was allowed enough time to fire towards goal and his effort deceived Mark Temple in the Finn Valley goal, finding the net just under the crossbar:
From there to the finish the 10 men had their backs to the wall as Finn Valley threw everything at them:
Prior to his dismissal Robbie Flannery was soundness personified and, in his absence, the stocky Ciaran McGrath took his place in the centre of the defence to do an equally good job alongside the impressive Liam O’Connell:
Finn Valley’s best chances all came after they went behind: But they found the Coláiste Mhuire defence tough to break down all afternoon, being limited to some half/chances until the final quarter:
The best chance of the opening half came when a Finn Valley free/kick from Raymond Foy was dropped by the Coláiste Mhuire goalkeeper, Declan McCormack, but no Finn Valley player was following up:
In the second/half Coláiste Mhuire had an early chance from a corner that flashed just across the Finn Valley goal, but mostly the traffic was in the other direction: Glen McDaid fired over on 49 minutes before
Robbie Flannery saw red after upending Raymond Foy on a great run: It didn’t seem possible that Coláiste Mhuire could score, but four minutes later, Gerry Brennan fired home what proved to be the winner:
Finn Valley laid siege on the Connacht champions’ goal for the final 20 minutes but they couldn’t make the breakthrough: Conor McNulty had a point/blank effort saved by McCormick and the losers had very strong claims for a penalty turned away when Foy was brought down in the box with four minutes left:
Just before that Ryan Gildea seemed certain to score but his effort from close/range was deflected out by the Coláiste Mhuire net/minder:
But try as they might, they couldn’t get the goal they deserved: It was hard to take and in the final minutes tempers became a little frayed but thankfully, calm was restored:
Ryan Gildea and Conor O’Rourke were excellent at the back for Finn Valley with Raymond Foy putting in a ‘Player of the Match’ display in midfield alongside Conor McNulty:
For Coláiste Mhuire, meanwhile, Liam O’Connell and Robbie Flannery were impressive at the back with Ciaran McGrath slotting in well when Flannery was red/carded: The Brennan twins, Niall and goal/scorer Gerry, and Patrick O’Grady also played their part:
Coláiste Mhuire will face Tallaght’s Jobstown Community College in the national final: The Leinster ‘B’ winners overcame Cork’s Nagle Community College 3/2 in a thrilling semi/final at Roscrea that went to extra/time:
Finn Valley College, Stranorlar: Mark Temple, Emmett McNulty, Don Maguire, Ryan Gildea, Conor O’Rourke, Conor McNulty, Brendan Bonner, Raymond Foy, Glen McDaid, Ronan Tourish, Kyle Potts
Subs used: Michael Lynch for Kyle Potts; Shane Elliott for Glen McDaid
Coláiste Mhuire, Ballymote: Declan McCormack, Colin McGill, Ciaran McGrath, Liam O’Connell, Robbie Flannery, Joe McGuinness, Patrick O’Grady, Aidan O’Brien, Niall Brennan, Gerry Brennan (c), Matthew McGrath Subs used: David Scanlon, Gearóid McTiernan
Referee: Ed Moore