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Eastern Harps 1.11 Drumcliffe/Rosses Point 0.09
Eastern Harps captured their first title at the U.20 grade when they had 5 points to spare over their north Sligo opponents in a very foggy Tourlestrane on Saturday evening. Due to extensive fog all day, the game was in doubt right up to throw in and indeed there were several anxious moments during the game when it appeared that referee John Niland might be tempted to abandon proceedings.
However, we were treated to an excellent game of football which showcased the best talent the county has to offer at this level. With both teams having strong representation on both county and minor county panels not to mention the successful Summerhill team the game was rich in entertainment.
After a cagey opening, it was Harps that opened the scoring when Caelan Hunt scored a free after he was fouled. Drumcliffe/Rosses Point replied within a minute when James Donelon secured possession, took on the retreating Harps defence and scored an equalising point with his left foot.
Drumcliffe/Rosses Point were physically stronger and they hit the next two points, the first one from midfielder Paul O Brien from 40 metres and then wing back Ross Chambers emerged from the fog on the far touchline to fist over his score. Matt Henry stopped the Drumcliffe/Rosses Point momentum with a score after some excellent interlink play between the Harps attack. The same player then supplied a terrific pass for James Kiernan to open his scoring in the tenth minute. A goal was possible, but he was content to take his point.
Drumcliffe/Rosses Point regained the lead again with another effort from Michael Carroll which was cancelled out almost immediately by another Hunt free kick. Harps were defending in numbers and were lightning-quick on the counterattack. They hit a purple patch and kicked the next four points, the first from Kiernan after a superb pass from Dylan Walsh and two more from Henry which was sandwiched between a monster score from wing-back Sean Conheady.
Harps at this stage were dominant across the field. Still, to their credit, the North Division outfit buckled the trend and kicked the last three scores of the half, two from O’Carroll who was the most dangerous forward they possessed and the other from their midfielder O’Brien which was his second score of the match. This left the score at 8 points to 7 in favour of the men from the East at the short whistle.
The opening period of the second half was a tense affair with both teams shooting a pair of wides each. It took until the 40th minute before Kiernan opened the scoring and he brought his tally to 4 points when he raised another white flag three minutes later. The Drumcliffe/Rosses Point attack began to wilt due in no small way to the ferocious work rate from the Harps defence which kept the opposition to kicking a few speculative shots that went harmlessly wide or else finished in the hands of Harps keeper Jamie McCoy.
The Walsh brothers at midfield for Harps began to dominate and the next passage of play was excellently executed. After carefully retaining possession with a series of accurate passes, a superb ball was threaded through the Drumcliffe defence by Dylan Walsh to Matt Henry who offloaded at speed to the inrushing Caelan Hunt. As the wing forward bore down on goal, he was upended when he was about to pull the trigger. The referee wisely consulted with his umpires before awarding a penalty kick. Hunt drove the penalty down the middle of the goal with the keeper Donnchadh O’Brien getting a hand to it but unable to prevent it from hitting the net. That left a 6-point cushion between the teams and broke the resistance of the Drumcliffe/Rosses Point challenge. All they had to show for the entire second half was 2 solitary points, one from substitute Eamonn O’Mahony and another from Carroll as the Harp's defence was totally on top.
David Lyons and Donal Mitchell were excellent in their man-marking duties and in general, the entire defence worked solid as a unit. Conor Walsh hit Henry with another crisp pass who took a high challenge as he rounded the corner back. It was left to man of the match Dylan Walsh to tap over the resulting free which ultimately was the last piece of the action, bringing the curtain down not only on this game but on the entire GAA season in the county as well.
Drumcliffe/Rosses Point were very visibly disappointed at the end as they were favourites to win this title but once the Harps management got their game plan up and running there was only going to be one winner. The roots of this victory for the Harps team can be traced back to Oct 15th when they drew with Calry in Keash. They played with a severe numerical disadvantage for the entire match due to the non-availability of the minor contingent as they were preparing for the Connacht Club Championship. Defeat at that stage would almost certainly have meant elimination as only one team qualified from the group stage.
Eastern Harps
Jamie Mc Coy, David Lyons, Finn Bruen, Liam Higgins, Sean Conheady(0.1), Donal Mitchell, Marty Murray, Dylan Walsh(0.1) Conor Walsh, James Kiernan(0.4), Jim Molloy Caelan Hunt(1.02), Barry Cryan, Matt Henry(0.3), Nathan Dwyer, Josh McHugh, Sean Higgins, Evan Powell, Robbie Taylor. Niall Hannon, Steve Hannon, Calum Flynn, Martin Grady, Danial Gardiner, Ollie Nerney, Ryan Duffy, Cian Carty, Jack Dodd
Drumcliffe/Rosses Point
Donnchadh O’Brien, Hugh Keaney, Thomas Davis, Sean Keane, Ross Chambers(0.1), Ciaran O’Reilly, Rian O’Callaghan, Paul O’Brien(0.2) Eamonn Keane, Ciaran Smith, James Donelon(0.1), Joe Campbell, Cian Oates, Michael Carroll(0.3), Danny Cronin. Daire Scanlon, Dessie Gillen, Eamonn O Mahony, Conor Gillen, Dylan Mc Gee, Sean McCabe, Dara O’Flaherty, Jake Chambers, Finn Campbell, Aidan Cunningham, Diarmuid Dunleavy, Sam Regan, James McDermott, George Gillen.