Two-goal Healy delivers the Cill Chomain dream

MAYO JUNIOR FOOTBALL FINAL

Cill Chomain 2-10

Bonniconlon 0-10

CASTLEBAR

YEARS of dreaming ended in glorious reality tonight when Cill Chomain captured the county title after a Titanic struggle with the gallant men of Bonniconlon. The proud people of the Erris Gaeltacht swarmed onto the pitch after the final whistle to dance under the evening sky as reality dawned that they were champions of all they surveyed for the first time in eleven seasons.

Bonniconlon took the new champions all the way to extra time, but the destination of the title was ultimately decided by the brilliance of Cill Chomain's full-forward Justin Healy.

He put his team in front early in the first period of extra time and sealed the deal for the new champions in the final moments of the game.

In truth, the lethal finisher was the best player on the field and despite Bonniconlon's best efforts, they couldn't hold him in check. 

It was obvious early in the game that Cill Chomain had learned a lot from the drawn game a week earlier and played much better football but they found scores hard to come by. Conversely, Bonniconlon took time to get going but ended the half a point clear, 0-5 to 0-4.

The men in blue looked confident and on top of the ground, but they couldn't hold back the Erris tide despite two fantastic Brian O'Malley points and when Joe Mason curled over the equaliser the match was headed for extra time.

That's when Justin Healy wrote his name in legend and lore. He buried the ball in the net in the fourth minute of extra time and although there was still almost 20 minutes of football to be played the dye had been cast.

There were still three points between the teams in the final moments of the second added period as Bonniconlon attacked.

Eoghan McGrath put body on the line to turn the ball over and when he sent Healy racing through on goal, the match-winner took the ball around the goalkeeper and shook the net.

The roar could be heard back by the ocean and it was time for the greatest party Cill Chomain has ever seen to get underway.

A full report and after-match reaction will be carried in Tuesday's Mayo News.

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