Mayo champions win classic Connacht decider against Galway's finest
Ardleathmaigh win thriller and take the Connacht title back to North Mayo
CONNACHT U-17B CLUB FOOTBALL FINAL
Ardleathmaigh 2-13
St James (Galway) 2-11
In Connacht Centre of Excellence
PROVINCIAL titles are very hard won and that was certainly true in Bekan last night when the boys from Ardagh, Lahardane MacHales and Moygownagh defeated the talented Galway champions in a thrilling decider.
St James sent out a team packed with quality to represent Galway while the boys from North Mayo fielded a side with talent, style and a never-say-die attitude.
Ardleathmaigh led 1-5 to 0-2 after 21 minutes of a game that went end-to-end all evening. The decisive score in that period was a stunning goal from Conor Carey. Ross Gallagher sent a quick line-ball into the danger area - Carey ran onto it and volleyed it into the corner of the net for a stunning score.
They added another goal four minutes before the interval when Declan Moran palmed home and it seemed as if they were running away with it as the Galway boys missed a number of goal chances at the other end, however with full-forward Shane Fahy to the fore, they closed the gap to five at the interval, 0-6 to 2-5.
The Mayo champions began the second half brilliantly with Adam Sweeney, Byron Leonard, Cillian Reilly and Darragh Moore playing central roles. They were nine clear after five minutes of the second period, but James’ then began to gain a foothold around the middle.
They bossed the possession stakes for a time and with Fahy kicking points and Dara McGrath boxing home a goal they were right back in contention as time ticked away.
However, a stunning two-pointer from the right wing courtesy of Carey steadied the Mayo nerves, but the Galway boys refused to fade away. Ryan Connolly, Calum Oliver, Finn O’Reilly, Naoise Gorham, Conor Conneely and their colleagues poured forward and when Alan Corcoran ran in from the left and found the bottom corner the gap was down to two.
Carey put three between them in the dying minutes but when Fahy boomed over a two-pointer at the other end the gap was back to a single white flag again.
Both sides knew history was beckoning them forward and Ardleathlaigh weathered the storm before pushing forward for Ross Gallagher to put two between them in injury time and seal the deal.
A full match report and after-match reaction will be carried in Tuesday’s Mayo News.