St. Vincent’s capture Minor ‘A’ Football Championship title

26.09.10 | M ‘A’ FC Final | 5-8 to 2-13

Liam Cosgrove reporting from Pearse Park

A Dean Cosgrove injury time goal ensured St. Vincent's erased the bad county final memories of 12 months ago against last year's minor champions Killoe as the Drumlish/Ballinamuck side regained the Harte Cup they last won in 2007 when overcoming the stubborn challenge of Northern Gaels at Pearse Park on Sunday last.


But they were pushed to the very end by the Abbeylara/Mullinalaghta outfit during a tense and at times nail-biting second half as they staged a determined fightback. Truth be told however, Northern Gaels effectively saw their hopes dashed by the midway point of the first half as St. Vincent’s led by the ever accurate James Noonan and midfield lynchpin, Diarmuid Cooney ran riot.


The game was barely 45 seconds old when St. Vincent's signalled their early intention when Cooney released an unmarked Paudge Gill to fire the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the net. A Robbie Smyth free looked to have quelled that early storm and in so doing settle any lingering nerves in the Northern Gaels camp.


Back came St. Vincent's with a brace of points from play by James Noonan to lead by 1-2 to 0-1 but by the fifth minute, Robbie Smyth had practically levelled the scores when fisting the ball to the net from a pinpoint James McGivney free.


Noonan hit back moments later to stretch the St Vincent’s lead to two while Smyth replied for the Gaels as both sides looked to their inspirational number 14’s for leadership and more importantly scores.


In the 11th minute, it was the St Vincent full-forward who started to gain the upper hand on his opposite number, this time turning Laurence McHugh inside out before squaring for Diarmuid Cooney to fist the past opposing keeper Gavin Kelly.

Noonan was at it again a minute later, smashing a terrific 45 yard free between the posts to leave seven points between the sides by only the 13th minute.


Another James Noonan solo effort and Diarmuid Cooney strike added further daylight soon after as Northern Gaels struggled to establish any meaning possession in midfield. Cooney was by this stage in full flow, a belief which he demonstrated in the most exquisite fashion in the 18th minute.

There looked to be little on when Gary Connell hoofed a hopeful looking ball into the sky until Cooney suddenly latched onto the loose ball before directing his shot over a helplessly exposed Gavin Kelly.


James Noonan added yet another score as St. Vincent’s tightened their vice-like grip on proceedings while Cooney, not to be outdone, polished off a fine move to leave his side in a commanding 3-8 to 1-2 lead at the break.


But if the first half hour was all St Vincent’s, the second half couldn’t have been more stark as Northern Gaels, with Robbie Smyth leading the charge, slowly began to reel in their rivals.
Smyth got the ball rolling three minutes in courtesy of a free following a foul on Brendan Fox 35 yards out.

But then came what looked to be the killer goal and it was no surprise that it was James Noonan who was its architect in chief.

A long hoof downfield appeared to have been seized upon by Michael McHugh, but with Noonan closing down, the Northern Gaels defender could only hang his head as the St Vincent’s full-forward nipped in before smashing the ball past Gavin Kelly.


A lesser team may well have folded at that stage but Northern Gaels showed their doggedness a minute later as Robbie Smyth latched onto a loose ball to turn and shoot past opposing keeper Paddy Collum.

Despite Smyth’s efforts, the Gaels were still nine points in arrears. Two additional scores from Smyth reduced that deficit to seven, the second of which was a delightfully manufactured effort with his back to goal after intricate build up play from Brendan Fox.

Yet, if Northern Gaels were to wrestle the title from the grasp of St Vincent’s, you got the feeling the burden of scoring responsibility and expectation for that matter needed to be shared out more evenly. In the 46th minute, central defender Jason Earley did precisely that as he galloped forward to dispatch a sweet score from all of 40 yards to close the gap.


Even better was to come for Northern Gaels four minutes later as two quick fire scores from the hugely impressive Robbie Smyth added to the St. Vincent’s nerves both on the field and amongst their mentors and supporters.

Two further scores from James Rogers and Colin Sheridan left only two points separating the sides but just as Northern Gaels began contemplating the prospect of avoiding defeat, St. Vincent’s launched a brisk counter attack.

Mark Breslin released Darren Farrelly down the left hand side and just as he looked to attempt a point, he passed to substitute Dean Cosgrove who made no mistake to score a goal from 12 yards.


ST. VINCENT'S: Paddy Collum; Darren Reilly, Dylan Quinn, Francis Mollaghan; Mark Breslin, Brian Collum, Darren Quinn; Sean Whelan, Diarmuid Cooney (2-2); Emmet Noonan, Darren Farrelly, Mark Prunty; Gary Connell, James Noonan (1-6, two frees), Paudge Gill (1-0).


Subs:- Paul Hughes for M Prunty (25 mins); Dean Cosgrove (1-0) for P Gill (half-time).


NORTHERN GAELS: Gavin Kelly; Sean Rafferty, Jason Earley (0-1), Laurence McHugh; Shane McKeon, Michael McHugh, Myles Matthews; James McGivney, James McHugh; James Rogers (0-1), Enda Rabbitte, Colin Sheridan (0-1); Brendan Fox (0-1), Robbie Smyth (2-8, four frees), Anthony McBrien.


Subs:- Anthony O’Reilly (0-1) for E Rabbitte (25 mins); Alan Earley for S Rafferty (half-time).


Referee: Frank Toher (Killoe Young Emmets).

St. Vincent's players celebrate with the Harte Cup after winning the Minor 'A' Football Championship 

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