Connaire and Scahill give Coláiste Mhuire platform for victory

Coláiste Mhuire 3-9, Marist College 1-6

The Junior footballers of Coláiste Mhuire continued a remarkable week for the Mullingar school when they overcame Marist College to reach the North Leinster PPS Junior Football ‘A’ final at Shandonagh on Friday.

In fine January sunshine, the sides produced a very competitive joust on a heavy sod and it was a superior Coláiste Mhuire side that emerged nine-point winners in the end, their fine first half display laying the platform for victory. First half goals from Will Scahill (two) and Aaron Connaire gave them a lead of 3-4 to 1-4 at the break and they pressed on with three unanswered points when play resumed.

Had they been less profligate, Coláiste Mhuire could have won with a bit more to spare - eight wides, five in the first half, proved a stumbling block. Marist College fell down on the execution front with the breeze in their favour in the second half, kicking five wides.

The game started brightly, with Coláiste Mhuire asserting themselves early. In the fifth minute, Padraig Monaghan, who was prominent throughout, opened their account with a well-taken point following excellent interplay from Conor Cleary and Seán Byrne. Three minutes later, Dillon Burke’s precision pass released the pacey Will Scahill, who powered through the Marist defence to rifle the ball to the net for the game’s first goal, giving the charges of Ciaran Farrell, David Kiernan and Gavin Dooley an ideal platform.

Marist got off the mark in the 10th minute, with Seán Whittaker converting a free, but Coláiste Mhuire continued to dominate proceedings. Wing-back Tom Weir notched a superb score in the 12th minute after a sideline ball was cleverly worked across the field. The initial pass was audacious but brought its reward as Cathal Keena latched on to the ball and found Cleary, who sent Weir surging forward to split the posts.

Stephen McWade added a free two minutes later, and from the resulting kickout, Coláiste Mhuire worked a point for full-forward Aaron Connaire, whose excellent form throughout the game was evident. Scahill and Weir orchestrated the move to leave their side 1-4 to 0-1 ahead by the 14th minute.

Paul Kelly’s Marist side tried to respond, with Whittaker converting a free after Keena was penalised for what appeared to be a marginal technical foul. Shortly after, Whittaker capitalised on a misplaced clearance to blaze a shot over the crossbar. It could easily have been a goal, but the Coláiste Mhuire defence dodged a bullet.

Goalkeeper Zac Mullally kept Marist in the contest with a solid save to deny Scahill in the 20th minute. However, Coláiste Mhuire soon struck two quickfire goals. In the 23rd minute, Connaire emphatically finished to the net after Cleary dispossessed Mullally. A minute later, Cleary’s sharp pass found Connaire again, and he delivered a low drive past Mullally for his second goal of the afternoon.

Marist managed to stay in touch with another Whittaker free, but Coláiste Mhuire’s third goal came in the 28th minute. Scahill played a clever short free to McWade and took the return before finishing to the net with the Marist defence caught flat-footed. At half-time, Coláiste Mhuire led by six points, although Marist had the aid of a useful breeze in the second half.

The second half began as the first ended, with Coláiste Mhuire on top and the action was just seconds underway when Scahill sent substitute Hugo Corroon clear to fire over.

Monaghan pointed within two minutes, followed by another from Corroon, who added a fine score after a precise pass from Connaire.

A long period of scoreless play then ensued, during which Marist squandered numerous opportunities to close the gap.

The best chance came in the 10th minute when Jake Dempsey’s save with the feet denied Whittaker from the penalty spot after Keena fouled Darragh Murray.

Moments later, Andrew Cotton appeared to be dragged down in the Coláiste Mhuire square, but no penalty was awarded as the danger had been cleared and play moved swiftly on. As Marist continued to misfire, Coláiste Mhuire punished their wastefulness.

In the 25th minute, a slick move involving Connaire, Tristan Boyce Jordan, and Louis Dillon ended with Corroon pointing to extend their lead to 3-8 to 1-5. Marist did manage a tidy point from Whittaker following a clever pass from Seán Keegan, but it was too little, too late.

In added time, Coláiste Mhuire almost added a fourth goal after sustained pressure from Weir and Connaire, but the Marist defence and Mullally somehow held firm. Monaghan appeared to be fouled in the square, but Weir eventually added a point to seal a nine-point victory for Coláiste Mhuire.

The victory could have been even more emphatic, as Coláiste Mhuire were profligate in the first half when they had the breeze. Marist had oodles of chances in the second period but they too were let down by poor execution.

Despite the challenging underfoot conditions, this was a game of high intensity, with flashes of quality from both sides and Coláiste Mhuire were worthy winners.

Scorers - Coláiste Mhuire: A Connaire 2-1, W Scahill 1-0, H Corroon 0-3, T Weir and P Monaghan 0-2 each, S McWade (free) 0-1.

Marist College: S Whittaker 1-6 (0-4 frees).

Coláiste Mhuire: Jake Dempsey; Louis Dillon, Tristan Boyce Jordan, Cathal Keena; Zak Bates, Eoin Donoghue, Tom Weir; Padraig Monaghan, Dillon Burke; Conor Cleary, Will Scahill, Seán Graham; Stephen McWade, Aaron Connaire, Seán Byrne. Subs: Hugo Corroon for McWade (h-t), Ted Aherne for Graham (32), Niall Brady for Byrne (inj., 45), Tomas Brennan for Bates (58), MJ Long for Burke (60).

Marist College: Zac Mullally; Daragh Murray, Tadgh Fallon, Seán McDonnell; Conor Flynn, Seán Keegan, Padraig O’Neill; Ryan Hughes, Andrew Cotton; Patrick Collins, Diarmuid O’Higgins, Dara Geary; Dylan Dennehy Lyons, Seán Whittaker, Donnacha O’Dwyer. Subs: Joseph McSharry for O’Neill (h-t), John Finnan for Lyons (45), James Geoghegan for O’Dwyer and Fiachra Feeney for Collins (60).

Referee: Vinny Cox (Rosemount).