Naomh Colmcille CLG – Donegal

03/10/2010
Naomh Colmcille will face Naomh Pádraig Muff in the Junior Championship final after a hard fought extra time victory in a semi-final replay against local rivals Burt on Saturday evening at O’Donnell Park.

Naomh Colmcille got off the mark early, with Barry O’Hagan sending the ball over from 20m out in the centre after Richard Clarke and Ciaran Devine won possession from the throw-in. O’Hagan added a free a few minutes later: Stephen Davenport was fouled when he gathered a short kick out and O’Hagan split the posts with the resulting free. Davenport has found the net in his last few games and almost had a goal when he robbed a Burt defender of possession 10m out, but his shot rebounded off the Burt keeper’s legs, who had done well to scramble across his line to make the block.

Burt then levelled the scores with two quick fire points, one from a 13m free and another when Naomh Colmcille lost possession in the middle of the park.

Naomh Colmcille edged out in front again with a point from play from Ciaran Callaghan on the right and a Barry O’Hagan free after Ryan McKinley was pulled down while breaking through the middle. Burt pulled one back from play, and Ciaran Callaghan and Ryan McKinley both had efforts go wide before the ref blew the half time whistle, with Naomh Colmcille 0-04 to 0-03 up after a tight first half.

Burt scored a point straight from the second half throw-in and went on to add another two points from play in the third quarter to go 0-06 0-04 up. This was Burt’s best spell in the game – they were winning the breaking ball in the midfield area and Naomh Colmcille found it hard to get possession.

However, the introduction of Paddy O’Donnell to the full forward line and the dropping of Ryan McErlean back into the middle third gave Naomh Colmcille a grip on the game and gave them the edge in the last 10 minutes. Barry O’Hagan sent over a free and Ciaran Devine levelled the scores at 6 points apiece when he pointed from the centre after being played in by Thomas McKinley and Paddy O’Donnell. Barry O’Hagan sent over a free on the right with a few minutes left on the clock to edge Naomh Colmcille out in front by a point. Ruction Callaghan came on for Stephen Davenport.

Just as it looked like Naomh Colmcille had done enough, they conceded a free on the 45m line deep into injury time. The free was sent over with the last kick of normal time, sending the match into two 10 minute periods of extra time.

The teams had been pretty evenly matched in normal time, with both sides enjoying good spells and trading scores. However, Naomh Colmcille dominated both periods of extra time. They demonstrated fitness, commitment and skill to win their battles all over the pitch.

In the first period of extra time, Paddy O’Donnell split the posts from a tight angle on the right after exchanging passes with Ciaran Callaghan and Callaghan added a score of his own after being set up by a combination of Ruction Callaghan and Paddy O’Donnell.

While the forwards were doing their job, the defence were tackling and blocking at the other end, keeping Burt scoreless in the first period. And the midfield seemed to come into their own, winning possession from kickouts and covering every area of the pitch.

As the teams turned around for the second period of extra time with the scores at 0-09 to 0-07, the Naomh Colmcille management and backroom team rallied the troops and rubbed tired legs. Eddie Gillespie came on for Gerard Curran.

Naomh Colmcille continued to have the upper hand in the second period of extra time. Ryan McErlean stretched the lead to 3 points when he pointed after good work from Paddy O’Donnell and Ruction Callaghan. That was to be McErlean’s last contribution, as he was replaced by Barry McDaid.

Burt pulled a point back with a few minutes left, but Naomh Colmcille held firm and as the ref blew it up, the Naomh Colmcille team and management left the pitch to the well-deserved applause of their supporters. Final score Naomh Colmcille 0-10, Burt 0-08.

Naomh Colmcille:
Marty Callaghan
Paul McGill, Alex Devenney, Paul Friel
Gerard Curran, Anthony Grant, Thomas McKinley
Richard Clarke, Ciaran Devine
Ciaran Callaghan, Barry O’Hagan, Stephen Davenport
Ryan McErlean, Joe Donaghey, Ryan McKinley

Subs:
Ruction Callaghan for Stephen Davenport
Paddy O’Donnell for Ryan McKinley
Eddie Gillespie for Gerard Curran
Barry McDaid for Ryan McErlean