Antrim U-21 B Football Championship Final
Rossa 5-10
Gort na Móna 2-23
(AET)
IT took extra time but Gort na Móna eventually saw off the resistance of Rossa in a classic final to claim the U-21 B Football Championship after a 2-23 to 5-10 win at Woodlands on Sunday afternoon.
The Turf Lodge side looked to be control and held a 2-13-2-08 lead with seven minutes to play, but Diarmaid Rogan bundled a goal in and three minutes into injury time Rory Grant shot home an equaliser.
Rossa pulled ahead for only the second time in the game in the second period of extra time through a Daire Morgan strike, but Gorts would lead by the midway point in the extra period through a free from talisman Tarlach Enright and then controlled the second period to claim the honours at the conclusion.
With the A decider postponed early on Sunday morning, a healthy crowd descended upon Woodlands for another all-Belfast affair.
It took four minutes for the opening score to arrive with James Close finding Christopher Robb to drop over and edge Rossa ahead.
A converted David McKeown free restored parity shortly after and Gort then hit the front through a Matthew McConnell point following a fine crossfield pass into his path.
The opening goal arrived in the 13th minute. Rossa were guilty of switching off after conceding a close-range free and Tarlach Enright capitalised, blasting past Ruairi McDonagh to make it 1-2 to 0-1.
In response Christopher Robb converted a free at the other end and further scores were traded through Jack Ireland and Robb as the game was simmering nicely.
Rossa tied things up through an 18th minute goal. Goalkeeper Ruairi McDonagh came forward to attempt a two-pointed free that dropped short with Liam McEnhill reacting quickest to sweep home and make it 1-3 apiece.
A second Jack Ireland point of the half edged his side back in front and just when it looked like he had popped over his third a minute later, the ball dropped short and David McKeown stabbed the ball home from close range to give Gort a 2-4 to 1-3 lead.
Daire Keenan extended the lead, but Rossa ended the half with back-to-back Robb frees closing them to within a goal at the interval (2-5 to 1-5).
Robb got Rossa up and running with a free inside the first 60-seconds of the second period, though Rian Brown swept over, Jack Ireland popped over his third point of the afternoon and a converted Tarlach Enright free had their side 2-8 to 1-6 in front by the 39th minute.
Successive Christopher Robb points from play in the space of a minute lifted his side briefly, however the pendulum swung back in Gort’s direction with another three unanswered points.
Tarlach Enright claimed two – one from play and the other a free off the ground with Ciaran MacGiolla Cheara swinging over in between times.
With ten minutes remaining Rossa found a lifeline and hit their second goal. Corey Walsh’s precise pass found Niall May and he shot past Anton Farrelly to make it 2-11 to 2-8.
The Shaws Road side’s joy was short-lived as substitute Conor Scannell shot over on the turn and Matthew McConnell doubled his personal account. Four minutes after finding the net for the second time, Rossa breached Gort’s defence for a third time and gave themselves renewed hope. Walsh was again involved as he swung a high ball into the square and Diarmaid Rogan profited, palming home to make it a two-point game (2-13 to 3-08).
The bare minimum separated the sides when Christopher Robb notched up his ninth point. It all looked to be in vain though when Tarlach Enright converted a free on the 60th minute and captain Manus McMullan appeared to seal things with a point two minutes into added time.
Rossa had one last chance to save things in the remaining 60+ seconds and did just that, levelling things thanks to a dramatic Rory Grant strike that had the game balanced at 2-15 to 4-09 at the conclusion as extra time was required to settle things.
Gort na Móna were first out of the blocks in the opening period of extra-time and went two ahead through a Manus McMullan point and another from Conor Scannell. In the 64th minute Rossa pulled ahead for the first time since the game’s opening score back in the fourth minute. Diarmaid Rogan’s high ball dropped over and fell to Daire Morgan to pierce the ball low to the net on the turn and give his side a 5-09 to 2-17 lead.
It wasn’t an advantage they would hold for long as Gort had hit the front again by the first period’s conclusion. Niall Brown squeezed an angled shot between the large posts and Tarlach Enright then converted a free to have the Turf Lodge side leading 2-19 to 5-09 at the midway point of extra time.
The first two-pointed score of the game arrived in the 74th minute and came in the form of a Tarlach Enright free.
Rossa’s talisman Robb brought his personal account to double figures, though Rian Brown replied at the other end as three remained the difference going into added time.
It appeared as though Rossa would have a chance to send the ball into a congested area and salvage something when they were awarded a free and Ruairi McDonagh came up to clip the ball in, but instead the free was reversed for a breach when they didn’t have adequate numbers back and the insurance score came from the resulting free by Enright as Gort na Móna ran out winners at the end of a fantastic spectacle.
ROSSA: R McDonagh, C Short, F McDonald, O McGarrity, R Grant (1-0), J Mulholland, S McDonald, D Morgan (1-0), L McEnhill (1-0), C Boyle, D Rogan (1-0), C Walsh, J Aughey, C Robb (0-10, 0-5f), J Close. SUBS: K og Greive for L McEnhill (37), N May (1-0) for J Aughey (45), J Collins for J Close (57), D Donnelly for O McGarrity (57), O Boyle for D Morgan (77).
GORT NA MONA: A Farrelly, C Clarke, J McIlroy, R Donnelly, N Brown (0-1), R O’Scolian, C MacGiolla Cheara (0-1), J Ireland (0-3), R Brown (0-2), D Keenan (0-1), M McMullan (0-2), M McConnell (0-2), T Enright (1-8, 1-7f, 1×0-2f), D McKeown (1-1), K McCann. SUBS: C Scannell (0-2) for K McCann (HT), K McCann for C MacGiolla Cheara (53), MJ Austin for M McConnell (53), M McConnell for K McCann (70), P Lawlor for J Ireland (78).
