[caption id="attachment_67048" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="The New York players huddle before the All Ireland junior final at Croke Park. "]
Leitrim booked their place again in the New York senior football championship with a superb second half display against their keen rivals Cork. Up front Dan Doona and Rory Woods produced a vintage display while Lonan Maguire led a defense that was superb apart from one snafu. Leitrim started smartly as Doona split the posts after a good pass from Jeff Farrell. The next score was gem as Dermot Keane fielded superbly and then blended into a defensive splitting move that ended with the Mayo man blasting over. Doona was soon on target with another sublime strike that culminated from the tenacious tackling of Maguire.
The Rebels managed to get their first score after five minutes when Brian Kelliher was on the mark which was quickly followed by a pointed free from Jason Kelly. Leitrim were enjoying oceans of possession over the next quarter but their serial squandering kept just a point between the sides. On twenty minutes, Doona ended the squander mania with a point after a good pass from Tavey set him up. However, soon Leitrim had little to show for their territorial superiority as a long ball from Gary Lowney eluded Maguire and thus allowing Ronan Caffrey a shot on goal. The first attempt hit the post but he managed to slam the rebound to the net for the lead. At the other end Shane Sweeney finished a good run by fullback O'Connor with a point. Both sides would add a point before the break, Caffrey for the Rebels and Paudge O'Connor for Leitrim to leave the score tied.
The second half was a totally different affair as Leitrim opened the scoring spigot and soon the scores began to flow frequently and fluidly. Woods was first on target before his astute play making set up Doona for a superb score. The sturdy play maker was also involved in the next score as he linked up well with Dermot Keane for him to fire over. On five minutes Kelly did get a point for Cork but it had little impact as Leitrim surged on to lead by 0-13 to 1-4 midway in the period. Then a fracas erupted which resulted in impact sub Tommy Nolan being given a red card. In this instance the umpires got it badly wrong as Nolan was not the culprit as he was decked from behind. Leitrim responded to the injustice as they reeled off another five points while the Rebels were reduced to grasping at shadows as Leitrim cantered to the finish line to take on Tyrone in the final on next Sunday. Leitrim dominated throughout the field with a man of the match performance from Dan Doona but Rory Woods and Lonan Maguire were close on his heels for this accolade too.
Leitrim: Pa Ryan, Lonan Maguire, Paudge O'Connor(0-1), Kevin O'Brien, Kieran Scannell, Alan O'Sullivan, Mike Creegan, Pat Madden, Dermot Keane(0-2), Dan Doona(0-7), Rory Woods(0-5), Jeff Farrell, Kieran Tavey(0-1), Ken O'Connor(0-1), Shane Sweeney(0-1). Subs. Tommy Nolan, Adrian O'Connor, Paddy Daly, Cathal Mathews.
Cork: Darren O'Mahoney, Shane McNamee, Gary Hanley, Paddy Harrington, John Fitzpatrick, Derek Courtney, Liam Hanley, Gary Lowney, Rory Stafford, Ian Rowland, Brian Kelliher (0-1), Francie Cleary, Mark Cronin (0-1), Jason Kelly (0-2), Ronan Caffrey (1-1). Subs: Tadgh Foley, Pat Mahoney, Mike Travers.
Referee John Fitzpatrick Man of Match: Dan Doona.
Tyrone edge Armagh
Prior to the throw in, it seemed that Tyrone had all the aces for this semifinal as Armagh's ranks were depleted as a result of injuries plus the situation was exacerbated by the unavailability of a number of other key players. However Tyrone were made to work hard for the victory. Both teams were quickly on the score board with Niall Farrell pointing for Tyrone and Brian Murphy opening Armagh's account. Then it appeared that James Moynagh had a legitimate claim for a penalty but the referee waved play on. At the other end, keeper Hearty was bombarded with a number of goal bound shots from Sean Armstrong and Niall Farrell and he did well just to concede a point. After ten minutes Armagh surged ahead when Moynagh goaled after Ciaran Conlon played the ball into the center. Tyrone continued to exert pressure with Armstrong being their main weapon for scores. He hit three in a row with one being of a very dubious nature to tie up the game with five minutes left in the period. Armagh finished strongly with two superb points to be ahead by two at the break.
On the resumption Tyrone stepped up their performance with Adam Fitzgerald hitting the target after thirty seconds. With their defenders sweeping forward to assist the attack, they soon edged ahead with points from Mickey Sloan, Jason Killeen and Farrell. Midway Armagh staged a comeback as Stephen Sheridan and Kevin Rogers hit points to level the game. Now the tension escalated as both sides strove to get the crucial scores. Once again Armstrong answered the call as he put Tyrone ahead with eight minutes left. For the remainder of the game defenders Bell, McGourty, Skeffington and Power shut down the routes while Man of the Match Armstrong got the last score and consequently book Tyrone's spot in the final on Sunday next.
Armagh: Alan Hearty, Stuart Stokes, Collie Fearon, Brian Rogers, Ramie Kane, Eddie Greenan, Aidan Morton, Stephen Sheridan(0-2), Kevin Rogers(0-2), James Moynagh(1-0), Brian Murphy(0-1), Alan Mc Fearon, Ciaran Conlon(0-1), Steve Lyons, Patsy Martin. Sub. Chris Morton Tyrone: Damien Corrigan, Joe Bell, Aidan Power, Mickey Gallagher, Seamus Skeffington, Brendan McGourty, Ryan Canavan, Jason Killeen(0-1), Conor McNabb, Shane Ryan, Mickey Sloan(0-1), Darren Doherty, Donal Hartnett, Sean Armstrong(0-6), Niall Farrell(0-2). Sub. Adam Fitzgerald (0-1), Paul Cahill, Conor Skeffington, Paul Mulhern Referee: Sean Jones Man of the Match: Sean Armstrong
Dubs get inter double
Dublin completed the double in the intermediate division as they got the better of Kerry in overtime. Earlier in the year they won the knock-out competition. Up front the scoring exploits of Peter Hatzer and Declan Reilly were the critical ingredients in securing the silverware. Early on in this robust contest it did not look promising for the Dubs, as the Kingdom with the favorite tag jumped out five points in front. Jason Kelly opened the scoring with points from play and a placed ball.
Then there was some unscheduled fisticuffs as midfield looked like a group of octopuses flailing in distress as fists flew. Once order was regained Kerry continued to dominate as good lead up play by Anthony Sullivan and Niall O'Shea ended with Jason Kelly cutting in for a goal. Ten minutes had elapsed before the Dubs got on the score board. A run through the Kerry defense by Declan Reilly was illegally impeded resulting in a pointed free by Hatzer. Dublin were now gaining confidence as another run by the speedy Fergal Power was also impeded, setting up Hatzer for another point. Dublin continued to win frees from their excursions into Kingdom territory, but the next one paid handsomely for them. A Hatzer free dropped short but the Kerry defense was slow to respond to the incipient danger thus allowing Eoghan Loughnane to fist it toward the goals. The ball came back off the post and Declan Reilly promptly ushered it to the net to tie up the game. Dublin were now taking control as a late point allowed them to take the lead to the dressing room at the break, 1-3 to 1-2.
Kerry emerged after the interval fired up and hit three consecutive points. Anthony O'Sullivan, Jason Kelly and Niall O'Shea all hit the target to push Kerry back in front. However Dublin's chief score getter Hatzer had the sides level again by midway as he engineered a brace of points to set the scene for an exciting finish. Now it was tit for tat as O'Sullivan and Hatzer traded points to maintain parity. The industrious Kelly put Kerry back in front but the lead was short-lived as Mark Connolly knocked a high ball into the path of the inrushing Declan Reilly for him to fire to the net. Kelly and O'Shea struck back with two to level up again. Both teams would add a further point to leave the final score tied at 1-10 to 2-7, thus necessitating extra time to break the deadlock.
The laurels soon fell to the Dubs as Reilly blasted a penalty to the net while Sean McGrath set up Hatzer for a fourth goal while Kerry could only counter with a point. Now the Dubs are elated on both sides of the Atlantic.
Dublin: Alan Reilly, Sean McGrath, Adam Keaney, Colm Larkin, Barry McKiernan, Donal McGlynn, Ronan Carter, Andy Grey, Keith Moran, Declan Reilly(3-0), Niall Coughlan ,Eoghan Loughnane, Mark Connolly(0-1), Peter Hatzer (1-8) Fergal Power. Subs. Fergal Mulvanney, Kevin Ryan, Shane Stenson Kerry: Jer O'Sullivan, Shane Coffey, Danny Kenneally, Eoghan O'Mahoney, Damien O'Sullivan, David Langan, Anthony O'Sullivan(0-3), Michael Brennan, Mike Lenihan, Cian O'Connor, Darren Courtney, Jason Kelly(1-6), Kyle Corkery, Niall O'Shea(0-2). Subs: Shane Langan, Donal Walsh, Conor O'Leary Referee Tommy Fahey Man of the Match: Peter Hatzer.
The Senior Football Final
On Sunday, Leitrim and Tyrone meet in the final of the New York senior football championship. These teams last met in the Final in 1993 which was played at Rockland State Park with the victory going to Leitrim. Prior to that, these teams had a very intense rivalry between them in the late seventies and early eighties. Indeed Tyrone contested five finals in a row during this period. They lost to Leitrim in 1979 but won the final against them in 1980. They met again in 1983 with Tyrone emerging victorious after a replay. This year the teams have met twice with the decision going to Leitrim on both occasions; however only two points separated the teams on their most recent meeting. In this game, Tyrone could feel that they let it away as they missed a penalty. However over the course of the summer, Tyrone have been the most consistent team in Gaelic Park plus they also finished top of the league. In addition they also appear to be the fittest with the greatest work rate of the teams involved. Those features will certainly enhance their chances. Overall their defense is very solid with Bell, Keating, Power, Skeffington and company capable of greatly restricting scoring opportunities. McNabb and Killeen have complimented each other very well at midfield while up front Armstrong has been having a banner season since he hit the Big Apple. He has a very versatile supporting cast in Sloan, Cahill, Farrell, Hartnett and company with all contributing to the play and score board as needed.
Leitrim come to the final as defending champions and they have been consistently involved in the latter stages of the championship for the last decade. The team is a very potent and powerful blend of a solid nucleus very well augmented by drafted players plus a cadre of fine summer players. Defensively they are very solid and skillful with Paudge O'Connor and O'Sullivan very adept at going forward. The flankers Creegan, O'Brien, Goldrick, Scannell and Maguire are tenacious and tight. Leitrim are also a very big team especially when Madden and the younger O'Connor line out at midfield. Indeed Keane has done very well when deployed there. Up front Leitrim have the best attacking unit in New York with many being potential match winners. Doona is back to his best while Woods is a handful either as a play maker or a score getter. Freeman and Greville certainly added a lot more bite to the attack while, the target man, Big Bird can be a menacing character for his opposite number. Sweeney, Tavey, Farrell and Tavey operate very well in this high powered offense. Overall I expect Leitrim to come out on top, though in the interest of full disclosure I should state that I am part of the Leitrim management.
