Coláiste Choilm comeback secures Leinster final place

Coláiste Choilm, Tullamore 1-11 St Patrick’s CS, Navan 1-9

By Jimmy Geoghegan

Coláiste Choilm, Tullamore booked their place in the Leinster Schools Senior Football 'A' final after coming from behind to edge out St Patrick’s CS, Navan in Killucan yesterday (Friday).

Fortunes can be altered quickly - in life and in sport. That reality was forcefully, painfully brought home to the players and management of St Pat's in this game.

Take the closing stage of this Br Bosco Cup semi-final. With eight minutes left on the clock, St Pat's looked poised to kick on and win the game. They led by three, 1-9 to 1-6, helped along the way by a textbook penalty dispatched to the Coláiste Choilm net by full-forward Billy Smyth after 23 minutes.

Sure, they were facing into a sturdy breeze and playing up the slope in the home club's fine ground. And they were facing a strong Tullamore side that was full of talented, lively players particularly in the forward division. Despite all that St Pat's looked like they were marching on to the final.

Then it all started to go awry for the Meath side. Tullamore found a new source of energy, a renewed surge of self-belief. They tapped into all that. They scored one point, then another. By the hour marked they had hauled themselves level. Then in added time they clipped over two more points, scored by Cian Bracken, to ensure they made it across the line. Victory was theirs.

The St Pat's players could hardly be accused of complacency or taking their foot off the accelerator when they were ahead with the finishing post in sight. They kept battling away and grafting hard as they had done throughout this encounter.

The Tullamore side simply found a new resolve and were extremely effective in mopping up ball in the midfield sector in those match-deciding final ten minutes or so. Such things can make a big difference.

They used the possession they gained well to take their scores with Bracken particularly effective and clinical.

The St Pat's players have some measure of compensation in knowing they gave it everything. Not just this match but the campaign. They just couldn't seal the deal today.

There was warning for them at half-time; an indication of just how effective this Tullamore team could be. St Pat's led 1-6 to 1-3 but they had the breeze as an ally and the slope in their favour so a three-point lead was a thin advantage indeed to take into the second-half. It proved to be so.

The Navan side had started the game brightly with Fionnan O'Connor and Billy Smyth clipping over points. In response their opponents demonstrated their attacking verve, putting together an incisive move that ended with Niall Furlong scrambling the ball to the net on ten minutes after Cillian Bourke had hit the post.

Cian Commons, who registered four first half-points, had a chance early on to find the net for Navan. He was one-on-one with the Tullamore 'keeper Sean Kavanagh. The netminder made a super reflex save to divert the ball over the bar.

Both sides exchanged points with Commons, O'Connor and Smyth raising white flags for the Saints but they couldn't draw away.

Andrew Gormley was a constant threat and he was involved in a move that ended up in the St Pat's goal on 23 minutes. Conor Donohoe found Gormley with a pass. He, in turn, fed Smyth who was fouled. The same player got up, dusted himself off and dispatched the ball to the net with calm assurance. The goal helped greatly to secure that interval advantage.

Tullamore, urged on by their drum-beating fans, hauled themselves back into contention. They trailed by just a point, 1-6 to 1-7, after 47 minutes. Then, St Pat's had clipped over to quick-fire scores from Commons and Smyth to go three points up with 52 minutes played. They were playing some very decent football too, the two quick-fire scores manifestations of that.

It was looking so promising for them at that stage but in the closing stage it was Tullamore who found the energy from somewhere to edge ahead and claim the prize - much to the delight of their fans.

SCORERS - Coláiste Choilm: N Furlong 1-3 (0-1 free); C Bracken (0-4, 1 '45'); R Kenny 0-3 (3f); C Whittle 0-1. St Patrick's: C Commons 0-6 (5f); B Smyth 1-2; F O'Connor 0-1f.

Coláiste Choilm, Tullamore: Sean Kavanagh; Peter McKeagney, John Colgan, Tadhg Kelly; Brian Guinan, Pa Kenna, David O'Rourke; Cillian Bourke, Eoin Dunne; Dara Bates, Niall Furlong, Davin Keegan; Stephen Doran, Ryan Kenny, Aaron Rattigan. Subs: Cian Bracken for Guinan, Cormac Whittle for Keegan (35 mins); Eoin Rouse for Bates (42); Shane Horkan for Doran (62).

St Patrick's CS, Navan: James Norris; Fionn McHale, Sean McLoughlin, Tadgh Murray; Oisin O'Neill, Matthew Kealy, Sean Betson; Darren O'Brien, David Donnelly; Fionnan O'Connor, Cian Commons, Harry Cahill; Andrew Gormley, Billy Smyth, Conor Donohoe. Subs: James Donnelly for Cahill, Jamie Duffy for O'Connor (42 mins); John Gormley for Murray (45); Daniel Gavagan for Betson (61).