Gowna (Cavan) 1-10 Naomh Conaill (Donegal) 2-8
A very young Gowna side will be wondering how they ended up empty-handed as Donegal kingpins Naomh Conaill hit them with a late sucker-punch, a goal deep into injury time which saw them home by a point after a bitterly-contested tussle.
Naomh Conaill were the better side in the first half, at the end of which they led by 1-5 to 0-4 thanks to an injury-time lobbed goal from Leo McLoone.
Their lead was constructed on the platform of a tight squeeze on the Gowna kick-out but, as the match wore on, the Cavan side took over and with a two-point lead eked out by the 61st minute, they should have held on.
But in a dramatic late twist, Anthony Thompson floated a free into the danger area and wing-back Kevin McGettigan was on hand to smash it home through a maze of bodies.
Gowna were reliant on three outstanding strikes from Ryan Donohoe, Mark McKeever and Conor Casey (mark) to remain in touch at half-time, with Odhrán Doherty (two), AJ Gallagher and Brendan McDyer adding points for Naomh Conaill.
But the Cavan side – beaten on penalties last year by Enniskillen Gaels – turned the game on its head after the break and outplayed the experienced Glenties men. They held their opponents scoreless for the first 18 minutes, bagged a palmed Conor Brady goal and well-worked scores from Conor Madden, Robbie Fitzpatrick and Cian Madden on the home stretch seemed to be enough.
Gowna were in the driving seat with time almost up – but Naomh Conaill have earned their reputation as a very hard team to beat and they proved it again with McGettigan’s decisive late intervention. The Donegal champions march on – just about.
Gowna: R Bannon, F Brady, E Hartin, S Hartin, R McGahern, Conor Madden (0-1), Conor Brady (1-1), T Madden (0-1), R Donohoe (0-1), M McKeever (0-1), R Brady, R Fitzpatrick (0-1), O Pierson (0-1f), Cian Madden (0-2, 1f), C Casey (0-1m). Subs: D Madden for R Fitzpatrick (temp, 42, reversed 45), D Madden for O Pierson (60)
Naomh Conaill: S McGrath, J Campbell, AJ Gallagher (0-1), U Doherty, K McGettigan (1-0), A Thompson, E O’Donnell, L McLoone (1-1), C Thompson, B McDyer (0-1), O Doherty (0-2), E Doherty (0-1), J MacCeallbhuí (0-1), C McGuinness, J O’Malley (0-1f). Subs: E Waide for J Campbell (50), M McDevitt for B McDyer (55), Keelan McGill for E Doherty (60)
Ref: K Faloon (Armagh)
