P.A. Dorrian (Buncrana) Under 18 'A' Final: Carndonagh 4-05 Buncrana 2-13
Buncrana retained their Inishowen Minor title on Tuesday night in Ture but they had to withstand a late rally from a brave Carndonagh side, who gave them a mighty fright in the closing minutes.
Indeed it was Carndonagh who dominated the opening half, hitting two early goals and putting the Buncrana defence under pressure time and time again. Michael Nelson opened their account when he pointed a free after five minutes, but a free from Oisin Doherty a minute later was tipped over the bar for the equaliser by the Carndonagh keeper. Carndonagh took control after this and by the end of the first quarter they were six points up. Corner forward Nelson found the net after 10 minutes after a fine run by Dermot Simpson to bring the game to life and it was no surprise when Michael Nelson added another point and the same player then pounced for Carndonagh’s second goal after the ball had rebounded off the crossbar.
Christy Bell and Adrian Doherty added a couple of points for Buncrana to keep them in touch and then Adrian Doherty added a further brace to narrow the gap to two points. Carn stretched their lead again to three just before the break with a point from Davenport to leave the half time score Buncrana 0-06 Carndonagh 2-03.
Buncrana improved greatly after half time taking the game by the scruff of the neck, Christy McDermott brought the sides level when he found the net after a fine pass by Peter Gallagher and when Cathal McLaughlin added a second goal a few minutes later it was looking good for the champions. However the dismissal of Christy Bell a few minutes after that for a second yellow card offence, saw the game take another turn.
Davenport and McLaughlin pointed for Carndonagh to reduce the deficit to just two points, but Gallagher restored Buncrana’s advantage with a point from play. Simpson hit Carndonagh’s third goal after a fine run to bring the sides level and they went a point up through Nelson as the game entered the final quarter.
Three points in quick succession gave Buncrana the upper hand yet again, all from the boot of Oisin Doherty, two came from frees and the other from play as the Buncrana playmaker took control of midfield. However Carndonagh were to have one last rally in an effort to save the game. They found scoring chances at a premium, being restricted to long range efforts and it looked as if it was not to be their night. A super run by the brilliant Simpson however brought them a fourth goal and the sides were level yet again. Buncrana had to dig deep at this stage and continued to keep possession in an effort to play out the remaining minutes. Gallagher relieved the pressure for their large support when he fired over the leading point and it was fitting that Captain Oisin Doherty added the insurance point from play with almost the last kick of the game. It was a very entertaining game for the large crowd and in the end Buncrana just about deserved their victory, but fair play to Carndonagh who made a real game of it.
Carndonagh: Declan O Donnell, Feargal Matthews, Mark Canny, Cathal O'Kane, Darren Loftus, Kevin McElhinney (Capt), Shane Devlin, Dominic Doherty, Jerry Simpson, Brian McLaughlin, Dermot Simpson, Owen Doherty, Liam Nelson, Joe McLaughlin and Michael Nelson. Subs: Ryan Davenport , Paul Kilfeather, Tiernan Coyle, Shane Hartin and Christy McLaughlin.
Buncrana: Oisin O'Fhlaithertaigh, Henry O'Connor, Aodhan Porter, Michael Mc Laughlin, Michael Hegarty , Caolan Mc Cann, Oisin Doherty (Capt), Peter Gallagher, Christopher Mc Dermott, Adrian Doherty , Paddy Mc Laughlin, Cathal Mc Laughlin, Christy Bell, Ryan Bradley ,Darren McGlynn, Charles Doherty
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