Coolrite Under 19 Football Championship Final
Seneschalstown 0-08 St. Patrick’s 1-04
Seneschalstown concluded 2024 with a further piece of silverware in the bag, as the Joey McKeown Cup for the Under 19 Championship proper was captured in Stamullen on Saturday afternoon. Despite Storm Darragh threatening the staging of the fixture, it did not blow Seneschalstown off course despite the late switch of venue from the neutral venue of Walterstown to an away game in Stamullen after the county board had announced their contingency plans due to the adverse weather.
Seneschalstown, who had reached the Minor Division 1 Championship Final two years with this group of players, were hoping to add this years’ Under 19 title for the club to add to the Minor Division 2 Championship victory and the Reserve Cup from early April which incidentally was won in the same ground against the same opposition featuring many of the players who lined out on Saturday. However, St. Patrick’s secured a vital six point win over the Yellow Furze side in the group stages of this competition with Seneschalstown fretting over their involvement in the knockout stages while waiting to hear if other results went their way that night. Alas, it didn’t matter as Seneschalstown went on to come through their semi-final clash against defending Under 19 champions St. Colmille’s while St. Patrick’s defeated the Minor champions from this age group, Donaghmore/Ashbourne.
After referee Patrick Clarke’s coin toss, Seneschalstown played against the gale force wind in the opening half and would have been looking to prevent their hosts from racking up a big score with the wind at their backs.
Seneschalstown though, did not let this deter them and after withstanding a couple of early Pats’ attacks, Seneschalstown broke up the pitch and after the ball was recycled out of the corner Liam Dillon, returning to the side after missing the previous outings against both of the East Meath clubs , broke through a challenge to fire over the opener for Brian Sheridan’s side after eight minutes. The home side levelled matters in the tenth minute but Seneschalstown’s impressive start continued when Éamon Finnegan edged Seneschalstown back in front when he finished off a tidy move up the length of the pitch with Collie Scanlon punching a hole in the Pats’ defence to set the chance up for Finnegan. Indeed, Seneschalstown could have had a goal when Jamie Norris was first to react to a ball which had dropped short before his shot stung the palms of the goalkeeper.
Seneschalstown defended well in that opening half, leaving St. Pat’s with little room to get shots away easily or forced them to overhit long balls in the direction of the full forward line. The home side did register two points in a row at the end of the half to go into the sanctuary of the dressing rooms a point in front at the interval at 0-03 to 0-02 but Seneschalstown should have been more than pleased with the position they were in given the difficulty of the conditions. Indeed they could have been in front when Cian Hosie rattled the crossbar after working a move along the endline with Robbie Finnegan before unleashing a pile-driver which was unfortunate not to go a few inches lower into the net.
Seneschalstown came out sharply after break and restored parity inside 90 seconds when Séimí Byrne picked out Cian Hosie making a dart around the top of the D’ and the full forward turned on a sixpence when he gathered possession to split the posts. Three minutes later, the eventual winners nudged themselves in front thanks to some hard work from the forwards with Éamon Finnegan intercepting a loose ball deep inside St. Patrick’s half before being hauled to the ground on the 13 metre line. Up stepped Hosie to kick the visitors in front once more.
Despite having the unbelievable gale at their backs, Seneschalstown were also struggling to get scores from open play but did display many of the battling qualities which typified their semi-final victory minutes up the road two weeks ago, Seimí Byrne was an example of this when he fought for a ball outside the St. Patrick’s ’45 after he was challenged and the referee rewarded him for his endeavours with a free in at the three quarter mark. Jamie Norris made little of the distance when he came out to command responsibility of the right footed frees in the absence of Robbie Finnegan who had departed with an injury.
Norris hung the ball up in the wind and it carried all the way over the bar and it looked like Seneschalstown were going to build on the advantage thanks to their more effective use of the conditions and resolute defensive display at the back, particularly in the full back line. The advantage was increased to 0-06 to 0-03 in the 49th minute when Seneschalstown earned another free after patient build up play in the scoreboard corner lead to a high tackle on Liam Dillon 25 metres from goal. Norris once again was flawless from the placed ball and Seneschalstown lead by a three.
St. Patrick’s were not going to lie down, especially on their own patch and were about to enjoy their best spell of the second period. A point from a close range free after 51 minutes put two between the sides again, and Seneschalstown had Luke Healy to thank for pulling off a smart stop to prevent the hosts from finding the back of the net. In the 54th minute, Healy had to be alert again to pull off another smart stop as it looked like Seneschalstown were ceding the initiative, which was only further evidenced when they failed to clear a ball which ping ponged around their large square which was eventually pulled on by a St. Patrick’s forward and ended up in the net. It looked like Seneschalstown were now in a hole but the character which they showed in the second half of the semi-final came to the fore again.
Straight from the kickout, Seneschalstown came up with an answer. Charles McCarthy had possession on the clubhouse side and he played the ball into Cian Hosie in the full forward line. Hosie still had lots to do when he won possession but he took on his man and pointed off his left foot from a tight angle which was waved over by the umpire despite some protestation from St. Pat’s defenders.
Both teams went in search of victory and both were guilty of taking the wrong option at times or making a mistake as the game became frantic at both ends. As the game entered the fourth minute of stoppage time Seneschalstown worked the ball out of defence with captain Danny Waters prominent before Jamie Norris sent a booming delivery in search of Cian Hosie from well inside his own half. Hosie picked the ball up underneath the scoreboard and ducked inside two defenders. Just as he was about to shoot, the referee spotted a tug on his jersey and played the advantage. The full forward’s shot tailed right and wide but Seneschalstown were awarded the chance to win the game when the play was brought back for the free. Jamie Norris picked up the ball and although the free appeared to be the most straightforward he had taken all afternoon, surely he felt the pressure given what was at stake? The answer was an emphatic no as he nonchalantly caressed the ball over the bar, with a fist in the air to accompany the hoisted white flag. When the kickout was taken, Patrick Clarke blew the full time whistle which ignited scenes of wild celebrations in the centre of pitch among players, management and eventually supporters when they made it out to their newest heroes in the blue and yellow jersey.
It was Seneschalstown’s first Joey McKeown Cup success since 1992 and the similarities with that team were plentiful. Four of the current squad, namely Charlie Finnegan, Jack McDonnell, Colm McDonnell and Liam Dillon, had their fathers play in the ’92 success – Alan Finnegan, Gerry McDonnell, Tony McDonnell and Steven Dillon. It also marked a fourth trophy of the year for the club to go with the aforementioned Minor Championship and Reserve Cup on the Mens’s side of things, and the LGFA Under 16 title from earlier this month.
With many of this squad eligible for adult football next year, they will all be hoping to make a mark and continue to help move the club forward.
Seneschalstown: Luke Healy, Jack McDonnell, Danny Waters, Oran Lawlor, Charles McCarthy, Aran Carey, Liam Dillon (0-01), Séimí Byrne, Darren O’Brien, Sam Kirwan, Robbie Finnegan, Colin Scanlon, Éamon Finnega (0-01), Cian Hosie (0-03, 1f), Jamie Norris (0-03, 3fs).
Subs Used: Charlie Finnegan, Seán Davis, Alex Finnegan
