Ulster Club Minor Football Championship Final: Dungiven (Derry) 2-7 Four Masters 1-8 (Donegal)
Dungiven continued Derry’s dominance of the St Paul’s Ulster Club Minor Football Tournament with a thrilling two-point win over Four Masters of Donegal in Sunday’s decider.
St Canice’s were the first team from Derry to win the competition in 1990 and 17 previous winners at St Paul’s had hailed from the Oak Leaf county.
That record is now 18 as second half goals from Shea McLaughlin and Pádraig Haran helped Dungiven edge a resolute Four Masters outfit in the New Year’s Day final.
Read more: Derry relishing Dublin date with promotion again on the agenda insists Brendan Rogers
The Donegal side came close came to landing an early goal when Seanán Carr crashed his shot off the underside of the crossbar.
Dungiven broke straight down the pitch to register the game’s opening point after Eoin Higgins scored from play.
The Derry men moved into a three-point lead with 12 minutes gone with Odhran Murphy and Darach McGonigle finding the target.
Yet, Four Masters had looked lively and were rewarded with a goal to level the contest midway through the half.
A free from Conor Meehan dropped short and Carr was on hand to pounce for the goal amid a body of players.
A free from Higgins restored Dungiven’s advantage before Conor McCahill landed a fine score at the other end when splitting the posts from distance.
The duo traded points again approaching the end of the half, but Four Masters took the lead for the first time in the contest when Kevin Muldoon split the posts.
The impressive Higgins looked like he’d levelled proceeding at the break when he scored a stunning point from play in stoppage time. However, wing-back Leo McGovern nudged the Donegal men ahead on the cusp of half-time.
Callum McCrea pointed on the restart and a free from Meehan had Four Masters three ahead in the early stages of the second half - although midfielder Jake Graham was perhaps fortunate to avoid a black card for a drag down.
Somewhat against the run of play, Dungiven forged an equalising goal when Darach McGonigle’s effort fell kindly for Shea McLaughlin who blasted the ball past Daniel McGinty.
Higgins found the target with another free to move the Dungiven men back in front before Meehan levelled proceedings at 1-7 each with 47 minutes played.
Scores proved hard to come by as the game entered the final 10 minutes, but Muldoon’s second point from play gave Four Masters a narrow advantage.
If there was an element of luck with their first goal, Dungiven’s second match-winning major was a great move with Man-of-the-Match McGonigle setting up wing-back Pádraig Haran for a well-taken goal in the final minute of normal time.
Both sides would end with 14 players on the pitch with Leo McGowan and Higgins picking up black cards in stoppage time.
Four Masters tried hard to engineer a late goal chance, but the St Canice's defence stood firm as they brought the Jim McConville Cup back to Dungiven for the first time in 32 years.
Dungiven scorers : Eoin Higgins 0-5 (0-3fs), Shea McLaughlin 1-0, Pádraig Haran 1-0, Oisin Murphy 0-1, Darach McGonigle 0-1.
Four Masters scorers: Seanán Carr 1-0, Conor McCahill 0-2, Kevin Muldoon 0-2, Conor Meehan 0-2 (0-2fs), Leo McGowan 0-1, Callum McCrea 0-1.
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