Friday, February 27, 2015 - 00:00
Independent.ie Higher Education Division 3 Freshers Football All Ireland Final
MAYNOOTH University B Freshers claimed All Ireland glory when they saw off hosts Athlone IT in a low scoring clash in Athlone on Thursday afternoon.
A powerful defensive display backboned a hard working victory for Luke Barrett’s side as they restricted the Midland college to just a solitary point in the final thirty minutes.
Athlone grabbed the initiative in the early stages with the opening two points of the game but a Kevin Fenton point in the fourth minute got Maynooth off the mark in the fourth minute.
Backed by a strong breeze Athlone did much of the running in the opening ten minutes but slowly and surely Maynooth found their feet and three points in a row from Fenton, Kenny Dolan and Cian Mulhall edged them into the lead with just under twenty minutes of play elapsed.
The home side hit back with a free to draw the sides level but Maynooth managed to take a slender lead into the half time break when Cathal Dunne swung over a free to leave it 0-4 to 0-5 at the turnaround.
Dunne doubled the advantage with a curling point five minutes into the second period and in difficult conditions it would be ten minutes before either side raised a flag again.
When the next score did arrive it was for the Athlone men to narrow the gap to a point but almost immediately Ciarán Sheridan strode forward to kick a massive score and restore the two point cushion.
Athlone threw everything at Maynooth in the closing stages but they were rebuffed time and again by a disciplined defence in which sweeper Jason McHugh, amongst others, shone.
Willie Bright kicked a much needed point five minutes from the end of normal time to give Maynooth some breathing space and Cillian Mulhall’s free from the right wing in the dying moments sealed the victory and ensured a winning finish to a memorable year for Maynooth Freshers.
MAYNOOTH UNIVERSITY: Eoin McDonagh, Richard Scott, Emmett Conaty, Colin Fox, James Leonard, Ciaran Sheridan, Ryan McVicar, Cathal Dunne, Cathal Dunne, Brandon Carey, Willie Bright, Cian Mulhall, Kevin Fenton, Kenny Dolan, Jason McHugh. Replacements: Shane Askin for Dolan. Brad Cohan, Matthew Taggert, Dean Fitzgerald, Johnny English, Conor Flynn, Daniel Dougherty, Eoin Clarke, Jason McGuinness
Manager Luke Barrett
Maor Foirne: Ryan McEnaney, Steven McMahon
Mentors Conal McFadden, Sean Wogan, Shane Mulligan, Aiden Brennan
MAYNOOTH University B Freshers claimed All Ireland glory when they saw off hosts Athlone IT in a low scoring clash in Athlone on Thursday afternoon.
A powerful defensive display backboned a hard working victory for Luke Barrett’s side as they restricted the Midland college to just a solitary point in the final thirty minutes.
Athlone grabbed the initiative in the early stages with the opening two points of the game but a Kevin Fenton point in the fourth minute got Maynooth off the mark in the fourth minute.
Backed by a strong breeze Athlone did much of the running in the opening ten minutes but slowly and surely Maynooth found their feet and three points in a row from Fenton, Kenny Dolan and Cian Mulhall edged them into the lead with just under twenty minutes of play elapsed.
The home side hit back with a free to draw the sides level but Maynooth managed to take a slender lead into the half time break when Cathal Dunne swung over a free to leave it 0-4 to 0-5 at the turnaround.
Dunne doubled the advantage with a curling point five minutes into the second period and in difficult conditions it would be ten minutes before either side raised a flag again.
When the next score did arrive it was for the Athlone men to narrow the gap to a point but almost immediately Ciarán Sheridan strode forward to kick a massive score and restore the two point cushion.
Athlone threw everything at Maynooth in the closing stages but they were rebuffed time and again by a disciplined defence in which sweeper Jason McHugh, amongst others, shone.
Willie Bright kicked a much needed point five minutes from the end of normal time to give Maynooth some breathing space and Cillian Mulhall’s free from the right wing in the dying moments sealed the victory and ensured a winning finish to a memorable year for Maynooth Freshers.
MAYNOOTH UNIVERSITY: Eoin McDonagh, Richard Scott, Emmett Conaty, Colin Fox, James Leonard, Ciaran Sheridan, Ryan McVicar, Cathal Dunne, Cathal Dunne, Brandon Carey, Willie Bright, Cian Mulhall, Kevin Fenton, Kenny Dolan, Jason McHugh. Replacements: Shane Askin for Dolan. Brad Cohan, Matthew Taggert, Dean Fitzgerald, Johnny English, Conor Flynn, Daniel Dougherty, Eoin Clarke, Jason McGuinness
Manager Luke Barrett
Maor Foirne: Ryan McEnaney, Steven McMahon
Mentors Conal McFadden, Sean Wogan, Shane Mulligan, Aiden Brennan