Barony boys storm to county title victory
Erris St Pats roar in delight as they lift the trophy. Picture: Mayo GAA
A dynamic display of power and finesse were key traits of Erris St Pats impressive win over Achill as they stormed to the U14 ‘E’ cup final last Monday evening.
The boys from the Barony, an amalgamation of Ballycroy and Kiltane, simply had too much for their opponents, who battled valiantly throughout. Central to their success was the performances of Padraic and Jamie Ruddy, who both finished with 2-3.
After a peach of score off the outside off the boot by captain Lorcan Sweeney, they found the net for the first time inside two minutes through Ruddy, who then followed it up with a point after Cathal Deasy opened Achill’s account.
Noah Munnelly was in on goal for Achill shortly after a great ball by Briain Daly but he sent his shot over the bar.
After Sean Coyle and Teddy McNamara traded points, a lovely ball took out the Achill back line and Padraic Moran finished soccer style for Erris’s second goal on 18 minutes.
The impressive Teddy McNamara, who would score all but two of Achill’s tally and was his sides outstanding performer, kept his side in it with a free but Erris hit back with 1-2 to open up a ten point gap, the goal being Padraic Moran’s second of the evening.
McNamara kept the board ticking for the young islanders but on 27 minutes Moran turned provider on this occasion as he set up James Cafferkey for a fourth goal of the half for north Mayo young guns and those four goals would be the difference at the break as Erris led 4-6 to 0-6.
McNamara kept going for Achill with another free but Erris would score the next two points through Cathal Barrett and Lorcan Sweeney. Any hope that there would be a similar comeback like Aghamore in the previous game earlier in the evening, Erris shut it down through Jamie Ruddy’s second gaol to end the game as a contest.
To Achill’s credit, they pushed bodies but the Erris defence stood firm, with Kyle Monaghan, Matthew Keegan and Noah Munnelly showing well. Achill full-forward Michael Kilbane rattled the post on 45 minutes but Achill got the goal their efforts deserved a minute later through Teddy McNamara.
The night belonged to Erris however, and they finished with a late flurry of points through two Padraic Moran frees and a fisted effort by Jamie Ruddy.
