Lahardane win second Connacht junior football title

Connacht Club JFC Final

Lahardane MacHales 3-10

Owenmore Gales 1-12

Stuart Tynan at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park

Lahardane MacHales are the Connacht junior football champions once again after a thrilling win over Sligo champions Owenmore Gaels in Castlebar this afternoon.

Both teams are to be commended for a thrilling encounter, which was played in heavy fog for the first half before conditions settled in the second. A postponement was on the cards before Connacht officials gave the go ahead an hour before throw-in. 

Lahardane were 2-4 to 0-7 up at half-timem with goals from Matthew Maughan and Kyran Jordan helping the black and amber take a three-point lead into the interval. At the other end Aaron Mullen, Daire Callaghan and Sligo U20 star Dillon Walsh kept on Lahardane coattails but found goalkeeper Joe Queenan in irrepressible form as he denied the Gaels three goalscoring opportunities. in that half.

Adrian Leonard, Mark Noone, Darragh Walsh all pointed early in the third quarter and Shane Finnerty's goal on 47 minutes looked to have LAhardane home and dry. To the Gaels credit, they fought back valiantly and were back with three points on 53 minutes through further efforts by Callaghan, Mullen and a brilliant individual goal by Walsh.

Owenmore pushed for a second goal to take it to extra-time, and forced Benny Joyce into a goalline block late on, but nothing would deny Lahardane and Adrian Leonard's second point before injury-time was the insurance they needed for another memorable day in MacHale Park. 

They will meet either Listowel Emmett’s of Kerry or Kilmurry of Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final on the weekend of January 6/7.

*Full match report and reaction in Tuesday's print edition of the Western People.