Late surge sends southern combo to final glory
The Gaeil na Daibheidí U16 team who were crowned county 'B' champions at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.
The amalgamation of footballers from Davitts and Mayo Gaels entered the final 10 minutes of their county under-16 ‘B’ final trailing St Jarlath’s by two points and it looked as though an overreliance on the scoring brilliance of Charlie Fallon might become their undoing.
Fallon, at that stage, had scored eight of his side’s 10 points, while a second goal of the game by Zack Smith had just put St Jarlath’s in the driving seat. However, a mixture of inaccuracy and indiscipline was to cost the Ballyhaunis-Eastern Gaels union dearly last Thursday evening; their multiple wides in the third quarter were followed by the concession of multiple frees in the fourth, which led to points for Fallon, Noeli Jennings and, from outside the arc, Evan Heneghan. Aaron O’Dea capped a fine Gaeil na Daibheidí victory with a point from play in the third and final minute of stoppage time.
In some ways, Gaeil na Daibheidí finished the game the way St Jarlath’s had started it, but scoring a goal and two points inside the opening five minutes was a false dawn for the East Mayo outfit. Zack Smith had kicked the game’s opening point after only 45 seconds and he struck the first of his majors moments later when exploiting a gaping hole at the heart of the South Mayo side’s defence. Supplemented by a point from Shay Guilfoyle, St Jarlath’s were five ahead before Charlie Fallon fired over the opening point for Gaeil na Daibheidí.
Fallon added two more, including a free, while Ryan Judge also rose white, to narrow the gap to the minimum, but with the impressive Smith in fine form, another single by the centre-forward saw St Jarlath’s lead 1-3 to 0-4 after 18 minutes – and they would remain in front from there until the 43rd minute.
Fallon’s fourth point – and second from a free – was met with a firm response as back to back frees by St Jarlath’s midfielder John Jennings, including one brought forward 50-metres as punishment for dissent, pushed the gap back out to three points.
Gaeil na Daibheidí did have sight of goal when Blake Bradley’s stabbed effort was stopped by goalkeeper Joshua Maughan but their only score in the 10 minutes before half-time was another Charlie Fallon free, which left them still chasing at the interval, 1-5 to 0-6.
The best move of the match came eight minutes into the second-half when Gaeil na Daibheidí looked certain to raise the green flag. Aaron O’Dea, Charlie Fallon and Ryan Judge teamed up superbly through the middle but just as Malachy Devane was probably having thoughts about which corner of the net to pick, in the greasy conditions the final pass slipped from his grasp and a relieved St Jarlath’s full-back line was able to clear its lines.
By the end of the quarter however, Gaeil na Daibheidí had outscored their opponents 0-4 to 0-1 to take the lead for the first time, 0-10 to 1-6, with the elusive Fallon contributing three of their points and Ryan Judge the other, while Diarmaid Kelly was the sole St Jarlath’s scorer in the second-half up until Zack Smith, much like his earlier goal, ran a direct line to rattle the net for a second time. It regained a two points advantage for his side, with 49 minutes on the clock.
That, however, was the last time St Jarlath’s troubled the umpires, as Gaeil na Daibheidí unveiled their greater desire to get the job done. They had drawn level by the 52nd minute courtesy of pointed frees by Noeli Jennings and Charlie Fallon, the latter’s self-won, yet extra-time seemed probable when the sides remained even stevens in stoppage time.
90 seconds of that had elapsed when, after another foul on Fallon, Evan Heneghan swept a two-point free over the bar from off the ground, off his left boot, from the left-hand side. It was a score worthy of winning any game, except there was an insurance point still to come from Heneghan’s midfield colleague O’Dea, who was set up by, who else, Charlie Fallon, whose imprint was all over this superb win for the southern side.
