Neale defy Swinford with epic second half comeback
The Neale, U16 'C' champions. Picture: Neale GAA
The Neale put in a remarkable second half performance to overturn a seven-point and capture the U16 'C' Championship under the lights at MacHale Park.
Swinford dominated the first half and scored 1-9 but managed just a single point in the second half as the Neale ate into their lead piece by piece before emerging with victory thanks to Sean Canny’s injury-time free kick. Their defence also shone in the second half, denying Swinford a series of goal chances.
The east Mayo outfit got off to the perfect start when their full-forward Shay Durkan burst through the middle of the Neale defence and hit the back of the net. Durkan followed up with a free and his teammates Kian Rowley and Gavin Tuffy added points to give Swinford an early six-point lead.
The Neale took the next four points answered through Sean Canny, Padraic Moylette, Ronan Kelly and Lee Hughes. Conor Kennedy and Durkan hit back for Swinford before Kelly responded for the Neale. Swinford took four points without reply to end the first half in strong fashion. Conor Kennedy, Durkan, Rowley and Niall Kennedy all pointed to give Swinford a seven-point lead at the break.
It took the Neale a few minutes to settle into the second half but they started moving in the right direction. They collected a poor Swinford kickout and Rory Devereux provided the finish into the back of the net.
Ben Hopkins scored two points either side of a Sean Canny free and they were doing really well to prevent Swinford from regaining control of the game. Karl Gorman was on hand to block Niall Kennedy’s goal bound shot after Gavin Tuffy had put the wing-back through.
On the 45-minute mark, Shay Durkan scored what would prove to be Swinford’s only point of the half, impressively firing over a free from 40 metres out. Padraig Moylette responded with a point from distance after Ronan Kelly took his 45 quickly. Karl Gorman blocked another brilliant Swinford goal chance, this time denying Conor Kennedy from firing at goal.
Sean Canny fired over a point to level the game up for the first time since it began and once again, Swinford were denied at the other end. Gavin Tuffy’s kick pass found Jack Loftus who laid it off to Brion Murphy who forced Ryan Griffin into a brilliant save.
A late black card did not help matters for Swinford and on the next attack, the Neale’s George Conroy Beirne carried the ball into heavy traffic and drew a foul. Staring straight down the posts from 30 metres out, Sean Canny fired his free over the bar to win the game for the Neale, a famous victory for the young men from south Mayo.
