Smith the hero for St Jarlath's in thrilling county final win
St Jarlaths celebrate winning the Mayo U21 B Championship after their win over Ballinrobe. Picture: Conor McKeown
David Smith's point in injury-time secured St Jarlath's the Mayo U21 'B' football title after coming through a nail-biter with Ballinrobe this evening at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence.
The East Mayo amalgamation of Ballyhaunis and Eastern Gaels had 1-2 on the board in the first three minutes, the goal coming from Dara Flanagan.
Ballinrobe struck back through an Aron Crowley major, as well as points from Cian May and Conor Jennings to go level. It would remain that way until the final moments of the first thanks to a Senan Guilfoyle single as St Jarlath's led 1-5 to 1-4, with Ballinrobe ruing their high wide count in the opening half.
The sides were deadlocked on no fewer than five occasions in the second half but three points on the spin for Ballinrobe opened up a gap with five minutes of normal time remaining. Guilfoyle and Aidan Sloyan (2) would level the game once more before Smith wrote his name in St Jarlath's folklore with his effort in injury-time to bring the curtain down on a dramatic encounter.
