Summer’ comes early as Colman’s conquer Connacht

Connacht PPS Senior ‘A’ Football Championship – Final 

St Colman’s (Claremorris) 2-9 

Summerhill College (Sligo) 1-9 

Patrick Hennelly at Ballyhaunis GAA Grounds 

An absorbing contest unfolded at a sunny Ballyhaunis on Saturday afternoon which was ultimately edged by St Colman’s, with the Red and White’s three points scoring burst from the 54th to the 56th minutes proving crucial in the end.

Summerhill College may have trailed by six points at the interval, however, the Sligo side have become noted for stirring second-half comebacks and the Sky Blue and Navy very nearly repeated the trick once again, but this time St Colman’s withstood the onslaught.

They now advance to the All-Ireland stage where in the semi-final they will face Mulingar’s Coláiste Mhuire who, also on Saturday last, won their first Leinster senior ‘A’ title in 42 years.

Summerhill College made a rampant start to this Connacht showdown and a point from Aaron Lang after two minutes, followed by a pointed free from the aforementioned full-forward on six minutes, delighted the Sligo supporters.

St Colman’s were bidding for their seventh provincial title, the last of which arrived in 2019, and Darragh Beirne slotted over a calming free on seven minutes.

At the other end, Summerhill were moving the ball smartly and when Cillian O’Neill set-up Paul Flynn, this subsequently forced the umpire to reach for the white flag.

St Colman’s needed a tonic and it duly arrived in spectacular fashion on 10 minutes. Dylan Burke’s smashing pass found Ciaran Treacy whose neat lay-off set-up the rampaging Beirne – whose superb strike hit the back of the net, much to the delight of the St Colman’s sideline.

A feature of the Claremorris school’s play throughout this campaign has been their ability to block the opposition’s attacking forays and this was evident once again on 13 minutes, when Garrymore’s Nathan Gill made a tremendous diving block to thwart a certain Summerhill scoring opportunity.

Two minutes later, St Colman’s very nearly snatched a three-pointer, when Sean O’Connell’s strike was blocked by the alert James Cronin, however, the Red and White were awarded a free in the ensuing scramble for possession and Ronan Kelly duly slotted the ball over the crossbar.

The South Mayo school then stretched their lead to three points, 1-3 to 0-3, when O’Connell pointed after receiving an inch-perfect pass from Beirne.

The momentum was clearly with St Colman’s and the leaders almost added a fortuitous three-pointer on 18 minutes, when Rio Mortimer’s attempt at a long-range point dropped short but was punched away from underneath his crossbar by the under-pressure Cronin.

The following nine minutes were enthralling as Summerhill’s Aaron Lang, from a free, and Paul Flynn swapped a brace of points with St Colman’s full-forward Beirne, who knocked over two frees, and the game remained on a knife-edge. However, on 28 minutes, St Colman’s received the perfect half-time fillip, when some slick play and great ingenuity saw a goal chance conjured up for the raiding Ciaran Treacy and the latter’s sumptuous finish rustled the back of the net.

Leading 2-5 to 0-5 at the break and having the benefit of the breeze at their backs for the second period, it seemed that St Colman’s were well primed to kick on and further enhance their dominance on the scoreboard. But a doughty Summerhill didn’t read the script and the Yeats County outfit showed their intent during the early stages of the second-half when a pointed free by from Lang was almost followed up by a goal on 37 minutes. Eamon O’Mahoney’s defence splitting pass found Adam Feeney, whose strike forced a top-drawer save from Campbell, before Marc Clifford’s attempt of a point from the recycled possession tailed wide.

As if to rub further salt in Summerhill’s wounds, seconds later, Darragh Beirne landed a marvellous long-range point at the other end to regain his team’s six points lead.

Clifford kept his Summerhill teammates in contention with a point before Eamon O’Mahoney saw his goal-bound strike fizz agonisingly wide on 39 minutes, as another Sligo goal chance went a begging. However, St Colman’s didn’t heed the warnings and the Sky Blue and Navy eventually found the back of the net on 40 minutes. Summerhill’s raiding centre-back Patrick Brady skipped past the St Colman’s cover and crossed for Clifford, with the latter’s instinctive pass setting-up super-sub Callum Lynch, whose deft palmed effort rippled the back of Campbell’s net.

Moments later, Lang landed his fourth free of the afternoon and the once healthy St Colman’s lead was now whittled down to just a solitary point, 2-6 to 1-8.

Summerhill’s comeback hopes suffered a set-back though on 49 minutes, when their wing-forward Cathal Gilligan picked up a black card.

St Colman’s were up against the ropes but like a bolt from the blue, three quick-fire points from Ronan Kelly, a free, Ben Sheridan, and Beirne, a gem of a sliced long-range effort, stunned a Summerhill side whose heretofore mesmerising second-half comeback entered a mini meltdown.

Summerhill struggled to get their slick movement and passing game back on track and during the closing stages any loose ball was eagerly mopped up by a vigilant St Colman’s rearguard.

Summerhill’s excellent free-taker Lang added his final score of the afternoon from the placed ball on 56 minutes and with just three points separating the sides, a frantic finale was in store for the large attendance.

Summerhill peppered the St Colman’s goal during stoppage-time and the eventual victors will certainly thank the vigilant Ronan Kelly, as the Davitts midfielder brilliantly caught possession in front of his goal area during a late Sligo rally.

In the end, St Colman’s held on for the victory and it is certainly one which the South Mayo School will savour.

Scorers – St Colman’s: Darragh Beirne 1-5 (0-3f), Ciaran Treacy 1-0, Ronan Kelly 0-2f, Sean O’Connell and Ben Sheridan 0-1 each.

Summerhill College: Aaron Lang 0-6 (5f), Callum Lynch 1-0, Paul Flynn 0-2, Marc Clifford 0-1.

St Colman’s: Evan Campbell; Stefan Petkovic, Rio Mortimer, Nathan Gill; David Hurley, Mark Noonan, Dara Flanagan; Craig Cassidy, Ronan Kelly; Cathal Tierney, Jake Mullin, Dylan Burke; Sean O’Connell, Darragh Beirne, Ciaran Treacy. Subs: Tom Hession (for Petkovic 43), Ben Sheridan (for Mortimer 49), Jack Comer (for Mullin 57).

Summerhill College: James Cronin; Tadhg Murphy, Finn Campbell, Jack Hayes; Conor Murray, Patrick Brady, James Donoghue; Cian Nicholson, Cillian O’Neill; Cathal Gilligan, Eamon O’Mahoney, Marc Clifford; Adam Feeney, Aaron Lang, Paul Flynn. Subs: Callum Lynch (for Murray ht), Adam Taheny and Joseph McEvoy (for Clifford and Donoghue 57).

REF: Michael McGirl (Leitrim)

Full coverage in this Tuesday's Western People.