Manulla's shield success is extra sweet
Patricia Craven, daughter of the late Eleanor Quigley presents the Eleanor Quigley Shield to Conor Brett, captain of the victorious Manulla side, with Seamus Hughes, Chairman of the Mayo League. Picture: John Corless
The early kick-off at Milebush provided excellent entertainment with an exciting finish in extra-time to secure the Eleanor Quigley Shield for the young men of Manulla.
Just when it looked like this tie was heading to penalties, the goals tap opened up. Dylan Dunne finished a cross from Cian Mongan to give Manulla the advantage on 99 minutes. Westport didn’t give up however and were rewarded with two minutes of the extra 20 remaining when Jack Collins pounced on a loose ball in the area and drove home.
But Manulla then proved the cliché that teams are always most vulnerable after scoring, when Dunne finished a good pass from Conor Brett for his, and Manulla’s second, and the winning goal.
The finish was the perfect climax to a cracking match. Westport had the upper hand for the opening fifteen minutes. Manulla were the better side for the hour that followed, and both sides tired a bit for the final fifteen of normal time. A lot of the game was end to end – as cup finals are – and Westport, while second best, were unlucky to lose a match that could have gone either way.
Darragh Joyce’s low shot didn’t trouble Manulla goalkeeper Donal Murphy but Kayden Lally’s shot surprised everyone when it rebounded from the crossbar as Westport threatened early on. And Westport nearly took the lead when Peter Ryan put Kyle Lally through, but the ball ran away from him and the goalkeeper claimed it.
Manulla eventually swung into action with good interplay by Darragh Broderick and Brett, but Dunne couldn’t reach the cross. And a clever Broderick ball over the top sent Dunne in, but he shot over. An interesting battle developed between Broderick and Westport’s Ryan, with the Westport player never straying far from the Manulla winger.
Lally sent one across the goal but there was nobody to finish, and Aidan Murphy sent a free kick over as Westport pressed. Manulla then took over and Brett, Dunne, Broderick, James McGreal and Joshua Barrett all come close. At the other end, Michael Ball sent Lally through, but Liam Redmond tidied up for Manulla. Brett came close again, and Broderick sent a free kick over, as the teams headed for the dressing room.
Dunne, McGreal and Broderick all came close for Manulla after the restart, before Lynden Heaney forced a save from a good free kick. Heaney, who came in at the interval had an excellent half as Westport tried to hit Manulla on the counter. Heaney sent Ball through, but the advancing goalkeeper Murphy kept it scoreless. When McGreal slipped, and the goalkeeper came out, Ball pulled the trigger, but his effort went over the unguarded net. Matthew McGowan and Michael Caruna had shots for Westport, but nothing came of them.
Broderick, McGreal and player of the match Seán Scott Keane (twice) all came close for Manulla before the game went into extra-time. Dunne had two close efforts for Manulla before he broke the deadlock near the end of the first period of extra time.
Manulla midfielder Scott-Keane was the unanimous verdict of the press for player of the game. Brett, Dunne and Broderick were excellent too. Heaney, who only appeared at half-time, was excellent for Westport, with Collins also having a good outing.
Manulla manager Ruairi Henry said that any day in Milebush, getting to a final, was a massive achievement.
“The fact that we came and played as well as we did was great,” he said. “We made a few mistakes in the first fifteen minutes, but then we took control of the game and got on top. I think we should have had the game won in 90 minutes; we were on top and we were the better team.
“But we can’t complain with the two later goals to go in front. It showed a lot of our character to push forward straight away after conceding the equaliser, and go on and win it.”
