Six of the best as 'Hest lift Premier trophy
Glenhest Rovers, 2024 Premier Division champions. Picture: Mayo Football League
On the 50th anniversary of the clubs founding, Glenhest Rovers lifted the Premier League title following an emphatic victory over Straide and Foxford United at the Strand.
Goals aplenty, free flowing football and a memorable Klinnsman celebration capped off Rover’s final home game of the season.
However, it was the visitors that had the first major chance of the game. Chris Downey set up Luke Ruane for what seemed a clear goal scoring chance, but Ruane saw his shot unintentionally cleared off the Glenhest goal line by his teammate Michael Guilfoyle.
It was the hosts that opened the scoring through the league’s top marksman Connor McCarthy, his first of a hattrick on the day. Following a strong burst through the S&F midfield, Chris Rowland found McCarthy, and the striker made no mistake in curling the ball into the top right corner of the net with twelve minutes on the clock.
The visitors almost provided the perfect response eight minutes later as off the back of a tidy nutmeg Paul Moran let fly from near the halfway line forcing Nathan Barrett into a fine chasing save. Kevin McDermott came close from the resulting corner, but his header failed to hit the target as the ball was sent over the crossbar.
Shane Finnerty was next to test Jamie Leahy in the S&F net forcing a save, but the winger would soon find the net. Pat Mulchrone played McCarthy down the left of the visitor’s defence who took on a couple of defenders, rounded the goalie and squared the ball to Finnerty at the back post to double Hest’s lead. Mulchrone found a third for the champions, finishing off a fine cross from Ethan Barrett but quickly saw the goal chalked off for an offside call.
With a couple of minutes left in the first allocated 45, there was still a couple of goals to hit the nets. Moran provided a powerful finish into the top of the Glenhest goal following a slick S&F move involving Guilfoyle and the attacking fullback Damian Frontczak. But it was the visitors who found a third, three minutes into additional time. Leahy guessed right from the penalty spot to deny McCarthy, but Mulchrone got on the end of Finnerty’s cross from the resulting corner to double Glenhest’s halftime advantage.
25 minutes passed in the second half before the scoreline changed but both sides saw chances go a begging in the meantime. McCarthy, Finnerty and Mulchrone all tested Leahy in the S&F net and Luke Ruane forced Barrett into a fine diving save to prevent any chance of a comeback for the visitors. Mulchrone found the home side’s fourth firing a shot from the left side of the box in off the right post before McCarthy completed his hattrick.
His second came on 36 minutes firing the ball into the roof of the net before finding the bottom right corner of the net five minutes later. The celebration to follow saw the striker slide headfirst into a pool of water, marking his 22nd goal of the season. It was the visitors however that completed the contest’s scoring. McDermott ventured into midfield from his left back position to unleash a rocket from 30 yards into the roof of the Glenhest net.
But it was Glenhest’s day as Mark Forrestal was presented with the league title following a famous day for his side. With intentions of returning to the Super League for the 2025 season, Paul McLoughlin admitted that the group did not expect to be on a run that could see the Premier League champions win all sixteen of their games. Finnerty highlighted the group’s intentions of completing this historic run when they face off against Castlebar Celtic ‘B’ and with their top scorer McCarthy ready to ‘Bring on the Super League’, the future is looking bright for Glenhest.
