Louth GAA club | Naomh Máirtín produce second half comeback to win minor title

Naomh Máirtín produced a second-half comeback against Ardee St. Marys to claim the LMFM Louth U18A Championship title at Integral GAA Grounds, Drogheda, this afternoon.

Ardee looked in complete control for long stretches as they played with the wind at their backs in the first half.

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Within two minutes, Callum Caffrey had them off the mark with a fine two-pointer from the ground that set the tone for an assertive early showing.

Brooklyn Gorman followed with a fine effort off his right foot at six minutes, and with just over 20 minutes on the clock, the Mary’s had stretched into a six-point lead, with DJ Matthews, Luke Keenan, and Tadhg Caffrey all finding their range.

However, the Jocks began to settle before the break as points from Ben Ryan, Calvin Winters, and Tadhg McDonnell cut the deficit to four points at half-time.

Half time: Ardee St. Marys 0-8 Naomh Máirtín 0-4.

The second half told a very different story as the Mairtins played with the wind at their backs and McDonnell opened the scoring for them within seconds of the restart.

Though Ardee responded through Cian Lane and Keenan, the tide was clearly turning as Oran McDonnell had landed a two-pointer free to bring the game back to just two points.

Substitute Ryan McMahon was only on the field a minute and finished coolly to the net with his first touch after a clever passing move as Naomh Mairtin took the lead for the first time.

Ardee rallied briefly with Caffrey levelling matters once more from a placed ball, but the Jocks continued to attack.

A booming two-pointer from Oran McDonnell was followed by another quickfire score from Ben Ryan to give the Monasterboice side a cushion they would not give up, with late points from Winters and Thomas McKieran securing the victory.

The win marks Naomh Máirtín’s first U18A title since 2019, and it capped a remarkable day for the club as their seniors also lifted the Joe Ward Cup afterwards to secure a memorable double for the Monasterboice men.

Full time: Ardee St. Mary’s 0-12 Naomh Máirtín 1-14.

Ardee St. Marys: Connor Forrester; Liam McGahon, Tadhg Caffrey (jc) (0-1), Bobby Carroll; Luke Woods, Fionn Coyle, Shane McMahon; Flynn Markey, Darragh Murphy; Callum Caffrey (0-4, 2f, 1tp), Luke Keenan (jc) (0-2), DJ Matthews (0-2); Cian Lane (0-1), Brooklyn Gorman (0-2), Tadhg Rooney.

Subs: Nazariy Vasyltsiv on for Liam McGahon (47'), Davin Mannion on for Cian Lane (54'), Tomas McCoy on for Darragh Murphy (58').

Naomh Máirtín: Mark Halpenny; Brian Creedon, Oliver Walsh, Kian Morgan; Emmet McEvoy, Ciarán Devine (c) Ben Ryan (0-2); Thomas McKieran (0-1), Seosamh O'Rourke; DJ Culligan, Tadhg McDonnell (0-2), Calvin Winters  (0-4); Oran McDonnell (0-4, 2tp), Matthew McAloon, Charlie McDonnell.

Subs: Noah Boylan on for Emmet McEvoy (37'), Ryan McMahon (1-0) on for Matthew McAloon (47'), Tom Murphy on for Brian Creedon (52'), Oliver Ginty on for Charlie McDonnell (56').

Referee: Stephen Fitzpatrick (Clan na Gael).