Cooley defeat St. Pats to clinch Louth Junior 2A Championship title

Cooley Kickhams won the Louth Junior 2A Football Championship title after defeating St. Patrick’s by a single point in a tight final at a cold and misty Dowdallshill this afternoon.

Both sides battled right until the end, but it was the Peninsula side that found the late score they needed. St. Patrick’s started the brighter team and looked sharp in the opening minutes.

READ NEXT: Leinster club IFC | Kelly “Immensely proud” of his Hunterstown players

After an early wide, they took the lead on five minutes when Tadhg O’Connor turned neatly and tapped over the first point of the day.

A minute later, Ray Finnegan doubled the advantage with a fine effort from the outside of his left boot, giving Pats a two-point lead. Cooley struggled to settle and hit a number of wides, while Pats continued to look the more confident side.

Their strong start paid off when Adam Finnegan stepped up and calmly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from the penalty spot to make it 1-2 to no score.

Cooley scored their first point halfway through the first half through Thomas McCarragher, followed quickly by a Brian Boyle score to narrow the gap. The wides continued at both ends, but Cooley were beginning to find their range.

With just over 20 minutes played, they were level, with Emmet McGuigan and Darren O’Shaughnessy popping over scores in quick succession.

Cooley then nudged ahead for the first time when Tiarnan Hannify curled a brilliant point off the outside of his right boot. The teams reached the half-time break level with nothing between them.

Half time: St. Patricks 1-2 Cooley Kickhams 0-5

The second half started as tightly as the first ended, with both teams missing chances early on.

It was Pats who struck first after the restart when Adam Finnegan fired over. Moments later, he almost grabbed a second goal, but Cooley's 'keeper Thomas Fearon made a good save.

Cooley responded well, with MJ Hanlon levelling the game before Brian Boyle added a pointed free to move them one ahead.
Midfielder Jack Long then stretched the lead to two with a strong effort from distance.

St. Patrick’s kept battling and were rewarded when O’Connor scored a point before Ray Finnegan landed the score of the match from distance to level things up again.

The game looked set to finish level, but Cooley won a free in the closing stages. Conal Shields held his nerve and sent it over to give his side the narrowest of leads.

Pats pushed hard for an equaliser but could not find the target, while Cooley also kicked a couple of late wides.

The final whistle eventually sounded to confirm Cooley Kickhams as champions after a hard-fought one-point win.

Full time: St. Patricks 1-5 Cooley Kickhams 0-9.

Cooley Kickhams: Thomas Fearon; Ronan McMullin, Cormac McGuigan, MJ Hanlon (0-1); Shea Connolly, Seán White, Tiarnan Hannify (0-1); Daire McDaid, Jack Long (0-1); Calum O'Hanlon, Thomas McCarragher (0-1), Jack Craven; Darren O'Shaughnessy (0-1), Emmet McGuigan (0-1), Brian Boyle (0-2, 1f).

Subs: Conall Shields (0-1).

St. Patricks: Conor McVeigh; James McGeown, Jack Elvin, Patrick Keenan; James Savage, Ray Finnegan (0-2), Cillian White; Daniel Rice, Ciarán O'Hanlon; Josh Murphy, Adam Finnegan (1-1, 1pen), James O'Connor; Cian McKenna, Tadhg O'Connor (0-2), Dessie Finnegan.

Subs: Gavin Gregory on for Dessie Finnegan (38'), Ross Murphy on for Tadhg O'Connor (38'), Ruairi Treanor on for Josh Murphy (45'), Dylan O'Shaughnessy on for James O'Connor (59').

Referee: Gerard Corrigan (Mattock Rangers).