Maghera power home to Leonard title
Danske Bank Leonard Cup final:
St Patrick’s Maghera 2-13 St Mary’s CBGS Belfast 2-3
picture – John Curly McIlwaine
St Patrick’s Maghera weathered a strong first half from St Mary’s CBGS Belfast in Ballymena yesterday before opening up in the second period to clinch their fifth Ulster Schools’ title in five weeks.
In the end this Danske Bank Leonard Cup title was won fairly comfortably to add to the MacNamee Cup and three football titles already in their cabinet this term.
Enda Downey, son of All-Ireland senior football medallist Seamus and a Rannafast Cup medallist ten days ago, was the main executioner with his accuracy from frees delivering all three of their scores in the opening half after which they trailed by 1-3 to 0-3.
There was a significant wind advantage with St Mary’s during that period. Darren McKeogh scored their goal in the 10th minute and he also scored all three points from frees.
The Belfast side did have a spell of intense pressure between the 12th and 23rd minutes, but were narrowly wide on a couple of occasions or were forced into errors by Maghera’s defence in which Daithi McGuigan and PJ McAleese were outstanding.
Downey planted two more frees at the start of the second half, before Fintan McGrath was taken down in the 37th minute and midfielder Paddy Quinn put away the penalty.
McGrath eventually claimed his goal in the 46th minute after Cahir Higgins had created the opening and that more or less put the result to bed at 2-7 to 1-3 with little sign of the winners’ defence wilting.
They fired over six more points, some very well taken, before Caolan Ó Duifín grabbed a late consolation goal for the Glen Road side.
St Patrick’s : D McGilligan, D McGuigan, C Glass, R McGill, H O’Donnell, PJ McAleese 0-1, R McPeake, S McKenna 0-1, P Quinn 1-0 pen, C Higgins 0-1, E MacOscair 0-1, S Martin 0-1, E Downey 0-8, 0-7 frees, F McGrath 1-0, S Cassidy
Subs: T Devlin for R McGill (40), E Quinn, S Convery for S Cassidy (47)
St Mary’s : C Slack, M McEnhill, L McCluskey, T McKenna, R Murray, D Murray, D Churchill, C McKernan capt, E Trainor, P Smyth, D McKeogh 1-3, 0-3 frees, C O’Duifin 1-0, O May, M Gough, R Crossan
