A DEVASTATING late scoring barrage, including two goals from man of the match David Clifford, saw the Hogan Cup head to Kerry for a third successive year.
St Brendan’s, Killarney were red-hot favourites after brushing aside all before them on the way to Saturday’s Croke Park showdown, but St Patrick’s, Maghera matched them every step of the way.
The feeling was that Maghera had been through the mill during the season and their tougher route would leave them in great position to put the Killarney outfit to the test.
In the build-up up, ‘the Sem’ were questioned about their ability to win tight games and St Brendan’s manager Gary McGrath spoke after the game about their desire to silence the doubters.
“I have been asked time and time again. ‘You haven’t been in a battle. You have never come from behind. How are you going to cope?’ We were relishing it. We knew the character that was in the squad,” McGrath said.
With three minutes of normal time remaining the sides were level and a Killarney counter-attack went the length of the field before Evan Cronin set up Clifford for a fisted goal that changed the game. A second Clifford goal, a cracker after David Shaw picked him with a pinpoint pass killed Maghera’s comeback hopes.
The MacRory Cup champions had recovered from the blow of having their captain Conor Glass sent off with 15 minutes remaining for an striking after referee David Gough consulted with his umpire.
“It wouldn’t be Conor Glass’s form. I would have to see very strong video evidence to believe that Conor Glass did anything,” said Maghera’s Paul Hughes.
The Derry men started brightly but Killarney ’keeper David Carroll made a brilliant save to deny Francis Kearney from a fifth minute penalty. Minutes later, his twin brother Patrick made no mistake with a well-taken goal when Conall Darragh set him up after a probing ball from Glass.
Oisin McWilliams added a point instantly and Maghera followed their trend of impressive starts and were asking serious questions of St Brendan’s. The Derry men were playing the better football but by half-time they should have been more than a point ahead and in the final analysis will rue four wides and two balls dropped short into Carroll’s grateful arms.
In the early stages of the second-half, Francis Kearney setup Shane McGuigan for Maghera’s second goal and the momentum was beginning to swing in their favour. Killarney brought themselves back into the game with points from David Shaw and Clifford before Hawk-Eye ruled out a borderline Paddy Quigg effort.
Winning boss McGrath outlined how his team sharpened their competitive edge: “We play 18 against 15 in trial games and they are competitive and we just knew that with five minutes to go if we were still in the game then we’d be there or thereabouts,” he said.
With Glass gone from the equation, McGuigan came out to the half forward line with Fergal Higgins pushing up alongside Francis Kearney. St Brendan’s then lost their centre-back and captain Dan O’Brien after an off the ball incident with McGuigan. With gaps appearing and Clifford now playing closer to goal at full-forward Killarney went to town on Maghera in the closing stages with the decisive late scoring burst.
Paul Hughes admitted his team didn’t make enough of their superiority but was full of praise for his charges: “We didn’t take our chance,” he said.
“I think that would be true of the first half when we had our good quality possession and we weren’t putting enough scores on the board. We didn’t get over the line today, but it doesn’t take away from what they have achieved in their time they have been with us.
“They have pushed us to the top end of school’s football again which is where St Patrick’s, Maghera wants to be.”
