Ulster Club SFC quarter-final: Gowna (Cavan) 1-10 Naomh Conaill, Glenties (Donegal) 2-8
GLEE for Glenties, gutting for Gowna, as a last-gasp goal from the last kick of the match snatched victory for the visitors in Kingspan Breffni.
Wing-back Kevin McGettigan was the surprise hero of the hour, rifling in the decisive score in the fourth minute of added time after the Cavan champs looked to have turned the game in their favour in the preceding 10 minutes.
Unsurprisingly a smile was still splitting the number five’s face as he emerged out of the hordes of back-slaps and bear-hugs from the large travelling support who invaded the pitch to celebrate this famous win:
“It was a busy oul’ square there at the end,” said McGettigan with a laugh, “I was just delighted to be the man who got his hands on the ball.”
Naomh Conaill cleverly worked their last opportunity, a free, short and McGettigan described how his moment of glory came about: “Tony Thompson gave a nice wee ball into the ‘square’, I think one of the Gowna men got a wee touch. I just hung out the back and, pure luck, it landed in my hands and I got a nice wee kick at it, and luckily it went in.”
It was a fabulous finish in any circumstances, but better still in the knowledge that anything other than a goal would mean defeat for the
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The outcome was terribly tough on Gowna, though, who had shown remarkable resilience to transform the score-line.
Trailing by four points at half-time, 1-5 to 0-4, the goal a soft one coolly taken by Leo McLoone, they had been second best – but soon got on top.
Conor Brady pushed forward to palm to the net in the 42nd minute, after fellow defender Seanie Hartin had surged into space on the left to supply him, and that made it all square at 1-5 apiece.
As it turned out, those first two goals of the match were anomalies in the story of the game – as was the third, crucial one, with Gowna not deserving defeat.
However, as the bitter end for them showed, they never quite managed to get far enough in front to fend off Naomh Conaill.
The pattern of scoring for the bulk of the first half was set early on: Gowna went ahead, then Naomh Conaill pegged them back. Rinse and repeat, on four occasions.
Yet in terms of possession and territory, the visitors were on top. The problem was that they couldn’t make that show on the scoreboard.
Gowna goalkeeper Ronan Bannon came perilously close to carrying a McLoone shot over his own goal-line, then could only watch with relief as a low shot from Charles McGuinness came back off the base of the post after the full-forward caught an Odhran Doherty kick-pass.
The Naomh Conaill number 11, scored his side’s first two levelling points, posing real problems to the Gowna rearguard with his movement and vision. However, his accuracy was not matched by his colleagues initially.
Gowna were making more of less, thanks to super scores from Ryan Donohoe and 39-year-old Mark McKeever, with the former also supplying Conor Casey for a mark which the corner-forward converted.
The boys in blue finally got their noses in front in the 27th minute, that man McLoone taking a fine catch to start a move finished by Brendan McDyer – and within two minutes they had found the net.
Bannon raced out of his goal to gather a ball but it bounced off him to McLoone, who showed real class and composure to loop it over the stranded ‘keeper and into the empty net.
Yet that lead was wiped out early in the second half, thanks to a Cian Madden free, then the Gowna goal from Conor Brady.
It was back to score for score after that, until it reached 1-8 apiece, the seventh time the sides were level.
The fare was scrappy stuff, on a good but sometimes slippery surface, with both sides tearing into tackles and battling for every ball.
Naomh Conaill still looked the likelier winners, seizing on more shortish kick-outs from Bannon, but instead it was Gowna who went ahead in the closing moments.
First a half-blocked shot fell to Conor Brady, who clipped over, then Cian Madden ran down the right before delivering what seemed to be the ‘insurance score’.
Glenties never give up though, and they drew on their
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, in this their third Ulster campaign in five seasons, having also won their county title in 2020 when no provincial championship took place.
Their next task is even tougher, taking on reigning Ulster champions Glen of Derry in the semi-finals, but the ‘never-say-die’ spirit will inspire hope of Naomh Conaill reaching a third decider themselves.
Gowna: R Bannon; F Brady, E Hartin, S Hartin; R McGahern (capt.), M McKeever (0-1), Conor Brady (1-1); T Madden (0-1), R Donohoe (0-1); R Brady, Conor Madden (0-1), R Fitzpatrick (0-1); O Pierson (0-1 free), Cian Madden (0-2, 0-1 free), C Casey (0-1 mark).
Substitutes: D Madden for Pierson (63).
Temporary sub: D Madden for Fitzpatrick (42-45).
Naomh Conaill: S McGrath; J Campbell, AJ Gallagher (0-1), U Doherty (capt.); K McGettigan (1-0), A Thompson, E O’Donnell; L McLoone (1-1), C Thompson; B McDyer (0-1), O Doherty (0-2), E Doherty (0-1); J Mac Ceallbhui (0-1), C McGuinness, J O’Malley (0-1 free).
Substitutes: E Waide for Campbell (50); M McDevitt for McDyer (55); K McGill for O Doherty (61).
Referee: Kevin Faloon (Armagh).
