North Mayo school edge epic final

St. Tiernan’s College Crossmolina won the Flanagan (C) Cup after edging past St. Louis Kiltimagh 2-13 to 2-10 in what was an epic battle at Srath Gharbh, Foxford.

St. Louis were the better side during the opening 10 minutes of the first half and mustered a 0-4 to no score lead during that spell thanks to points from Stephen Conlon, Michael Rabbitt, and Conor Hession (2). Indeed, the east Mayo side could have added a couple of goals during that same period, but Eamon Maguire’s effort was saved, whilst Conor Hession saw his effort rebound back off the crossbar.

St. Tiernan’s were then awarded a spot-kick on 16 minutes, however, Tony Carey’s effort was denied by James McLoughlin in the Kiltimagh goal.

St. Tiernan’s though kept plugging away and a goal from their industrious centre-forward Luke Kelly on 27 minutes was the perfect tonic for the purple and gold.

Just before the interval, St. Tiernan’s Ross Gallagher landed a gem of a point, and this helped give the north Mayo students a slender 1-4 to 0-6 lead during the half-time pep-talks.

Backed by their vocal supporters, St. Louis made a lively start to the new half and points from Sean McDonnell, Hession (two-pointer), and Michael Rabbitt helped turn the tide. Hession then scored a magnificent goal on 42 minutes, which shunted the blue, yellow and white into a 1-10 to 1-6 lead.

This game continued to produce moments of magic, with Crossmolina’s Conor Carey scoring a goal on 49 minutes, as did St. Louis’ Liam Smyth on 59 minutes, which left the sides level at 2-10 apiece.

The game was in the melting pot, however, St. Tiernan’s went for broke and late points from Tony Carey, Thomas Varkonda, and Gallagher, helped secure a memorable success for the purple and gold.