You are Here: Home>Sections>Juvenile Football>2008

Printer Friendly Version of this Page   Contact Us   SiteMap

Minor Footballers Draw With Na Fianna in Tight Champo Final Tussle - Sun, 14 Dec 2008

St Brigids 1-8 Na Fianna 0-11

The Minor Footballers were pegged back by Na Fianna after leading by four points with less than 10 minutes remaining. It was a tight game through out & everyone is looking forward to the replay. The replay has been provisionally set for next Saturday at 2pm.

Na Fianna overturned a four-point deficit to secure another day out in the Dublin MFC 'A' Championship final after a tightly-fought contest at Balgriffin on Saturday afternoon. Senan Coughlan kept a cool head to knock over two late points to hand the Mobhi Road side a deserved second day out. The best two minor teams in the capital produced a pulsating 60 minutes of free-flowing play with Na Fianna controlling the opening stages.

Former Dublin boss Pillar Caffrey was in attendance and he would have been pleased with son Jack, who struck his first of four points from out on the right moments into the game. Wing-back Lee Bird knocked over a free before Phillip Carr opened Brigid's account with a point in front of the posts following good work from centre forward Gavin McIntyre. The number 11 then struck a superb point of his own, metres inside the right sideline, to give the Dublin 15 side momentum. Despite having less possession, Brigid's direct approach to goal yielded points from Carr and McIntyre, putting them ahead by 0-5 to 0-4 at the interval.

The Blanchardstown side began the second half with the same enthusiasm as Na Fianna met the first and Collie Carr came close to a goal when his low strike was palmed away by Ryan Flaherty in the Na Fianna goal. Philip Carr knocked over his fourth point of the day before substitute Philip Ryan opened out a three point margin, weaving through the Na Fianna back line before fisting over the bar. Caffrey responded with three unanswered points, the second a peach of a strike from out on the left sideline to draw the sides level.

With both teams inseparable, it looked like a goal would be the deciding factor, and it broke to Ryan who blasted beneath a skirmish of legs and into the Na Fianna net midway through the second half. Carr popped over his fifth point of the day from a placed ball with 10 minutes remaining to open up a four-point lead for Brigid's. This looked to have done enough to guarantee victory with the gauntlet thrown down to Na Fianna.

However, the Mobhi Road teens found a second wind and Bird reduced the gap to a goal with a pointed free, 25 metres out. Mickey Brennan then soloed from the 65-metre line, jinking past two Brigid's defenders before firing over the bar. The point acted as a catalyst as Coughlan seized on the next breaking ball before instinctively driving the ball between the posts from 40 metres to leave a solitary score in it.

It was end-to-end stuff now, but Brigid's failed to find an insurance point. With four minutes remaining Coughlan bustled through on the left and found himself in front of goal, but opted for the safe option and blasted over the crossbar to leave the sides level. Legs began to tire and the clever link-up play of the first 55 minutes began to dissipate as both sides settled for a rematch, fixed for this Saturday in Balgriffin.

Return To Previous Page