Masita All-Ireland PPS Hogan Cup Senior A football final
Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar 3-11
Tralee CBS 1-16
Paul Keane reports from Croke Park
WILL SCAHILL NAILED a dramatic stoppage time winning point as Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar made a little piece of Hogan Cup history at Croke Park.
Claiming a first-ever colleges football title for the school, it was also the first time since Carmelite College Moate won in 1981 that a Westmeath team has came out on top.
But when Gearóid White pointed for Tralee CBS in the 60th minute, capping a brilliant fightback after a disastrous start, it looked like it would be another All-Ireland win for a Kerry team.
The Mullingar students found their second wind when it really mattered, levelling the game through Finn Higgins in the 62nd minute and then claiming a memorable win when Scahill scored.
The Shandonagh man finished with 1-2, the same tally as player of the match Michael Moloney while Conor Cleary grabbed their other goal.
There was a big impact too from Paul Keating who scored three points as the Midlanders capped a dream campaign with a huge win for Westmeath football.
Any lazy presumption that the cream of Kerry would rise above the Westmeath outfit to take top second level honours was wiped out straight away.
The game was only seconds old when Scahill pointed for Mullingar and when Moloney created a goal chance, and took a point, they’d signposted their intentions to go for the jugular.
Scahill then struck their goal, slamming to the roof of the net in the third minute, before points from Stephen McWade and Paul Keating.
Will Scahill celebrates his goal. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Big Críostóir Ormsby plucked a ball from the air to engineer the Keating score and suddenly the Mullingar side led by 1-4 to no score, with only five minutes on the clock.
It was dreamland stuff for manager Dean McNicholas, his backroom and all of their vocal support packed into the Hogan Stand.
Midfielder Máirtín McKivergan was the player that finally got Tralee going, powering into the game and dragging his team-mates along with him.
Advertisement
Four points from the Ballymacelligott talent, including a monster two-point free converstion, hauled the side in green right back into it.
The problem for Tralee was that Coláiste Mhuire kept scoring goals to keep themselves just out of reach.
Conor Cleary scored a cracking goal in the 15th minute, taking out Eoin O’Flaherty with a dummo solo and then Michael Enright with a sidestep before finishing sweetly.
Finn Higgins was the creator for their third goal just before half time, rolling away from defender Enright and passing across for Moloney to palm in.
It was a goal against the run of play that left Coláiste Mhuire 3-6 to 0-9 up at half time.
Tralee continued to pile on the pressure after the restart, dominating the third quarter to finally get back to level terms in the 47th minute.
Ronan Carroll’s third score of the half, from a free, was the one that levelled it up at 1-14 to 3-8 but McKenna’s 41st minute goal was the score that really ignited them.
Tom Quilter fist-passed over the top for McKenna to run onto and he finished adroitly from the left of goals.
And when Nick Lacey finally put Tralee ahead for the first time in the game with a 54th minute point, they seemed to have all the momentum.
They led again entering stoppage time after White’s fisted score but Mullingar had saved a strong kick for the last lap, pointing from Higgins and then Scahill to seal the landmark win.
Cian McKenna scores a goal for CBS Tralee. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar scorers: Will Scahill 1-2, Michael Moloney 1-2, Conor Cleary 1-0, Paul Keating 0-3, Stephen McWade 0-1, Kian Loughlin 0-1, Michael Weir 0-1, Finn Higgins 0-1.
Tralee CBS scorers: Máirtín McKivergan 0-4 (1 tpf), Ronan Carroll 0-4 (0-3f), Cian McKenna 1-0, Nick Lacey 0-3, Gearóid White 0-2, Eoin O’Flaherty 0-2, Tadhg O’Connor 0-1.
Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar
1. Adam Buckley (Mullingar Shamrocks)
2. Ben Sheerin (Mullingar Shamrocks)
3. Ty Masterson (Mullingar Shamrocks)
4. Eoin Donohue (Milltown)
5. Michel Weir (St Loman’s – Captain)
6. Seán Byrne (St Loman’s)
7. Michael Moloney (The Downs)
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Last-gasp drama as Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar win first-ever Hogan Cup
Masita All-Ireland PPS Hogan Cup Senior A football final
Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar 3-11
Tralee CBS 1-16
Paul Keane reports from Croke Park
WILL SCAHILL NAILED a dramatic stoppage time winning point as Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar made a little piece of Hogan Cup history at Croke Park.
Claiming a first-ever colleges football title for the school, it was also the first time since Carmelite College Moate won in 1981 that a Westmeath team has came out on top.
But when Gearóid White pointed for Tralee CBS in the 60th minute, capping a brilliant fightback after a disastrous start, it looked like it would be another All-Ireland win for a Kerry team.
The Mullingar students found their second wind when it really mattered, levelling the game through Finn Higgins in the 62nd minute and then claiming a memorable win when Scahill scored.
The Shandonagh man finished with 1-2, the same tally as player of the match Michael Moloney while Conor Cleary grabbed their other goal.
There was a big impact too from Paul Keating who scored three points as the Midlanders capped a dream campaign with a huge win for Westmeath football.
Any lazy presumption that the cream of Kerry would rise above the Westmeath outfit to take top second level honours was wiped out straight away.
The game was only seconds old when Scahill pointed for Mullingar and when Moloney created a goal chance, and took a point, they’d signposted their intentions to go for the jugular.
Scahill then struck their goal, slamming to the roof of the net in the third minute, before points from Stephen McWade and Paul Keating.
Big Críostóir Ormsby plucked a ball from the air to engineer the Keating score and suddenly the Mullingar side led by 1-4 to no score, with only five minutes on the clock.
It was dreamland stuff for manager Dean McNicholas, his backroom and all of their vocal support packed into the Hogan Stand.
Midfielder Máirtín McKivergan was the player that finally got Tralee going, powering into the game and dragging his team-mates along with him.
Four points from the Ballymacelligott talent, including a monster two-point free converstion, hauled the side in green right back into it.
The problem for Tralee was that Coláiste Mhuire kept scoring goals to keep themselves just out of reach.
Conor Cleary scored a cracking goal in the 15th minute, taking out Eoin O’Flaherty with a dummo solo and then Michael Enright with a sidestep before finishing sweetly.
Finn Higgins was the creator for their third goal just before half time, rolling away from defender Enright and passing across for Moloney to palm in.
It was a goal against the run of play that left Coláiste Mhuire 3-6 to 0-9 up at half time.
Tralee continued to pile on the pressure after the restart, dominating the third quarter to finally get back to level terms in the 47th minute.
Ronan Carroll’s third score of the half, from a free, was the one that levelled it up at 1-14 to 3-8 but McKenna’s 41st minute goal was the score that really ignited them.
Tom Quilter fist-passed over the top for McKenna to run onto and he finished adroitly from the left of goals.
And when Nick Lacey finally put Tralee ahead for the first time in the game with a 54th minute point, they seemed to have all the momentum.
They led again entering stoppage time after White’s fisted score but Mullingar had saved a strong kick for the last lap, pointing from Higgins and then Scahill to seal the landmark win.
Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar scorers: Will Scahill 1-2, Michael Moloney 1-2, Conor Cleary 1-0, Paul Keating 0-3, Stephen McWade 0-1, Kian Loughlin 0-1, Michael Weir 0-1, Finn Higgins 0-1.
Tralee CBS scorers: Máirtín McKivergan 0-4 (1 tpf), Ronan Carroll 0-4 (0-3f), Cian McKenna 1-0, Nick Lacey 0-3, Gearóid White 0-2, Eoin O’Flaherty 0-2, Tadhg O’Connor 0-1.
Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar
1. Adam Buckley (Mullingar Shamrocks)
2. Ben Sheerin (Mullingar Shamrocks)
3. Ty Masterson (Mullingar Shamrocks)
4. Eoin Donohue (Milltown)
5. Michel Weir (St Loman’s – Captain)
6. Seán Byrne (St Loman’s)
7. Michael Moloney (The Downs)
8. Críostóir Ormsby (Mullingar Shamrocks)
9. Rory O’Brien (Shandonagh)
10. Paul Keating (Mullingar Shamrocks)
11. Kian Loughlin (The Downs)
12. Conor Cleary (The Downs)
13. Will Scahill (Shandonagh)
14. Finn Higgins (St Paul’s, Clonmellon)
15. Stephen McWade (Shandonagh)
Subs
Tralee CBS
1. Olivier Lata (Austin Stacks)
2. Michael Enright (St Pat’s, Blennerville)
3. Eoin Moriarty (Ballymac)
4. Stephen Turner (Ballymac)
5. Fionnán Ryan (Austin Stacks – Joint Captain)
6. Eoin O’Flaherty (Ardfert)
7. Mikey Corridon (Ardfert)
8. Máirtín McKivergan (Ballymac – Joint Captain)
9. Cian McKenna (Churchill)
10. Tadhg O’Connor (Ballyduff)
14. Gearóid White (John Mitchels)
12. Tom Quilter (Churchill)
13. Ryan Hurley (St Senan’s)
11. Ronan Carroll (Austin Stacks)
15. Nick Lacey (Kerins O’Rahillys)
Subs
19. Cillian Hurley (St Senan’s) for O’Connor (45)
17. Darragh Murphy (St Pat’s, Blennerville) for Ryan Hurley (48)
Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare).
******
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
GAA History makers Hogan Cup