Moycullen 4-13

Leitrim Gaels 1-9

TWO GOALS FROM Fionn McDonagh and one from his younger brother Fiachra helped Galway champions Moycullen advance to a Connacht club showdown with St Brigid’s of Roscommon.

The 2022 Connacht champions had to recover from a slow start but once they got on top they bossed matters even without Galway player Peter Cooke who is abroad for work.

Leitrim Gaels, playing in their first ever Connacht championship match, made a whirlwind start and raced into a 1-2 to 0-0 lead after less than five minutes.

David Regan and Stephen Goldrick landed the points while Fermanagh’s Garvan Jones drilled home the goal into the bottom right corner after soloing through.

But that was as good as it got and Leitrim Gaels didn’t score again in the opening half. Moycullen, much more seasoned after winning three of the last six Galway titles having never won it before, didn’t panic and worked their way back into the game, getting level after 18 minutes thanks to a couple of points from Dessie Conneely and one apiece from former Offaly captain Johnny Maloney, Fionn McDonagh and Niall Walsh.

Fionn McDonagh edged them in front for the first time but the key score came ten minutes from the break when he combined with Maloney to set Conneely up for the opening goal.

They added a second two minutes later when Maloney’s dipping shot was fisted to the net by Fiachra McDonagh and that helped them go in at the break with a commanding 2-9 to 1-2 lead, with Leitrim Gaels corner-back Shane Finn picking up a black card three minutes before the interval.

Liam Moreton got Leitrim Gaels’ first score in 28 minutes when he finished off a good move with a point before Maigh Cuilinn goalkeeper Pierce Greally did well to deny Jamie Rynn.

Any notion of a comeback was quickly dispelled as Fionn McDonagh rattled home two goals in just over two minutes to push the lead out to 4-9 to 1-3 after 47 minutes, with Moycullen afforded the luxury of taking off Galway captain Sean Kelly as they emptied their bench.

Leitrim Gaels did likewise as this semi-final ambled to an inevitable conclusion with Conneely landing a two-pointer after 49 minutes before Aidan Flynn, Garvan Jones and Shaun Chandler had late points for the Leitrim champions who failed to convert several goal opportunities as a season where they claimed their first ever senior county

Scorers for Moycullen: Dessie Conneely 1-7 (1 2pf, 1 2p, 0-1f), Fionn McDonagh 2-3 (0-2f), Fiachra McDonagh 1-0, Sean O’Connor, Johnny Maloney and Niall Walsh 0-1 each.

Leitrim Gaels: Garvan Jones 1-4 (0-3f), David Regan, Stephen Goldrick, Liam Moreton, Aidan Flynn and Shaun Chandler 0-1 each.

Moycullen

1 Pierce Greally

18 Aidan Claffey 3 Mike Moughan 6 Eoghan Kelly

7 Sean O’Connor 17 Sean Kelly 5  David Wynne

8 Paul Kelly 21 Tom Clarke

10 Johnny Maloney 11 Niall Walsh 22 Ger Davoren

13 Fionn McDonagh 14 Fiachra McDonagh 15 Dessie Conneely

Substitutes:

23 Killian Gallagher for Walsh (Blood, 41)

2 Conor Corcoran for S Kelly (43)

4 Eoin McGuire for Claffey (46)

19 Mark Hynes for E Kelly (49)

12 Charlie Cox for Fionn McDonagh (50)

20 Mark Bradley for Maloney (56)

Leitrim Gaels

1 Brian Cull

7 Liam Chandler 23 Frank Cullen 4 Shane Finn

12 Shaun Chandler 9 Aidan Flynn 5 James Rynn

8 Ryan Jones 14 Conall Jones

10 Jack Flynn 11 Garvan Jones 15 Stephen Goldrick

21 David Regan 24 Liam Moreton 19 Aaron Farrell

Substitutes:

25 Conor Guckian for Moreton (39)

13 Eunan Tracey for Farrell (39)

3 Michael Connolly for Rynn (43)

2 Ben Finn for Cullen (52)

6 James Flynn for Goldrick (56) 

Ref: Jerome Henry (Mayo).