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U16 Leinster Champions - Match Report
Top Oil Leinster Post-Primary Schools Junior Leinster “D” Football Final
St. Farnan’s Post-Primary School, Prosperous 6-10
Ardscoil Chiarain Naofa, Clara, Offaly 4-7
Two goals in a minute by Jack O’Brien and Colm McCormack 18 minutes into this pulsating tie proved to be the decisive exchange and laid the foundations for St. Farnan’s ten-point victory in Kinnegad. The game was also notable for the performances of Clara centre forward Jack Reynolds who contributed 4-5 of his sides total as well as St. Farnan’s deadly duo of Eoin Bagnall and Kevin Campbell who tormented the Clara defense time and time again.
St. Farnan’s started the better team scoring the first goal of the game through Kevin Campbell after a great run to race into a 4 point lead. This would signal a revival from Clara with them reeling off 1-2 to take the lead. A lead they would never regain again. Eoin Bagnall would kick a magnificent 45 to level the match 4 minutes later in the 17th minute.
St Farnan’s on the resulting kick out employed a high press which resulted in an error which was punished when Allenwood’s Jack O’Brien finished cooly to the Clara net. Amazingly Clara made an almost identical error from the next kick out and this was again punished by the much more clinical Prosperous attack by Caragh man Colm McCormack. Bagnall and Reynolds exchanged points before Clara got a penalty which was converted emphatically by Jack Reynolds to bring the gap down to 4 points. Farnan’s responded straight from the resulting kick out when Adam Doyle’s kick out was gathered by Eoin Bagnall and after some brilliant work between himself and Campbell resulted in the industrious Aaron Lenehan to finish in a composed fashion to the Clara net. This gave Prosperous a seven point advantage at the interval.
After the restart Clara were made to rue missing several gilt-edged chances as they kicked several wides as the tenacity of Prosperous’s defence typified by Jack Mackey, Conor Murphy and Adam Ewing made any Clara score hard earned. Eoin Bagnall would kick three points to extend Farnan’s lead to 10 points by the 42nd minute but again Reynolds responded with a thunderbolt from 20 yards to nestle in the Prosperous net. Bagnall would add two more points before Clara responded with one of their own.
Farnan’s 5th goal came in the 51st minute when again the hard running Kevin Campbell scored to extend the lead to eleven. Campbell added a point after another strong run through the heart of the Clara defence a minute later before Reynolds got one back for Clara with his fourth goal of the game, another contender for goal of the year as he struck his shot to the top corner of the net from distance. A minute later Sean Dunne and Rory Moran turned over the ball in the Clara defence and after some good link play from the two, Allenwood’s Sean Dunne finished calmly with his left foot to score Prosperous’s sixth and final goal of the game.
Clara responded with four points in the final five minutes but Sean Dunne’s goal had put the match beyond doubt and had earned the hard working St. Farnan’s side a well-deserved Leinster title to add to their South Leinster crown after a magnificent season.
St. Farnan’s Post-Primary School
- Adam Doyle (Caragh)
- Adam Ewing (Robertstown)
- Jack Mackey (Caragh)
- Jack O’Neill (Carbury )
- Conor Murphy (Caragh)
- Kian Percival (Allenwood)
- Rory Moran Allenwood
- Jake Gillick (Allenwood)
- Jack Cross (Allenwood)
- Aaron Lenehan (1-0) (Allenwood)
- Kevin Campbell (2-1) (Caragh)
- Eoin Bagnall (0-9) (Allenwood)
- Jack O’Brien (1-0) (Allenwood)
- Colm McCormack (1-0) (Caragh )
- Seán Dunne (1-0) (Allenwood)
- Stephen Carey (Allenwood)
- Paul Byrne (Ballyteague)
- Eoghan Kenna (St. Kevin’s )
- Ryan McGinley (St. Kevin’s )
- Seán Stafford (Allenwood)
- Josh Carroll (Allenwood)
22 Kian Butler (Robertstown)
23 Jake Lawless (Allenwood)
24 Paul Kenna (St. Kevin’s)
25 Jamie Stafford (Allenwood)
26 Josh Darling (Allenwood)
27 Josh O’Brien (St. Kevin’s)
Match Report compiled by Mr. Langton.
