Burt crowned Ulster junior hurling champions after extra-time epic

Burt are Ulster Junior Club hurling champions after a heart-stopping extra-time victory over Erin’s Own, Lavey, at Celtic Park on Saturday.

Six points down midway through the first half, things looked bleak for the Donegal side, and worse followed when full forward Ronan McDermott was dismissed just before half-time. But the 14 men produced a performance of immense passion and heart, with Christy McDermott imperious at full back, Liam Óg McKinney ice-cool on frees, and Conor Gartland leading by example across defence, midfield and attack. Their utter refusal to yield hauled them back to level terms at 0-15 to 1-12 at the end of normal time.

Lavey emerged re-energised for extra time, twice nudging in front during the first period, only for Burt to respond each time through McKinney and then Gartland. Nothing separated the sides at the turnaround, with cramp troubling players and referee alike.

Lavey seemed to have snatched it late on when top scorer Fintan Bradley fired over a free from 45 metres with two minutes remaining. But Burt somehow found one last surge. Eleven men pushed forward as Paul Burns launched a Hail Mary puck-out. The break fell to McKinney, who arced the sliotar high into the Brandywell sky and saluted as it dropped over the bar to level the match for the ninth time.

Penalties loomed, but Burt won the next puck-out and captain Dara Grant – a survivor from the club’s 2011 Ulster JHC triumph – nudged the ball to Fiachra Gill, whose strike was clean and true and straight over the black spot.

Lavey had one final chance and believed they had equalised, with one umpire signalling a point from Conor Melaugh’s shot. But after consultation, referee Derek Argue ruled it wide.

Moments later, the full-time whistle sounded amid drums, flares and jubilant blue-and-yellow celebrations as supporters poured onto the pitch. A season that seemed over after a Donegal semi-final defeat in August had been turned on its head. Burt were back - champions of Ulster once again.

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Bradley opened the scoring for Lavey from a free, while Burt racked up four wides before Ronan McDermott got them off the mark. Lavey’s goal arrived in the seventh minute: after turning over possession in midfield, Thomas Lynch sent in a diagonal ball that bypassed the Burt defence and allowed Ryan Mulholland to gather and blast home from 13 metres.

Burt were reeling as Lavey tacked on points from Conor Melaugh and Mulholland, with Bradley landing a superb sideline cut. Trailing 1-4 to 0-1, Burt steadied through points from Ronan McDermott and an over-the-shoulder effort from Gartland, though they struggled to claim primary possession as Lavey dominated puck-outs.

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Melaugh and Liam Óg McKinney exchanged points before two Bradley frees pushed Lavey six clear. They came close to stretching the lead further, but Jack Convery’s goal was ruled out for a square-ball infringement.

Two McKinney frees kept Burt afloat, but they were dealt a hammer blow in injury time when referee Argue showed Ronan McDermott a straight red for a shoulder to the chest. Burt trailed 1-7 to 0-6 at the break and faced a mountain in the second half.

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Lavey deployed centre back Eoin Scullion as a spare man between their 45 and 65, cutting out early long deliveries. It worked initially, but as the half wore on Burt adapted, and Lavey became guilty of over-complicating their play with unnecessary passes in their own half of field.

The Derry side still posed a threat, with Burt keeper Paul Burns forced to advance off his line early to deny a Melaugh goal chance. At the other end, Mulholland pulled off a fine double save from Eoin McDaid and Kieran Brady.

Two monster frees from Gartland – both struck near the Burt 45 – and one from McKinney reduced the deficit to a single point. Tiarnan Melaugh responded on 44 minutes, but momentum had swung firmly Burt’s way.

Stephen Gillespie worked tirelessly around midfield and teed up Kevin Curran for a long-range score. Man of the match Gartland added a 90-metre free and then added a point from play after linking with Callum Purves to put Burt ahead for the first time.

The contest swung from end to end, with full back Christy McDermott outstanding in repelling the Lavey attack. Two Bradley frees either side of a superb over-the-shoulder point from Mulholland edged Lavey two clear entering the final minutes.

McKinney struck two more frees before, deep in injury time, Bradley clipped over a free from around 45 metres out for a foul that cost Callum Porter a yellow card.

Trailing by a point, Burt had one last chance. From Burns’ puck-out, Oisin Kelly won the break and found McKinney, who was fouled near the left sideline about 40 metres out.

The scorer-in-chief dusted himself off and, with nerves of steel, slotted the equaliser to force extra time - where a new Burt team wrote themselves into club history and earned a trip to London to play the All-Britain Junior champions Thomas Mac Curtain’s in a fortnight’s time.

Burt scorers: Liam Óg McKinney (0-10, 8f); Conor Gartland 0-6 (3f); Ronan McDermott 0-2; Kevin Curran 0-1; Fiachra Gill 0-1.

Lavey scorers: Fintan Bradley 0-9 (6f, 1 65, 1 sideline); Ryan Mulholland 1-2; Conor Melaugh 0-3; Ryan McGill 0-1; Tiarnan Melaugh 0-1.

Burt: Paul Burns; James Donaghey, Ciaran Bradley, Kevin Curran; Oisin Kelly, Dara Grant, Callum Purves; Stephen Gillespie, Kyron McColgan; Eoin McDaid, Ciaran Porter, Conor Gartland; Christopher McDermott, Ronan McDermott, Liam Óg McKinney. Subs: Kieran Brady for K McColgan (25 mins); Callum Porter for J Donaghey (half-time); Fiachra Gill for C Porter and Kyron McColgan for E McDaid (both 53 mins); Ciaran Porter for S Gillespie (ET 74 mins).

Lavey: Eoghan Mulholland; John McGurk, Brendan Laverty, Aidan Toner; Ryan Farren, Eoin Scullion, Tiarnan Melaugh; Ryan McGill, Fintan Bradley; Charlie Curley, Conor Melaugh, Ryan Mulholland; Jack Convery, Aimon Duffin, Thomas Lynch. Subs: Sam Dodds for A Duffin (40 mins); Lorcan McDonnell for J Convery (58 mins); Cailean O’Boyle for R Mulholland (ET 66 mins); Aimon Duffin for T Lynch (ET 77 mins).

Referee: Derek Argue (Cavan).