End of the road for Four Masters U-16s in Ulster as Derry's Bellaghy advance

Four Masters Paul McGirr U-16 Ulster championship campaign was ended by Bellaghty after the Derry side staged a stunning final quarter comeback to overturn a ten-point deficit and edge a titanic battle.

Playing with the aid of the breeze, Four Masters were in almost total control throughout the opening half and only the heroics of Charlie McFall in the Bellaghy goal kept them from putting the tie beyond reach.  

The pacey Finn Gillespie at centre forward caused serious problems for the Bellaghy defence, while early scores from Gillespie - including a sweetly struck two-pointer - Jamie McMonagle, and raiding wing-back Thomas McHugh saw the Donegal champions establish an early lead. 

Bellaghy responded through Adam Mulholland and Cadhan Rocks, but struggled to stem the Four Masters surge.  

Two point-blank stops from the outstanding McFall to deny McMonagle and Iarla Cassidy temporarily kept the margin down, before he was eventually beaten when a floated effort from Daire Slevin was palmed in at the back post by the diminutive Cassidy for the first major of the day.  Two converted frees from Aodhan Scullion gave Bellaghy a glimmer of hope as they entered the half-time break trailing 1-07 to 0-04.

Bellaghy needed a strong restart, but Four Masters picked up where had left off.  Driven on by commanding centre-back Eoghan Thomas and midfielder Conor Griffin, they dominated possession, probing relentlessly for openings as Slevin and Cassidy continued to threaten inside.  

A spectacular outside of the boot point from Slevin drew gasps from the crowd, and when Odhrán Plunkett reacted quickest to a rebound to fire home his side’s second goal, the gap stretched to ten and the Tír Chonaill boys looked destined for the next round.

But with their season on the line, Bellaghy found inspiration.  Wing-back Fearghal McLarnon sparked  the comeback of all comebacks, finishing soccer style from twenty yards giving his side some much needed hope.  

Suddenly the Oak Leaf lads surged into life, driven on by their passionate support.  The switch of the MFC man of the match Jarlath McCartney to full forward, along with several inspired substitutions, completely transformed the contest.  

McCartney kicked two points, Odhran Doyle added a free, and Adam Mulholland landed a sensational two-pointer to narrow the gap to two as atmosphere reached fever pitch.  

A well-worked McMonagle score steadied Four Masters briefly, before McCartney gathered the ball 30 yards out, took one solo, and unleashed a rocket to the bottom corner to draw the sides level.   

One of the highlights of the match was the aerial duel in midfield between Conor Griffin and the towering Gabriel Gormley, the pair almost taking turns plucking ball after ball from the sky in a superb exhibition of high fielding.  

Four Masters refused to wilt, and McFall was forced into another outstanding save, tipping over a rasping effort from the marauding Thomas.  

McCartney levelled once more as the game swung end to end, before McMonagle nudged Four Masters ahead again when a goal looked on in the dying minutes.  

But Bellaghy were not to be denied.  Showing tremendous hunger, Mulholland sent the stand intio raptures with his second two-pointer, and a late Aodhan Scullion point in the dying seconds put the icing on the cake for the Derry men.  

Bellaghy manager Francis Glackin was delighted with the spirit shown by his charges “The first half was a challenge playing against the wind against this strong Four Masters side. 

After a poor start to the second half our hopes of a win begun to look like a fading cause, but instead the boys turned into a great fight back. Our spirit, work rate and belief surged in the second half and we came away with the win! The boys showed great resilience and we are all looking forward to the quarter final next week”.

This game was a wonderful advert for youth football, agony for Four Masters, who controlled so much of the contest, and ecstasy for Bellaghy, who progress to face Monaghan champions Magheracloone in next Sunday’s quarter-final. 

Bellaghy scorers:  Jartlath McCartney 1-3; Adam Mulholland 0-5; Fearghal McLarnon 1-0; Aodhan Scullion 0-3, 2f; Cadhan Rocks 0-2; Odhran Doyle 0-1, 1f.

Four Masters scorers: Fionn Gillespuie 0-5, 3f; Odhran Plunkett and Iarla Cassidy 1-0 each; Jamie McMonagle 0-3; Eoghan Thomas, Thomas McHugh, Conall Parsons and Daire Slevin 0-1 each. 

Bellaghy:  Charlie McFall; Diarmuid Doherty, Cian O’Sullivan, Tom McErlain, Oran Glackin, Tom Harkin, Fearghal McLarnon, Gabriel Gormley, Jartlath McCartney, Donnacha Scullion, Odhran Doyle, Adam Mulholland; Ruairi Hull, Cadhan Rocks, Aodhan Scullion.

Subs:  Cathan Loane for Harkin, Mark Og McLarnon for Scullion, Danial McElhone for Hull.

Four Masters: Noah Kennedy; Thomas Masterson, Max O’Reilly, Rian Downey; Fintan James, Eoghan Thomas, Thomas McHugh; Conor Griffin, Kian Gallagher; Conall Parsons, Finn Gillespie, Odhrán Plunkett; Iarla Cassidy, Daire Slevin, Jamie McMonagle.

Referee: Mark Loughran (Tyrone)