Ciaran Thompson: Scoil Mhuire losing an All-Ireland final by a point is crushing

There was no single moment when Scoil Mhuire lost their grip on Saturday’s Masita All-Ireland Senior Schools final; just one small error after another, each one opening the door a little bit wider for Gallen Community School to walk in and pillage an All-Ireland title from the Buncrana students, who had one hand on the cup after 15 minutes of play.

“In the first 15 or 20 minutes, we controlled midfield. We won a lot of ball and we won the breaks, and that was how we launched a lot of our attacks” was the view of team coach and Donegal senior star  Ciarán Thompson.

“For the last five or ten minutes of the first half we lost our way and they got a purple patch, which they were always going to get.

“Then in the second half, we just gave away far too much ball, we couldn’t get the ball up the field and we only got two points. 

“There were a lot of unforced errors that let us down. We kicked two great points, but we missed chances then and struggled to hold on to the ball, and they through once or twice and we were lucky not to concede a goal.

“It’s just one of those days, you lose an All-Ireland final by a point, it’s hard to take and it’s going to be tough for those boys, but they’re good lads with good careers ahead of them and we wish them all the best in the future”.

15 minutes after the final whistle wasn’t the easiest time for the Donegal senior star to summarise what was still a groundbreaking year for senior football in the Inishowen school, but the Naomh Conaill club man was still able to see the positive side.

“This was a massive year for the boys who put their shoulder to the wheel and got their rewards” he said.

“They won Ulster after a tough campaign and then went through to an All-Ireland final, where they were a kick of a ball away from an All-Ireland win. Great credit to them and hopefully now we can push on in the next couple of years”.