Peter Blake leads St Mary's Convoy to Donegal Junior B title against Carndonagh

Peter Blake put in a Man of the Match performance for St Mary's, Convoy, who held on to the end as they clinched the Donegal Junior B title with a 3-8 to 2-10 win over Carndonagh on a wet day in O'Donnell Park, Letterkenny.

The full-forward landed a total of 2-6 on an afternoon that could've gone either way, but the Convoy side proved that goals win games, slotting two home in the first half and a third in the second, landing a one-point win in the process.

Carndonagh opened the scoring with three points in the opening two minutes of the match, the first coming from a free from Christy McDaid, before Michael Noone shot a super long-range shot outside of the boot from 40 metres out, while Conor McCluskey added his side’s third off his right in front of the post. 

But St Mary’s levelled the game up seconds later when a long ball was delivered in from half-back Rory Craig into the hands of Peter Blake who charged for goal, bypassing two defenders and the goalkeeper before slotting it into the back of the Carndonagh net. 

McDaid and Blake would trade points each to keep their sides level, but you could slowly see the St Mary’s side find their feet in the match. And it was on the 13th minute when the Convoy side stamped their authority in the match and took the lead. 

A turnover in the Carndonagh defence saw Matthew Coyle win the ball, and deliver a quick ball into Blake who was left one-on-one inside the Carndonagh defence, leaving the full-forward to slap the ball to the on-running Brendan Bonner who played the ball along the ground and slotted into the back of the net for St Mary’s second goal of the afternoon. 

Entering the final 10 minutes of the half and with St Mary’s leading on a 2-1 to 0-4 scoreline, Blake increased his side’s lead with another free, before McDaid followed suit with his third point of the afternoon and his side’s first score in 15 minutes, but St Mary’s remained solid in defence, forcing Carndonagh to hit a total of six wides. 

But Carndonagh were looking to finish the half strong, and nearly levelled the match when Aaron Jenkins found himself free against the St Mary’s ‘keeper to shoot for goal but was stopped by a super save from Mark Gordon. 

But St Mary’s finished strong with Blake nailing two more points before Ciaran McNamee fired off his right to send the Convoy men to the dressing room leading at the break on a 2-5 to 0-5 scoreline. 

Carndonagh started with a blast from the beginning of the second-half. From the throw-in, Daire Tully won the ball, charged down the field, and fed the ball to Noone who slid through four defenders and slotted into the net for his side’s first goal of the day. 

Tiernan Doherty would follow suit with a long-range point off his right to make it a two-point match after only a minute into the second half, but St Mary’s again proved their worth, with Blake adding yet another free, before rattling the net eight minutes after the resumption when Bonner found space and played an over the head ball to Blake he nailed home for his second goal. 

But Carndonagh would not go away with Jenkins raising his first score of the afternoon, before Oran McLaughlin nailed his side’s second goal when fed through the middle by Lee McLaughlin to hammer home, leaving the score 3-6 to 2-7 on the fortieth minute. 

The Inishowen men would level the match eight minutes later when McDaid nailed over a close free before McLaughlin fired over from distance leaving it for an all-out exciting final quarter in Letterkenny. 

Struggling to win any kickouts all day, St Mary’s eventually won one around the middle which resulted in back-to-back points, the first coming from Matthew Coyle before a free from Blake brought his tally to 2-6 as St Mary’s led by two. 

With four minutes left, half-back Doherty brought it to a one-point game with a 13-metre free, but with time running out Carndonagh needed a final score to bring the game to extra-time. 

They had their chance when Lee McLaughlin fisted the ball across the net but Noone missed hit the ball as it was stopped on the line, leaving St Mary’s to hold out for a one-point win. 

St Mary’s scorers: Peter Blake 2-6, 5fs; Brendan Bonner 1-0; Matthew Coyle and Ciaran McNamee 0-1. Carndonagh scorers: Christy McDaid 0-4, 4fs; Olan McLaughlin and Michael Noone 1-1 each; Tiernan Doherty 0-2, 1f; Conor McCluskey and Patrick Nelson 0-1 each. 

St Mary’s, Convoy: Mark Gordon; Sean Doherty, Shaun Browne, Brendan Bonner; Michael Mulrain, Rory Craig, Darragh Patton; Ciaran McNamee, Conor Gordon; Thomas McHugh, Matthew Coyle, Dannon O’Kane; Michael Patton, Peter Blake, Daithi Gordon. Subs: Adam Quinn for McHugh (50); Gary Gillen for O’Kane (53). 

Carndonagh: Dermot Doherty; Conor McLaughlin, Josh Diver, Nathan McLarkey; Tiernan Doherty, Oliver McConologue, Ryan Davenport; Daire Tully, Lee McLaughlin; Olan McLaughlin, Aaron Jenkins, Michael Noone; Michael McCarron, Conor McCloskey, Christy McDaid. Subs: Lorcan Bradley for Davenport (38); Oran Lafferty for McCarron (47); Darragh McCormick for McDaid (50).

Referee: Charlie Creevy (Letterkenny Gaels)