Four Masters triumph in tense battle to secure third Donegal Minor A title in-a-row

Four Masters showed exactly why they are the Ulster minor champions as their experience and calmness in tough situations shone through in O’Donnell Park on Saturday afternoon as they landed their third Donegal minor title in-a-row with victory over a spirited Naomh Conaill side. 

With 10 minutes left in the contest, it looked like Naomh Conaill were going to snatch the victory, following a superb goal from Danny Brown to level the match, but final scores from Turlough Carr and Tiarnan McBride edged the Donegal Town men in front, as they saw out a 2-10 to 1-11 win. 

Naomh Conaill started the scoring attack in the opening minute when Tiarnán Ward nailed a free for the underdogs to start their strong first half. 

But Conor McCahill, who was one of the star players of the day, was on hand to level matters, turning his defender to nail over first time, but that would be his side’s last score for 16 minutes. 

Meanwhile, Naomh Conaill were the better of the two to find their feet, with Brown leading the way for his side to hit back-to-back points before Max Campbell pushed Naomh Conaill into a surprising four-point lead by the 17th minute. 

But there was always a feeling that at some stage Four Masters would hit a period of dominance before the first half came to an end. 

And that’s exactly what happened. First, a point from McCahill brought the match back to a double-figure game, before the Naomh Conaill defence opened up, leading to two goals for the Donegal Town men.  

Captain Callum McCrea led the way with the first goal when Alan McHugh floated in a sailing ball to the half-back, resulting in McCrea turning and firing off his right under pressure, with the ball rolling into the back of the Naomh Conaill net. 

And it only got worse for the Glenties men when the follow-up kickout led to Tiarnan McBride driving through the heart of the Naomh Conaill backline, and there was no stopping the Four Masters attacker as he nailed the ball into the back of the net. 

Oisin Doherty kicked his side’s final score of the half in a cool fashion, 13 metres out, with the scoreline standing at 2-3 to 0-4. 

But Naomh Conaill didn’t go away and hit the next two scores in the dying minutes of the half, with Ward and Brown again getting on the scoresheet to leave it as a one-score game at 2-3 to 0-6 at the break. 

It turned into a more open and Helter Skelter second half, with Naomh Conaill trying their best to thwart their opposition’s scoring threat.  

Despite some early errors in their backline, Naomh Conaill were still able to find range, with Brown, Ward, and Daniel Breslin with two points, proving valuable for the Glenties men who hit a purple patch going into the final quarter of the match. 

All the while, Four Masters kept the scoreboard ticking, with McCahill doing untold damage with two back-to-back scores, while McBride and Tomás Carr joined the scoresheet, with attacks largely assisted by Turlough Carr at half-forward. 

But then it all turned on its head. Ward would lift the spirits of the Naomh Conaill men with the score of the game when he nailed over 45 metres out under pressure before Brown followed suit when he raised his side’s first green flag when the ball found its way into the back of the net to leave it level at 1-10 to 2-7. 

Finnbarr Roarty was the conductor for the Naomh Conaill attack, but there was only so much he could do on the ball, as the Masters’ players began to marshal him well in the closing stages. 

Oisin Doherty had his chance to win it for Masters when he was fed through by McBride and Carr, but the corner-forward opted for the goal instead of the point, and was wonderfully saved by Dylan McGlynn in the nets who pushed it out for a ‘45’. 

Tomás Carr had his own chance to edge his team in front but his resulting ‘45’ kick hit the cross and was deemed a square ball by the referee. 

By this stage, Masters looked the calmer of the two teams on the ball and it was McBride, McCahill, and the two Carr brothers who proved the difference. They eventually found their lead when a long ball on the edge of the ‘D’ found its way to McBride, who very intelligently nailed over after calling for the ‘mark’. 

Naomh Conaill needed a reply but none came, with the final kick of the game seeing Turlough Carr strike over with ease to give his side a two-point advantage with the following kickout signaling the end of an intriguing minor final in O’Donnell Park and a third minor title in three years for the Donegal Town side. 

Four Masters scorers: Tiarnan McBride 1-2, 1 ‘M’; Conor McCahill 0-4; Callum McCrea 1-0; Turlough Carr 0-2; Tomás Carr 0-1, 1 ‘45’; Oisin Doherty 0-1. 
Naomh Conaill scorers: Danny Brown 1-4, 3fs; Tiarnán Ward 0-3, 1f; Daniel Breslin 0-2; Max Campbell and Stephen McDevitt 0-1 each. 

Four Masters: Lewis McCaughan; Alan McHugh, Daniel McGinty, Eoghan O’Neill; Cian Gavigan, Callum McCrea, Aidan Quinn; Tomás Carr, Theo Colhoun; Patrick McGonagle, Turlough Carr, Darragh Griffin; Conor McCahill, Tiarnan McBride, Oisin Doherty. Subs: Terence McGovern for Gavigan (41); Thomas Lenehan for McGonagle (57). 

Naomh Conaill: Dylan McGlynn; Conan Brannigan, Daithi Molloy, Feargus Campbell; Peter McGlynn, Thomas McDevitt, Leon Gallagher McDyre; Max Campbell, Finnbarr Roarty; Conor Farrell, Tiarnán Ward, Daniel Breslin; Ethan Dewhirst, Danny Brown, Stephen McDevitt. Suns: Niall Roarty for McGlynn (37); Jamie Byrne for Farrell (42). 

Referee: James Connors