Damian Weber the hero as Aodh Ruadh edge Glenswilly in cracking U-21 encounter

Damian Weber kicked a last gasp winning free to earn a deserved win for Aodh Ruadh in Father Tierney Park on Sunday afternoon. 

Glenswilly came into the game on the back of an impressive win over Four Masters while Ballyshannon had to pick themselves up after a one point defeat away to Naomh Conaill.

The opening stages of the first half saw Aodh Ruadh running out into an early three point lead, but from there to half-time the scores were shared evenly. 

Jack Gallagher was very much on song for the Ernesiders clipping five points over the course of that first half, with Matt Gillespie and Darragh Flood Dolan also raising white flags. 

Meanwhile Reid Kelly opened the scoring for the visitors with points from Mark Bonner, Jamie McCauley and a mark from Daithi Gildea leaving it at 0-7 to 0-4 come Shane Murnin's half-time whistle.

The intensity stepped up a notch in the second half, with plenty of hard hitting and strong tackling as the sides really got stuck in. 

This style suited the visitors better and Shane Tinney was to be the prime beneficiary. He got his first point of the game five minutes in, adding a free two minutes later to cut the deficit to a point.

James Gallagher kept his side's noses in front with a beautifully struck 46 metre free off the ground. 

Glenswilly continued set the tempo though and two Tinney frees had the game level by the 43rd minute. Four minutes later and Glenswilly had finally hit the front with a Daithi Gildea dead ball.

Parity was quickly restored when Murnin penalised an off-the-ball infraction with a 20 metre free which Jack Gallagher was never going to miss. 

That was followed by the best score of the match with Matt Gillespie making a glorious fetch in the middle of the park from Aaron Cullen's kick out. Gillespie then hit Jack Gallagher in space and he took on his man and curled over the bar.

Glenswilly came right back and it was Tinney once more who delivered the goods splitting the posts with a quality left-footed effort.

Four minutes from time Reid Kelly pointed for Glenswilly, and when Aiden Friel hared through an under-manned Erneside defence and fisted over it looked like the visitors might just edge this one.

There had been an extensive stoppage in play earlier though following a heavy clash between Darragh Flood Dolan and Donal Gallagher, so, with plenty of injury time to be played Ballyshannon duly rolled up their sleeves.

A Damian Weber free put the hosts back in touching distance, but with Glenswilly now playing keep-ball it wasn't looking promising. 

That was until Barry Campbell finally intercepted an overhead pass at full stretch and sent Aodh Ruadh off on the attack. 

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Glenswilly had to concede the free and Jack Gallagher converted. Then with seconds remaining Aodh Ruadh went on the attack one last time. A despairing tackle from Donal Gallagher in the centre of the park saw him getting a black card for his troubles. 

From the restart Aodh Ruadh raced the ball into the danger zone where James Ward was up-ended, allowing Damian Weber to clinch the win with the last kick of the game.

For the hosts, Jack Gallagher was a menace any time he was on the ball, while Matt Gillespie and Barry Campbell both had strong outings, with James Ward providing a big impact off the bench. Meanwhile Shane Tinney, Reid Kelly and Donal Gallagher caught the eye for the visitors.

Aodh Ruadh scorers: Darragh Flood Dolan 0-1; Matt Gillespie 0-1; Damian Weber 0-2,2f; Jack Gallagher 0-9, 6f.

Glenswilly scorers: Aiden Friel 0-1; Jamie McCauley 0-1; Mark Bonner 0-1; Reid Kelly 0-2; Shane Tinney 0-5, 3f; Daithi Gildea 0-2, 1f, 1m. 

Aodh Ruadh: Aaron Cullen; Shane McGloin, Ryan Keenaghan, Aidan Sweeny; Darragh Flood Dolan, Colm McGloin, James Gallagher; Matt Gillespie, Shane Delahunty; Jake Foley, Cian Rooney, Mitch McLaughlin; Damian Weber, Jack Gallagher, Barry Campbell.

Subs: Ted O'Donnell for Shane Delahunty (inj.), James Monaghan for Jake Foley; James Ward for Mitch McLaughlin (all 40); Garvey Meade for Shane McGloin (56); Aengus Sweeny for James Gallagher (61).

Glenswilly: John Quinn; Aiden Friel, Jake Kelly, Dylan McAteer; Oisin McDaid, Donal Gallagher, Pauric Devine; Darragh Enright, Jamie McCauley; Mark Bonner, Reid Kelly, Gary Kelly; Shane Tinney, Daithi Gildea, Oisin McGrenra.

Sub: Mikey Toner for Gary Kelly (47).

Shane Murnin (Killybegs)