Naomh Conaill overcome Glenswilly to take Brian McCormick Division 1 Reserve League title

A goal from Mark Burke midway through the the first half proved to be the vital score as Naomh Conaill defeated Glenswilly to take the Division 1 Reserve league final in Fintra.

Naomh Conaill 1-8
Glenswilly 0-7

The Davy Brennan residents were always in control of the game but they had to withstand a late Glenswilly rally which saw the crossbar deny the Glen men a goal which would have made it much more interesting in the final five minutes.

It was a bit of a slow burner in the opening quarter with Dara Gallagher getting Naomh Conaill on the board after three minutes from a free. Seamus Corcoran added another within a minute.

Naomh Conaill were down to 14 on 12 minutes when Tony Byrne was shown black for a late tackle before Gerard Shiels got Glenswilly on the board a minute later. The kick was waved wide by both umpires but after a protest from Glenswilly, referee Sean Ward awarded the score.

Dara Gallagher replied with a magnificent '45' and Naomh Conaill seemed to be in a strong place when they got a goal on 25 minutes. A Glenswilly kick-out was overturned and Joe Kennedy put Mark Burke in to fire low to the corner.

But credit to Glenswilly, they hit the last three scores of the half, Peadar Toner with a free and two magnificent points from half-forward Padraig Boyle to leave it 1-3 to 0-4 at the break.

As the rain arrived the scores became even less plentiful. Dara Gallagher gave Naomh Conaill a bit of comfort on the scoreboard with two points in the first four minutes of the second half. There was 46 minutes on the clock before Cathal Gallagher found the range for Glenswilly from a free.

Seamus Corcoran replied but Glenswilly came with a late surge. Kealan McFadden pointed a free to cut the lead to three and they had a great chance to level matters when they broke through and Sean Gallagher found himself clear. He elected to blast the ball but saw it come back off the crossbar. Kealan McFadden was on hand to tap over and leave it 1-6 to 0-7.

But that was as good as it got for Glenswilly as Leo Dunphy, the star of Naomh Conaill's Division 4 final win last weekend, fired over two late points to seal the win.

Kilcar survive late goal scare to take Division 1 league title against Naomh Conaill

Kilcar survived a last second goal chance from Ciaran Thompson of Naomh Conaill to take home the Democrat Cup as Brian McCormick Division 1 winners for the 15th time in their history.

Naomh Conaill scorers: Dara Gallagher 0-4; Mark Burke 1-0; Seamus Corcoran, Leo Dunphy 0-2 each.

Glenswilly scorers: Kealan McFadden (1f), Padraig Boyle 0-2 each; Peadar Toner (f), Cathal Gallagher (f), Gerard Shiels 0-1 each.

NAOMH CONAILL: Jordan O'Donnell; Aaron Thompson, Shean Roarty; Aidan Gilroy, Logan Quinn, Joe Shankey Smith; Marty Boyle, Tony Byrne; Seamus Corcoran, Robbie McDonald, Marty Burke; Joe Kennedy, Leo Dunphy, Dara Gallagher.

Subs: Oran McCallig for Kennedy; Leon Thompson for Corcoran.

GLENSWILLY: Frank Carberry; Eoin Devine, Eamon Ward, Patrick McFadden; Oisin McDaid, Shaun Burke, Sean Gallagher; Padraig Boyle, Gerard Shiels, Enda McDaid; Peadar Toner, Conor McGinty, Cathal Gallagher.

Subs: Leigh Crawford for Callaghan; Ciaran Gibbons for McMonagle; Oisin Crawford for Shiels; Kealan McFadden for Toner; Luke Toye for P Boyle.

REFEREE: John  Ward (Dungloe)