Glenfin finish strongly to claim U-17 Division 2 Shield win over Nomh Brid

Odhran O’Connor was the star of the show for Glenfin as his 1-9 tally helped put away Naomh Brid in the U-17 Division 2 Shield decider. 

Glenfin 2-15
Naomh Brid 1-10

At a chilly Convoy, it was the Ballintra lads that looked the more polished outfit in the first period with the impressive Eoghan Gallagher kicking five points to help the south Donegal side go in at the break 1-7 to 0-6 ahead. 

Having led 0-3 to 0-1 early on, Donal Gallagher’s 12th minute three-pointer then helped push Naomh Brid five clear. Points were traded back and forth and four points split the teams by the midpoint. 

And four remained the gap on 35 minutes as 1-9 led 0-8. But with Daire Quigley’s speculative effort from distance then somehow landing in the back of the Naomh Brid net, Glenfin tails were suddenly up. 

The defeated Naomh Brid side that lost out to Glenfin. 

And this was where O’Connor really took over. First, he levelled up matters before winning a penalty for the Pairc Taobhoige lads. 

He might have dragged that spot kick wide but moments later he swung over a huge effort that pushed Glenfin in front for the very first time as matters entered the final quarter of an hour. 

From that moment on, it was all one-way traffic. O’Connor then added a second goal for Glenfin on 50 minutes when his effort took a wicked deflection off a Ballintra defender and flew into the net. 

Indeed, Glenfin would register 2-7 on the bounce to go nine clear going into added time. And while Gallagher did clip one final point for Naomh Brid, it was Glenfin that were celebrating a quite emphatic victory at the final whistle.

Glenfin scorers: Odhran O’Connor 1-9,4f; Jack Long 0-3; Daire Quigley 1-2;  Ross Bradley 0-1;  

Naomh Brid scorers: Eoghan Gallagher 0-6,2f; Donal Gallagher 1-0; Callum McCafferty 0-2; Ronan Maher 0-1; Tadgh McGarrigle 0-1. 

Glenfin: James Browne; Charlie Kelly, Ross Bradley, Harry McGlynn; Cormac Bonner, James McGlynn, Seaghan McCormack; Jack Long, Oisin McGlynn; Calum Long, Daire Quigley, Tommy McNulty; Dabhog Foy, Odhran O’Connor, Jack Griffin. 
Subs: Matthew Morrow, Mickey Bonner and Conor McMemamin for D Foy, McNulty and Griffin (all 58) 

Naomh Brid: Dylan McGrory; Daithi Moss, Tadgh McGarrigle, Ben Murphy; Callum Doherty Kennedy, Patrick Gormley, John Britton; Donal Gallagher, Callum McCafferty; Cale Brelsin, Oisin Brogan, Corey O’Hart; Michael Herron, Ronan Maher, Eoghan Gallagher. 

Referee: Shane Toolan (Aodh Ruadh).