Donegal Town U-14s edge out Letterkenny Rovers in super Champions League decider

Donegal Town lifted the U14 Champions League trophy on a wet Saturday night at the Donegal League Headquarters in Ballyare. 

Colm Og Breathnach scored early to give Letterkenny Rovers the lead, while Jay Cullen netted the leveller from the spot. 

Ryan Quinn found the net in the latter stages of the second half, as his side continued their recent impressive run in all competitions. 

During the early stages of this encounter, Donegal Town were on the front foot, but clear-cut chances evaded them as Ryan Quinn fired a free kick straight at Ruben Carey with seven minutes on the clock.

Fast forward less than five minutes, and Letterkenny Rovers scored the first goal of the night. 

Martin Ward's delivery into a packed box caused a few issues, and it forced Colm Og Breathnach to take a few touches to avoid an opposition player before a calm low finish into the bottom corner.

Letterkenny Rovers U-14s

Donegal Town pushed for a quick response, and they created a few openings in the aftermath of the goal. Eoin Doherty had one low effort saved, while he assisted Quinn for another, but the first-time volley was just off target. 

With just over 20 minutes gone, Donegal Town were awarded a penalty after Akai Alleyne tripped Quinn inside the area. Jay Cullen was on spot kick duty and placed his effort into the bottom right corner, just underneath the body of Carey.

Letterkenny Rovers were quick to act after that goal and almost responded perfectly as Ronan Tinney's tunnel vision run forward was only stopped by Simi Amoo, who made a vital block to deny Breathnach.

Tinney went close again on the cusp of halftime, with Dylan Byrne equal to a long-range attempt. 

Rovers continued to create at the start of the second half as Tinney turned provider again, as his ball into the box only needed a stronger touch from Breathnach to take it home. 

Kurt Obanor took advantage of a slip in the defence to bear down on goal with a little under 20 minutes to go, but Dylan Byrne made a textbook save in the one-on-one scenario. 

In the final quarter of an hour, Donegal Town were on the front foot. Doherty's niche corner kick from the right hung in the air but bounced down in the middle of the crossbar. 

Just a few minutes later, Donegal Town took the lead. Jay Cullen  launched the ball over the top, and Quinn latched onto it before a short run into the box and a powerful finish into the top left corner. 

In the final moments of the game as Letterkenny Rovers pushed to force extra time, Donegal resorted to some no-nonsense defending. 

A couple of those clearances landed at the foot of a player in a Rovers shirt, but one found its way to Quinn, who had an opportunity to seal the win, but his low shot was well saved by the boot of Carey.

Letterkenny Rovers: Ruben Carey; Martin Ward, Ronan Tinney, Asme Ayres, Akai Alleyne; Ronan Ward, Thalji Al Daher, Colm Og Breathnach, Kurt Obanor; Helden Carvalho, Jamie Gorman.

Christian Evangelista, Denzel Taku, Jack Devlin, Adhamhnan Gibson, Zion Akpo, Eamonn Sampson, Luke Elliott. 

Donegal Town: Dylan Byrne; Daire O'Donnell, Ruairi Meehan, Simi Amoo, John James Monaghan; Conall Parsons, Ethan Wasson, Jay Cullen, Ryan Quinn; Odhran Plunkett, Eoin Doherty.

Cameron Crawford, Sean Byrne, Noel Lorinyenko, Senan Gallagher, Aiden Molloy, Iarla Cassidy, Noah Kennedy. 

Referee: John Shiels