Last minute winner hands St Eunan's win in dramatic National Senior Cup final

St. Eunan’s College are back on top of schools football tree after they snatched victory in the last minute of their windswept FAIS Schools Dr. Tony O’Neill National Senior Cup final against De La Salle of Waterford at Athlone Town Stadium.

St Eunan's College, Letterkenny 3
De La Salle Waterford 2

Before today’s dramatic win the Letterkenny school were six-time outright winners of this prestigious competition, having also shared the title with Douglas Community School two years ago, and the sense of ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ was clear to see in the early stages as they settled into the contest well, despite playing into a ferociously strong wind.

David Boakye, match-winner against Presentation Athenry last time out, met Tiernan Brown’s corner with a powerful header that flew a yard over the De La Salle crossbar in the fourth minute, and while both sides enjoyed their fair share of possession in the early exchanges, St. Eunan’s ability to work the ball up the field took the disadvantage of the breeze out of the game.

As with all big finals however, key moments swing the game, and none were more decisive than the decision to rule out a close range goal from De la Salle captain Alessandro de Sanctis for offside after 20 minutes.

De Sanctis was there to knock the ball over the line after Fintan Doherty failed to hold a dead ball delivery into the box from the left wing, but while De La Salle were still voicing their unhappiness with the call, St. Eunan’s broke up the field at great pace.

A weighted pass from Dylan McAteer into the feet of Noah Barrett left the Finn Harps man with just the keeper to beat, and his deft chip over the advancing Dara Kavanagh left the net, and the substantial St. Eunan’s support, dancing.

Defending set pieces was to be a problem for St. Eunan’s throughout the game and they were brought back on level terms when Matas Grinius met a corner kick with a decisive header to level the scores coming up to half-time.

At 1-1 at the break, it was still a healthy position for the Ulster champions, who had wind advantage to come, but another corner four minutes into the second half again found the head of Grinius, and while this time the centre back rattled the crossbar, St. Eunan’s were unable to complete the clearance, leaving Shane O’Brien to hammer the ball home to edge De la Salle in front.

The response from the Letterkenny students was exemplary. Ryan Creevy and Jay Maguire took over at midfield, and gradually they ratcheted up the pressure on the Waterford city school. What looked like an equaliser was ruled out as Boakye was controversially ruled offside, Tiernan Brown fizzed a 25-yard free just a foot over the De La Salle crossbar, and Dara Kavanagh had to be sharp to parry a close range daisy-cutter of a shot from Nathan Plumb, albeit daisies are a rare sight on the artificial surface in Athlone.

Plumb and Brown were both to have their moments however. Plumb was first on the scoresheet after 76 minutes, showing composure and power to hold off a defender as he chased down a long clearance, then clip the ball past Kavanagh into the net with just under 19 minutes to play.

By now De La Salle were utterly unable to break out of their own half and it was just a matter of whether St. Eunan’s would find a way through before time expired. 18 of the 19 minutes passed without a clear cut chance and there was no sign of any real danger either when Plumb and Grinius chased down a hopeful delivery into the De La Salle box, Grinius playing it safe as he headed the ball out for a corner.

As he did so, Dara Kavanagh rushed off his line and crashed into Plumb, leaving the St. Eunan’s and Letterkenny Rovers striker stretched out on the ground. Referee Ray Conlon had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, leaving the team’s fate in the hands – or the left foot - of Tiernan Brown.

Showing scant regard for the context and the pressure, Brown duly fired the ball into the roof of the net, ushering in wild celebrations among the players and supporters of what is once again the leading football school in the country.

ST. EUNAN’S, LETTERKENNY: Fintan Doherty; Leon Doherty, David Boakye, Fouad Bashar, Tiernan Brown; Adam Murphy, Ryan Creevy; Dylan McAteer, Jay Maguire, Noah Barrett; Nathan Plumb.

DE LA SALLE COLLEGE, WATERFORD: Dara Kavanagh; Matthew Elliott, Anthony Ebhonuaye, Matas Grinius, Seán Hearne; Jack Twomey; Ziggy Galvin, Alessandro de Sanctis, Evan Ryan; Anthony Adenopo; Shane O’Brien. Subs: Jack Lacey Keane for Adenopo (24), Conor McCabe for Galvin (74)

Referee – Ray Conlon.