Thompson has the last say as Naomh Conaill win Donegal SFC cliffhanger against Kilcar on penalties

The deferred Donegal SFC was finally claimed by Naomh Conaill in a dramatic penalty shoot-out with Ciaran Thompson scoring the winner and goalkeeper Stephen McGrath saving from the McHugh brothers Ryan and Mark.

Naomh Conaill 2-7
Kilcar 0-13
(after extra-time. Naomh Conaill won 4-2 on penalties)

It was going to take something off the wall to separate them and that’s how it panned out. When they peel back the pages of the 2020 Donegal SFC in years to come it will be an unconventional one, although the winners are the one thing about it that mightn’t surprise anyone. Naomh Conaill, in their centenary year, are now back to back and a league and championship has been claimed, with the 2021 championship to start next month.

But the way it came to pass wasn’t normal. At almost 10:10pm in front of the 500 permitted supporters and others on the edge of their seats watching streams, Kilcar’s panel stood arms linked in front of the terrace, with Naomh Conaill’s line by the stand.

Up stepped Charlie McGuinness, with the whole ground staring at him and Kevin Campbell, the Kilcar goalkeeper. McGuinness held his nerve, while John O’Malley and Dermot Molloy did the same.

For Kilcar, Patrick McBrearty netted, only for Ryan McHugh to see his effort saved by McGrath in the Naomh Conaill goal. Matthew McClean netted too. Kilcar were given a chance when Brendan McDyer dragged his wide, but when Mark McHugh was also denied by McGrath, it was fittingly left to Thompson to smash the winner.

Thompson’s voice wavered as he lifted the Dr Maguire, remembering the late Michael Jack O’Donnell. They did as he would've wished, they brought back the 'Pandy'.

Man of the match Thompson scored 1-5 for Naomh Conaill but was matched by 0-8 from McBrearty, which meant the sides were level nine times a gripping contest as the sun set on the Twin Towns.

Peculiarly, a goal from an unlikely source in the form of Kevin McGettigan in the 57th minute looked to have won it for Naomh Conaill. However, from three down, Patrick McBrearty and Mark McHugh forced extra-time for gutsy Kilcar.

Seeing both teams won their respective semi-final ties away back in September - 336 days ago for Kilcar and 335 for Naomh Conaill - and following coronavirus cases, the Donegal lockdown and the national version, another 20 minutes and whatever else wasn’t going to turn the milk sour.

There was nothing in it in the first quarter, with the teams locked at 0-3 apiece at the first water break. McBrearty’s brace and Eoin McHugh were on the mark for Kilcar, while Thompson had amassed all of Naomh Conaill’s opening scores.

With both teams content to sit in, it was cagey and a Mark McHugh foul on Charlie McGuinness led to a Naomh Conaill penalty on 24 minutes, which Thompson tucked past Campbell.

The high ball in from Naomh Conaill was something Kilcar were worrying about and McGuinness and Kieran Gallagher inside have been christened the Twin Towers. From a Thompson ball in moments after the penalty, Campbell in goal committed and Kilcar had a let-off as the ball trickled just wide.

In a match of fine margins, Naomh Conaill’s 1-3 to 0-3 advantage was a decent one but Kilcar scored the last three points of the half to go in level. They came courtesy of McBrearty, a Matthew McClean mark and an excellent score from Ryan McHugh, who pinched possession from Ethan O’Donnell right before the interval.

The last time the final was contested in the north-west, back in October 2019, Naomh Conaill came through a game of stares that lasted two Sunday afternoons and a Wednesday evening, with the Glenties-based side winning by a point in the second replay against then Ulster champions Gaoth Dobhair.

Barring the odd one they had to deal with from the skies, Kilcar might’ve been slightly more content at half-time, going in 0-6 to 1-3. A McBrearty free, which was brought forward by referee Mark Dorrian for dissent, edged Kilcar in front - it was their fourth score on the trot.

It was a short-lived lead as on 35 minutes, McGuinness hooked a punch inches over the Kilcar crossbar with the aforementioned long ball again the point of concern for John McNulty’s team. It could’ve gone anywhere.

With the teams mirroring one another, it needed someone to think outside the box and Naom Conaill managed that when Kevin McGettigan stole in from the corner-back berth to score. McGuinness missed a free to double it out.

Dorrian penalised AJ Gallagher for a foul off the ball and McBrearty tapped over a routine free to level, 0-8 to 1-5, some 11 minutes into the second half.

McGettigan was enjoying his ventures forward and he almost got on the end of a diagonal ball from Eoin Waide, getting a touch at the back post with Campbell struggling, on 46 minutes.

It was tense, with the lights adding to the atmosphere. Thompson, with a free, managed to steer Martin Regan’s Naomh Conaill one up with 10 to play. Ciaran McGinley broke through a sea of white jerseys and it was all square for the seventh time, this time at 1-6 to 0-9.

Then, came McGettigan’s goal when he tucked home the rebound when McGuinness had challenged Campbell, and even more so than in the first half after Thompson’s penalty, this looked like being the differential. Less than three minutes to play, Naomh Conaill were 2-6 to 0-9 in front, with Eoin Waide having been black-carded.

Kilcar rallied and McBrearty scored a free when he ran right at Gallagher, then Mark McHugh put over a monster effort from the left side. In the first minute of the four signalled for injury time, McBrearty won another free and slotted over the equaliser.

With just under 90 seconds to play, Dorrian blew for time. There, Jason Campbell took over the responsibility of marking McBrearty and Naomh Conaill took a chance that came their way with a spectacular Thompson point that would've been a worthy winner, while Kilcar had four wides until McBrearty’s eighth point made it 0-13 to 2-7 and led to the shootout.

It had to end somewhere, although you got the impression had a truce and replay been permitted everyone might've made last orders.

For something that had such narrow margins, the emotions couldn’t have been more different at the end.

KILCAR: Kevin Campbell; Barry Shovlin, Pauric Carr, Barry McGinley; Ryan McShane, Ryan McHugh (0-1), Andrew McClean; Eoin McHugh (0-1), Ciaran McGinley (0-1); Conor Doherty, Matthew McClean (0-1,m), Stephen McBrearty; Mark McHugh (0-1,f), Patrick McBrearty (0-08,4f), Oran Doogan.
Subs: Ryan O'Donnell for Doogan 45; Cormac Cannon for B McGinley 49; Darragh O'Donnell for M McClean 54; Conor McShane for A McClean 60+2; Michael Hegarty for R O'Donnell 71; Jason Campbell for C McGinley 74; Matthew McClean for C Cannon 77

NAOMH CONAILL: Stephen McGrath; Ultan Doherty, AJ Gallagher, Kevin McGettigan (1-1); Ethan O'Donnell, Anthony Thompson, Eoin Waide; Leo McLoone, Ciaran Thompson (1-5,'45',2f,1-0 pen); Eunan Doherty, Odhran Doherty, Ciaran Brennan; Jeaic Mac Ceallabhui, Charles McGuinness (0-1), Kieran Gallagher.
Subs: Brendan McDyer for C Brennan 38; Seamus Corcoran for U Doherty 47; Dermot Molloy for K Gallagher 52; Keelan McGill for Ethan O'Donnell 54; Jason Campbell for AJ Gallagher, Nathan Byrne for McGuinness, both extra time; John O'Malley for O Doherty, Kieran Gallagher for Waide, both 64; Marty Boyle for Corcoran 80; Charles McGuinness for L McLoone 80

REFEREE: Mark Dorrian (Gaeil Fhánada)