O'Raghallaigh Gaels 0-13
Cavan Gaels 1-4

O'Raghallaigh Gaels dethroned champions Cavan Gaels to capture the Division One Minor Football Championship title this evening at Kingspan Breffni Park.

Played in dreadful conditions, the game produced a drab first-half in which the winners led by a mere point before racing five points clear after the first 10 minutes of the second-half.

Vincent Coyle registered a well-finished goal for Cavan Gaels to make a game of it in the last quarter, but the Kingscourt/Shercock amalgamation dug deep in the closing stages to see out victory.

Padraic Sheridan had Cavan Gaels off the mark after three minutes with a fine point, before Cian McArdle cancelled-out the effort with a close range free and Aaron Browne had O'Raghallaigh Gaels into their first lead on nine minutes when he spilt the uprights from his centre-forward position.

Oisin Sheridan grabbed the next score for the Cavan town side, but they wouldn't score again for the remainder of the half as they let too many chances go by the wayside.

The Blues should have had a goal in the 23rd minute when Cian Donohoe sent Vincent Coyle through with only the goalkeeper to beat, but the centre-forward hit the umpire instead of the net. It was a let off for O'Raghallaigh Gaels and they would regain the lead a minute before the break through McArdle's second accurate free.

Another goal opportunity went a begging for Cavan Gaels on the eve of half-time, when Andrew Graham's soft shot was heroically cleared off the line by Padraic Faulkner, which left the score-line reading 0-3 to 0-2 in O'Raghallaigh Gaels' favour at the halfway stage.

The Kingscourt/Shercock combination resumed matters well by notching scores through Owen Duffy and Ryan Carey, before a Coyle free helped to stem the tide for Martin Dunne's charges.

O'Raghallaigh Gaels could have found the net afterwards when Killian Clarke's shot was tipped over by Ritchie Murphy in the Cavan Gaels goal, but they would still manage to open up a five-point gap when efforts from McArdle (free) and Browne flew over.

After shipping a knock in the first-half which saw him having to be withdraw at half-time, Cavan Gaels captain Paul Graham re-took to the field and within minutes of coming back on the Cavan minor captain landed a rousing point to trim his side's deficit.

The score helped to lift the trailers' spirits and they hunted for another score when Graham carried possession from midfield and his cunning pass found Coyle's unmarked run, and when the number 11 accepted the pass he made no mistake in burying in a low finish to make it a one-point game.

The next score was crucial and as things unravelled it was O'Raghallaigh Gaels that would go on to grab four without reply, as McArdle and super substitute Ryan Clerkin, who raised three white flags, demonstrated their scoring prowess with the pressure on to secure the title.

O'Raghallaigh Gaels: Shay Rooney; Rory Sheridan, Eoin Lynch, Owen Duffy (0-1); Padraig Faulkner, Brian Sankey, Colin Clerkin; Joe Dillon, James Farrelly; David Harpur, Aaron Browne (0-2), Niall Clerkin; Ryan Carey (0-1), Killian Clarke (0-1), Cian McArdle (0-5, 4f). Subs: Jack Sheehan for D Harpur (43 mins), Ryan Clerkin (0-3) for J Farrelly (47 mins), Paul Sloane for R Sheridan (60 mins).

Cavan Gaels: Ritchie Murphy; Daniel Mulligan, Cathal Cronin, Cian Mulligan; Barry Fortune, Cian McKiernan, Gary Farrelly; Paul Graham (0-1), Kevin Brady; Padraic Sexton (0-1), Vincent Coyle (1-1, 1f), Oisin Sheridan (0-1); Cian Donohoe, Andrew Graham, Leon Smith. Subs: Stephen Murray for P Graham (HT, inj), Graham for Smith (40 mins), Jason McConnell for O Sheridan (55 mins).

Ref: MG Brady (Mullahoran) Tweet

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