St Colmcille's put a bad start behind them to overcome Walterstown in a dramatic Premier Football Division 8 final at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday afternoon.

St Colmcille's ..... 2-12
Walterstown ........1-13
after extra time

A strong start seemed to set Walterstown on the road to silverware, but St Colmcille's ground their way into contention

Though Paul McCarthy's men forced extra time, the east Meath side had the wherewithal and the greater experience to prevail.

Brendan McGill scooped the scoring plaudits with 1-5, which included a penalty goal that revived Oisin Gartlan's side when it seem title hopes were fading.

A McGill free in the second minute of extra time earned the team in sky blue and navy the lead they took to the podium.

In the 18th minute of extra time, Walterstown's top scorer Adam Quinn was unfortunate to see his goal attempt sky over the bar for what proved to be the game's final score.

Walterstown sprung from the traps with 1-3 in the opening seven minutes. Robbie Deane's goal capped the sequence that followed points from Ryan Conway and Adam Quinn (two).

The pendulum swung the other way with St Colmcille's responding with three points in just over two minutes. Gary McCloskey opened their account with Brendan McGill and Barry Kelly following.

In the last act before the first water break the Cille's had a great chance to regain parity, from a penalty. But, Barry Kelly's well-struck effort rebounded off a post before going wide at the other side.

Ahead by 1-3 to 0-3 at the first water break, both sides made no progress in the second quarter when they shared two points. Andrew McConnell moved Walterstown four clear before a Barry Kelly free closed the first-half scoring when it was 1-4 to 0-4.

From the restart, Walterstown maintained their advantage until the 39th minute.  The Blacks (in a darker shade of grey) had a chance of a second goal but Ryan Conway's effort was well-saved by Domo McDowell.

Seconds later, the Piltown side when level when Barry O'Donoghue flicked to the net after Keith Magill's forward mark dropped short. Walterstown's positive reply saw them move two points clear twice in the final quarter.

Then, in the 59th minute a foul on David Harmon led to a penalty which Brendan McGill netted with aplomb to leave St Colmcille;s ahead by the minimum, 2-7 to 1-9.

A Diarmaid Freeman free had Walterstown level. A McGill free in the seventh minute of added time seemed to settle matters in the 'Cilles favour. There was still time for another score and Walterstown forced extra time with a Ryan Conway effort from play. It left it 2-8 to 1-11 at the hour mark.

St Colmcille's outscored Walterstown by 0-4 to 0-2 in the additional 20 minutes to prevail.

Scorers: St Colmcille's -Brendan McGill 1-5 (1-0 pen, 0-2 fs); Gerry O'Donoghue 1-0; Gary McCloskey (1f), Barry Kelly (1f) 0-2 each; Colin Duignan, Keith Magill, Hugh Davey 0-1 each. 

Walterstown - Adam Quinn 0-5; Robbie Deane 1-0;  Troy O'Brien (2fs) 0-3; Ryan Conway 0-2; Mark Foy, Andrew McConnell, Diarmuid Freeman 0-1 each.

St Colmcille's - Domo McDowell; Adrian Bryan, Brian Kelly, Shane Cassidy; John McKenna (c), Brian Mullen, Gerry O'Donoghue; Enda Grogan, Ian Mullen; David Marron, Colin Duignan, Brendan McGill; Daire Ferguson, Barry Kelly, Gary McCloskey. Subs - Keith Magill for Duignan (36), Sean Kelly for B Kelly (45), Dave Fahy for Marron (60 + 1). Subs in extra time - Lorcan Smith for Bryan, Hugh Davey for Grogan (71), 

Walterstown - Raymond Reynolds; Paddy Donnellan, Eoin Roche, Eoghan McCague; Ronan Maxwell, Aidan O'Connor, Ross Reynolds; Jack Wilson, Jack Doyle (c); Robbie Deane, Ryan Conway, Adam Quinn; Diarmaid Freeman, Andrew McConnell, Troy O'Brien. Subs - Mark Foy for P Donnellan (42), Donal Traynor for McConnell (47), Eoin Cosgrave for Deane (52).

Referee - Henri Clifford (Ballivor)

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