Goals prove the killer as Knockbeg College fall to St Pat’s Navan in Leinster Junior final

The Knockbeg College Junior football team suffered Leinster final heartbreak on Tuesday afternoon after St Pat's Navan had nine points to spare over the school situated just inside Laois on the Carlow border.

St Pat's Navan's ability to get goals in the first half, playing into a strong breeze that favoured Knockbeg, was the winning of the game, and it gave Knockbeg a mountain to climb at half-time. St Pat's led 4-5 to 0-10 at the break.

It didn't take long for St Pat's to get their first score as they scored straight from the throw-in. Captain Conn Brennan won the throw-in and it ended with Harry McGuirk putting the ball in the Knockbeg net inside 30 seconds. McGuirk also scored 2-5 for the Meath minor footballers in their big win over Laois last week in Portlaoise.

Eoghan Harris from Arles-Killeen got Knockbeg up and running with three minutes on the clock before Brennan made it 1-1 to a point a minute later. Harris then took his and Knockbeg's total to two points, but St Pat's went down the other end and got a second goal courtesy of Eanna Kenny. McGuirk added a point to his earlier goal to put St Pat's six points ahead with less than 10 minutes played.

Knockbeg halved the deficit when Dale Heffernan pointed before Tadhg O'Gorman raised an orange flag from a free. The same pattern emerged, though and just when you thought Knockbeg were back in touching distance, St Pat's scored a third goal. Michael Gormley had a shot that was saved by Mark Dowling, but unfortunately, Cormac McKenna was quickest to react, and he kicked the rebound over Dowling, who was still on the ground after his great 1-on-1 save from Gormley.

St Pat's were then found guilty of not having three players in the Knockbeg half, which gave O'Gorman a chance to kick a second two-point free, which he did with ease. Knockbeg did likewise only a few minutes later, but McGuirk decided to kick it for one point from the 13-metre line as the wind was too strong to bring it outside the arc. 

O'Gorman ended the half with three more points and his third two-pointer after a great catch from Michael Brennan saw O'Gorman curl the ball over from outside the arc. St Pat's put the game to bed in the last five minutes of the half as McGuirk scored two more points, along with the Meath school scoring their fourth goal of the half. Oisin Giles, son of Meath legend Trevor Giles, played a one-two with Eanna Kenny before tucking the ball past Dowling. It looked to be a long way back for Knockbeg at this stage, with St Pat's ahead 4-5 to 0-10 by the time Lee Moore blew the half-time whistle.

McGuirk was proving a tricky customer to keep a handle on as he began the second half with three more points, including a two-pointer from play. O'Gorman (free) and Cormac Murphy added a point each for Knockbeg, but with eight points separating the schools, Knockbeg would need at least one or two goals against the breeze. Tomas Proudfoot almost found a fifth goal for St Pat's, but his effort hit the post and Knockbeg picked the rebound.

O'Gorman added two more frees for Knockbeg, while Conn Brennan (two-pointer), Cormac McKenna, Patrick Travers and another two-pointer from McGuirk pushed St Pat's 12 points clear, 4-14 to 0-14. Knockbeg did end the contest with three points on the trot from Michael Brennan, O'Gorman and Murphy, but it wasn't to be for Knockbeg and their large group of supporters as St Pat's Navan raised the trophy aloft in Hawkfield.

FINAL SCORE 

ST PAT'S NAVAN 4-14

KNOCKBEG COLLEGE 0-17

SCORERS - St Pat's Navan: Harry McGuirk 1-9 (one two-pointer, one two-point free, 0-2 frees), Cormac McKenna 1-1, Oisin Giles and Eanna Kenny 1-0 each, Conn Brennan 0-3 (one two-pointer), Patrick Travers 0-1. Knockbeg: Tadhg O'Gorman 0-11 (two two-pointers, one two-point free, 0-4 frees), Eoghan Harris 0-2, Dale Heffernan, Cormac Murphy and Michael Brennan 0-1 each.

KNOCKBEG COLLEGE: Mark Dowling (Crettyard); Will Duffy (Ballylinan), Nisun Balogun (Killeshin), Podge Brennan (Graiguecullen); Tadhg Murnane (Castledermot), Harry O’Gorman (Castledermot), Cian Howard (Asca); Dale Heffernan (Killeshin), Darragh Brennan (Crettyard); Cormac Murphy (Eire Og), Greg Kelly (Castledermot), Michael Brennan (Crettyard); Mikey Regan (Killeshin), Tadhg O’Gorman (Castledermot), Eoghan Harris (Arles-Kileen). Subs: Tadhg Deane for D Brennan (50 mins), Henrry Hovenden for Regan (56 mins), Nathal Walsh for Duffy (59 mins), Brendan Byrne for Howard (63 mins).

ST PAT’S NAVAN: Ryan McDonnell; Art O’Neill, Niall Rogan, Ben Browne; Oisín Giles, Michael Gormley, Conor Larkin; Conn Brennan, Tomas Proudfoot; Eanna Kenny, Cormac McKenna, Johnny Finnegan; James Heery, Patrick Travers, Harry McGuirk. Subs: Charlie Reuter for Larkin (51 mins), Ruairi McDermott for Kenny and Jack Kenny for Travers (Both 52 mins).

Referee: Lee Moore (Kildare)