Late Derry flourish sets up Kerry decider at Find Insurance Celtic Park
Rian Collins and Cormac O’Doherty spark a miraculous comeback to keep the Oakleaf County in the hunt
A stunning grandstand finish saw Derry come from six behind to rescue a draw against Meath in a heart-stopping 3-15 apiece stalemate at St Loman’s Park in Trim in the penultimate round of the Christy Ring Cup. In a repeat of the 2023 decider, which the Royals won by the narrowest of margins, the game had effectively been billed as a semi-final for a place in the Christy Ring Cup final against Kerry, but the result means Johnny McGarvey’s charges must now defeat the Kingdom next weekend in the final round-robin fixture.
Derry were held scoreless from the forty-second until the sixty-third minute during a spell where Meath rattled off 2-3 without reply. However, McGarvey’s men finished with a dramatic flourish, scoring 2-2 deep into stoppage time, and were it not for a Tom Shine equaliser with the final puck of the game, the Oakleafers would already be celebrating a fourth consecutive Christy Ring final appearance.
Na Magha’s Deaghlan Foley got Derry off to the perfect start with a well-taken point inside the opening minute. After a frantic opening, Meath eventually settled and got off the mark through Eoin Donegan in the seventh minute, before under-20 panellist Mark Leavy followed up immediately with a fine effort to edge the Royals ahead.
Thomas Brady and Foley responded for the visitors before a Lorcan Byrne point left the sides level at 0-3 apiece by the twelfth minute. The Royals soon seized the impetus, however, and two minutes later Byrne raised the first green flag of the afternoon, emphatically firing beyond Sean Kelly after Tom Shine split the Derry defence with a surging run.
Foley almost replied with a goal of his own at the opposite end, but Gavin King produced a superb save to divert his effort over the bar. Cormac O’Doherty reduced the deficit to the minimum from a placed ball moments later before Meath found their rhythm with three quickfire scores from Damien Healy, Shine and Joey Cole to move 1-6 to 0-5 ahead by the twenty-eighth minute.
McGarvey’s side wrestled back momentum before the interval, however, with Darragh McGilligan’s mishit effort deceiving King and ending up in the net to leave only a point between the teams. A hat-trick of O’Doherty frees followed as the Oakleaf County surged into a 1-8 to 1-6 lead two minutes before the break.
But it was the Royals who finished the half stronger, with scores from Kyle Ennis and two from Shine either side of another O’Doherty free, sending the sides in level at 1-9 apiece at the break, with Derry having the wind advantage to come after half-time.
Johnny McGarvey's made an ideal restart as Brady, O’Doherty and Seán Quinn pushed them three clear by the forty-second minute. However, that proved to be their final score for over twenty minutes as Meath completely took control of proceedings.
Damien Healy rifled to the net with a clinical finish before Ennis and Shine added points. Shine struck for a second Meath goal in the fifty-third minute, and another Leavy score stretched the Royals’ lead to 3-11 to 1-12.
Substitute Conor Melaugh finally ended Derry’s drought, but further scores from Shine and Leavy left Meath leading 3-14 to 1-13 with just two minutes of normal time remaining.
Then came the late drama. Two O’Doherty frees reduced the gap to five before a superb goal from the Lavey starlet Rian Collins reignited Derry hopes. Deep into the fourth minute of stoppage time, a hopeful O’Doherty 65 somehow found its way into the net to hand the Oakleafers the most unlikely of leads. However, with time almost up, the resulting puck-out proved crucial. Shine gathered possession and instinctively struck over the equaliser to rescue a share of the spoils for the Royals.
McGarvey’s men now face the daunting challenge of overcoming already-qualified Kerry next weekend at Find Insurance Celtic Park, knowing victory would set up a rematch with the Kingdom in the Christy Ring final a fortnight later. Should both Derry and Meath finish level on points, the tiebreaker would come down to scoring difference, with the Foylesiders at present plus seventeen ahead of their Leinster counterparts.
Meath: Gavin King; Jarlath Ennis, Sean Geraghty, Lorcan O’Connor; Eoin Donegan, Daire Shine, Anthony Healy; Sean Coloe, Kyle Donnelly; Damien Healy, Lorcan Byrne, Tom Shine; Kyle Ennis, Joey Cole, Mark Leavy.
Scorers: Tom Shine 1-6 (3f), Lorcan Byrne 1-1, Damien Healy 1-1, Mark Leavy 0-3, Kyle Ennis 0-2, Joey Cole 0-1, Eoin Donegan 0-1.
Substitutes: Simon Ennis for Joey Cole (45 mins), Noah Conroy for Kyle Ennis (45 mins), Darren O’Higgins for Sean Coloe (63 mins).
Derry: Sean Kelly; Jamie Lee McGlade, Patrick Turner, Cathair McGilligan; Eamonn Cassidy, Meehaul McGrath, Conor Coyle; Sean Quinn, Thomas Brady; Darragh McGilligan, Rian Collins, Joseph Mulholland; Cormac O’Doherty, Shea Cassidy, Deaghlan Foley.
Scorers: Cormac O’Doherty 1-8 (6f), Darragh McGilligan 1-0, Rian Collins 1-0, Deaghlan Foley 0-3, Thomas Brady 0-2, Sean Quinn 0-1, Conor Melaugh 0-1
Substitutes: Eamonn McGill for Joseph Mulholland (47 mins), Eunan Boylan for Deaghlan Foley (53 mins), Conor Melaugh for Sean Quinn (55 mins), Tiarnan Melaugh for Cathair McGilligan (58 mins), Ryan McGarvey for Thomas Brady (60 mins).
Referee: Nicholas O’Toole (Waterford)