AIB Ulster Club SFC preliminary round: St Eunan’s (Donegal) 1-4 Glen (Derry) 0-8
BREATHTAKING scores, a dramatic penalty save, supporters out of their seats roaring at each other and the man in the middle, and a spurned shot at redemption as the clock ticked down.
Yep, that final nine minutes was something alright. Really had it all. What about the rest? Ah, you don’t want to know. All I’ll say is those unhappy with the faltering Ulster GAA stream they’d paid for should, for the most part, count themselves lucky.
At various stages, particularly through an unbelievably dull first half that had St Eunan’s up 1-2 to 0-3, you could hear the conversations being sparked up as attention waned.
Have you had your booster yet? Naw, what about yourself? Others nearby yarned away about where they’d been for a walk the day before.
And what about the drop in temperature that has surely escaped nobody’s notice? That got a good airing too as these county kingpins playing out a game of cat and mouse struggled to capture the imagination early on.
Few of those who travelled to Letterkenny yesterday will have expected much different, though, especially those who watched how St Eunan’s got the better of Naomh Chonaill in the Donegal decider.
When Glen midfielder Conor Glass won the throw-in, 15 yellow and black jerseys slowly but surely retreated inside their own 40. Just as they had done Glenties, St Eunan’s wanted to frustrate a Maghera side installed as joint favourites for the All-Ireland club title after swatting aside Slaughtneil to claim the John McLaughlin Cup.
And for 52 minutes it worked a treat. Malachy O’Rourke’s men – who were without midfielder Emmett Bradley - knew they would have to remain patient but, in doing so, found themselves walking into the St Eunan’s web as a strangely tepid encounter ensued.
A Glass free marked the only time the scoreboard was troubled before the first water break, and St Eunan’s got the breakthrough they had been looking for minutes later.
Darragh Mulgrew burst forward after a Glen attack ran aground, and when the midfielder’s shot dropped short Padraig McGettigan was there to palm home, rising above Connlann Bradley in the Watty Graham’s goal.
With something to hold onto, St Eunan’s defended brilliantly for most of the remainder of the game. Ciaran McFaul was unable to control the game in his familiar manner, while the pacy Ethan Doherty couldn’t find the space to cut loose amid a sea of yellow and black.
Following a Jack Doherty burst, Danny Tallon passed up a possible goal chance in favour of a point as half-time loomed, before Mulgrew showed what Eunan’s are capable of when they click into gear – clipped over off his left side after Patton and Kevin Kealy combined to engineer space.
Trailing by two, Glen’s cause was hampered further when captain Conor Carville was shown a black card three minutes into the second half. But this is where St Eunans’ lack of ambition killed them.
Another couple of scores clear and Glen were faced with a mountain to scale. Instead they stuck to their defensive guns, the only score in that 10 minute period coming from a Tallon free.
And when opportunities did present themselves from placed balls, Patton wasn’t up to the task – sending two frees and a 45 wide of the posts. Another goal chance came and went, McGettigan palming over the bar when the net looked set to ripple after being picked out at the back post by Conor Parke.
Still, two behind heading into the final quarter, Glen had all the work to do. For a club fresh from a first county championship success, a team touted as potential All-Ireland club champions before their Ulster campaign had even begun, these are the moments that make or break you.
When Tallon curled over after Shane O’Donnell had been pick-pocketed, the wheels were beginning to turn.
Glass talked though the week about modelling his game on Brian Fenton – the Dublin ace would have been proud of the vital interception the Maghera man made as the Donegal champions eyed up a killer goal when Parke and Aaron Deeney broke upfield.
As Ciaran McFaul picked up the break he was dragged down by Deeney, the corner-back shown a black card by Tyrone whistler Sean Hurson.
McFaul stepped up to send over a brilliant score that seemed to hang in the air for eternity as the gap was cut to one, and with three minutes left he started a move that finished with Patton bringing down sub Stevie O’Hara as he advanced on goal.
It looked soft enough from our vantage point, and St Eunan’s were given a reprieve when Patton palmed away Conleith McGuckian’s poor penalty.
However, when corner-back Michael Warnock wheeled away after sending a superb effort between the posts from 30 metres to level it up in added time, all the momentum in a previously momentum-free game was with the men from Maghera.
Extra-time looked a certainty until, inexplicably, Patton saw his kick-out come back into his arms courtesy of St Eunan’s team-mate Sean McVeigh. Even with the sun shining down into his eyes, Tallon made no mistake from the free to edge his side ahead at the death.
Still St Eunan’s had one last shot at salvation but as the returning Deeney’s shot drifted wide of the posts, so went their hopes of clawing back a game they had in the palm of their hands.
Glen showed the spirit of champions to edge across the line but Scotstown will be a different proposition on December 5 when the Watty’s face the latest test of their top level credentials.
St Eunan’s: S Patton; C Parke, C Ward, A Deeney; Kieran Tobin (0-1), C O'Donnell sr, P Devine, E Dowling; D Mulgrew (0-1), K Kealy; P McEniff, S O'Donnell (0-1), S McVeigh; P McGettigan (1-1), N O’Donnell. Subs: S McGettigan for Kealy (52), E McGeehin for P McGettigan (58), C O'Donnell jr for Dowling (59)
Black card: A Deeney (49-59)
Yellow cards: S Patton (57), S O’Donnell (59), N O’Donnell (60+2)
Glen: C Bradley; R Dougan, C Carville; T Flanagan; M Warnock (0-1), C McFaul (0-1), E Doherty; C Glass (0-1, free), C McDevitt; E Mulholland, J Doherty, C Convery, P Gunning; D Tallon (0-5, 0-3 frees), C McGuckian. Subs: A Doherty for J Doherty (34), C Mullholland for E Mulholland (46), S O'Hara for Gunning (55), T Higgins for C Convery (60+2)
Black card: C Carville (33-43)
Yellow card: C McGuckian (24)
Referee: S Hurson (Tyrone)
