St. Eunan’s defeat the bish
FAI Schools Minor Boys National Cup Semi Final (Under 15, Large Schools)
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
St. Eunan’s College, Letterkenny 5-1 St. Joseph’s Patrician College, Galway
Mark McGuinness (4, 47, 70) Shai Thompson (62), Davin Kelly (70+1) Tom Devlin (6)
ST. EUNAN’S COLLEGE, LETTERKENNY put in a comprehensive performance to oust Connacht kingpins St. Joseph’s Patrician College (the Bish) in Ray MacSharry Park, Sligo this afternoon (Tuesday, April 30).
The scoreline slightly flattering the Donegal School but there was no denying the force of the St. Eunan’s attack late on as well as hitting the woodwork on four occasions.
A hat-trick from the talented Mark McGuinness and a brace from the impressive Shai Thompson and Captain Davin Kelly capped off a good outing for Paul Browne’s crew.
It was a pulsating start to proceedings with Mark McGUINNESS finishing off a superb Finn Nolan move to score after just four minutes but the Galway side levelled two minutes later when Tom DEVLIN blasted in after Jamie Corcoran’s initial shot was saved by Cormac Crossan.
St. Eunan’s Ryan Buckley had a lovely run inside the box with his effort rattling the crossbar on 18 minutes.
With ten minutes of the first period remaining, Galway’s Jamie Corcoran had his rocket blocked brilliantly by Crossan.
Shai Thompson’s attempt hit the side netting just before the interval as the sides went in one apiece at the break and all to play for.
A re-energised St. Eunan’s emerged in the second half as a corner in the first minute courtesy of Jonah Cannon was headed onto the crossbar by Cathal Daly.
Mark McGUINNESS grabbed his second of the afternoon in superb fashion after good work from Shai Thompson to turn suppler on 47 minutes as the Letterkenny side led 2-1.
Finn Nolan headed onto the post three minutes later from another well delivered corner from Cannon.
St. Joseph’s were unluckily not to equalise for a second time only for the heroics of keeper Cormac Crossan as he denied Captain Shane Rather and Tom Devlin in quick succession.
Shai THOMPSON put the Donegal side two ahead when he converted to make it 3-1 just after the hour mark.
Mark McGUINNESS bagged his hat-trick just on the stroke of full time while Davin KELLY added a fifth for good measure with a minute of injury time played.
A frustrating afternoon for the Galway outfit who could have had a few goals only for the stunning display of Cormac Crossan between the posts.
Dónal McBride had the Eunan’s defence well marshalled while the fire power up front got the job done for Browne’s young guns.
St. Eunan’s College march on to this season’s Cup decider which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 15 (1.0).
They’ll await the winners of the other semi-final pairing which sees Tralee CBS take on Moyle Park College, Clondalkin next Wednesday, May 8 (12 noon). A delay to the original date as the Dublin School have two students on International duty this week with the Under 15s namely Desmond Armstrong and Tadgh Prizeman.
ST. EUNAN’S COLLEGE, LETTERKENNY | Cormac Crossan, Cathal Daly, Jonah Cannon, Dónal McBride, Blake Merideth, Davin Kelly ©, Ryan Buckley, Adam Rodgers, Finn Nolan, Mark McGuinness, Shai Thompson
SUBS ROLL ON / OFF | Zack Gallagher, Temple Akpo, Ryan Toye, Adam Dwyer, Max McKeever, óisín Higgins, Matthew McGinley
TEACHERS | Paul Browne, Ollie Horgan
ST. JOSEPH’S PATRICIAN COLLEGE, GALWAY | Conor Lynskey, Callum Oliver, Eoghan Quirke, Shane Fahy, Eoghan Hoban, Shane Rafter ©, Ihor Semkiv, Alan Corcoran, Tom Devlin, Jamie Corcoran, Abdul Ahad Hameed Ali
SUBS ROLL ON / OFF | Evan McLaughlin Flaherty, Abdulaziz Alschafi, Darragh O’Connor, Charlie Garvey, Jamie Cunningham, Shay Cullen, Finian O’Connell
TEACHERS | Alex Lee, Darren Burke
MATCH OFFICIAL | John Barry (Sligo)
