St. Mary’s Diocesan School, Drogheda 3 – 2 De La Salle, Waterford AET
Played in breezy conditions in Arklow, St. Mary’s were made to battle hard against a very talented De La Salle side. With a strong breeze at their back in the first half, St. Mary’s created numerous opportunities to take the lead.
De La Salle held firm, until a ball broke to Emre Topcu who hit a sweetly struck volley into the bottom corner. St. Mary’s asserted more dominance, moving the ball smartly at pace.
De La Salle did manage to create their own chances in the first half but they were thwarted by on-form ‘keeper Oisin Black who made numerous smart saves. Late in the 1st half, De La Salle equalised after reacting quicker to a rebounded effort from a free kick at the edge of the box.
St. Mary’s came into the second half unlucky to not be in front, they knew they would have to work even harder against a strong breeze. That they did, St. Mary’s grew stronger and stronger as the match went on, further testing the De La Salle defence.
De La Salle remained resilient to each of those tests and got themselves ahead with 10 minutes to go after a wind assisted free travelled into the box and was flicked to the back of the net.
As has been the case all season, the St. Mary’s lads kept their heads up and battled back for a late equaliser when other teams would have folded. Charlie Bacon and Patrick O’Connell were sent on to freshen things up, both players doing exactly that.
With five minutes to go, St. Mary’s were all out attack as they pushed to send the game to extra-time. The ball fell to captain Patrick O’Connell who saw his well struck effort from the edge of the box hit the back of the net after a deflection along the way.
The game went on into extra time. This was familiar territory for the Mary’s lads after the previous two rounds. They pushed on and after five minutes the ball fell kindly for Charlie Bacon who tapped the winner home.
De La Salle pushed on late into extra time, however St. Mary’s defended out the remainder of the match as a team, with special mention to the excellent Evan Haddock being a rock at the heart of the St. Mary’s defence.
This historic win sends St. Mary’s into the Tom Ticher Cup All-Ireland final where they will play Connaught champions Rice College, Westport after the Easter break.
Full credit to every player on the squad who have each played their part in an amazing cup run. Hopefully the lads will be able to go one step further and claim All-Ireland glory.
St. Mary’s squad: Oisin Black, Fionn Brereton, Evan Haddock, Eoin Tierney, Patrick Browne, Emre Topcu, Eamonn Armstrong, Jake Hough, Ryan McBrearty, Sean O’Halloran, Dylan O’Boyle, Patrick O’Connell, James McGarvey, Joe O’Reilly, Altay Guneyer, Sam Heeney, Sean Sullivan, Charlie Bacon, Alex Russell, Aaron Dawes, Liam Leahy.
Coaches Mr. Farnan and Mr Mattimoe
