Macrory cup final player ratings

Paul Fitzpatrick was in the Athletic Grounds yesterday and runs through his player ratings, man for man, from a historic St Patrick's Day.

 

Fergal O'Rourke (Laragh): 9/10

An awesome performance from the young Laragh netminder. As well as finding his man on kick-outs consistently, O'Rourke pulled off two outstanding saves which kept Cavan in the game at crucial times (see video below).

 

Declan Lunney (Drumlane): 7/10

A tigerish performance in the corner from Lunney, who looked to be struggling slightly at one point in the first half against a powerful and pacy Dungannon attack but dug in with a gritty, disciplined performance.

 

Donal Monahan (Drumlane): 7.5/10

A rock at full-back. Monahan is physically imposing, quick and committed in the tackle and he had a very fine game yesterday.

 

Luke Fortune (Cavan Gaels): 7/10

Luke plays a similar style to his older brother Barry, an Ulster U21 medallist – he is a sticky corner-back who always seems to get a hand in and is comfortable coming out with the ball. Another good game yesterday.

 

Darragh Kennedy (Killygarry): 9/10

Kennedy had an awesome match yesterday, right from the throw-in. As one of the youngest players on the team, he showed tremendous courage and confidence to float over the opening score from 46 metres and he was involved in so much that was good about the St Pat's performance.
He later added another point and also broke down the kick-out which led to Pierce Smith winning a free to make it 0-10 to 0-6 at a crucial point in the second half.

 

Cian McManus (Teemore): 8/10

The joint-captain, as usual, hoovered up whatever ball broke loose and was the launchpad for many of his side's attacks. Cian patrolled the area in front of his own full-back line with authority and turned in an assured performance, with just one slight blip when he was caught in possession in the first half. Otherwise, impeccable from The Teemore Tank, who kept things simple throughout.

 

John Joe McGovern (Swanlinbar): 8/10

McGovern never put a foot wrong for the entire hour. He handled argubaly more ball than any other player in the first half and his use of possession was excellent – he found a team-mate every time. An astute reader of the game who does the simple things extremely well.

 

Thomas Galligan (Lacken): 8.5/10

A big game from a big player. Galligan is one of the six – Pierce Smith, Cian McManus, Ben Conaty, Brian Sheanon and Matthew McKenna – who have played in every available Ulster Colleges final and that experience came to the fore as he led this team when they needed it most.
Drove through for a timely fisted point in the first half and added another near the end. Galligan had his hands full with the towering Brian Kennedy but overall he shaded that battle which was key in his team winning the war.

 

Brendan Argue (Bailieborough Shamrocks): 7.5/10

Another solild, hard-working performance from Argue, who covered the pitch tirelessly and held his nerve to slot over a difficult point when it was badly needed. Typified the work ethic of the team – he can look back with pride on a super Ulster campaign.

 

Pierce Smith (Crosserlough): 7/10

By his very lofty standards, this was a relatively-quiet game from joint-captain Smith but he was very closely marked. His powerful runs still caused havoc when he found the space and everything he did was positive, with sound handling and powerful 'line-breaks'.

 

Paul Leddy (Lacken): 7/10

Leddy's probing style is a good foil for the other forwards – he is an excellent distributor of the ball with an eye for a score. He showed that again yesterday, spraying around some clever passes and splitting the posts from distance for a great point.

 

Matthew McKenna (Killygarry): 7/10

Mattie landed one impressive first half point, showing his high level of technical skill by cutting in at his ease and flinging the ball over off his left side. A solid, workmanlike performance with a sprinkling of class thrown in for good measure.

 

Conor Smith (Killygarry): 7.5/10

Smith, just out of U16 football, came into the side before the semi-final against Omagh CBS and starred in that game, and he had another very fine match against Dungannon. Showed well for the ball, including in the build-up to one of the goals, and displayed his tremendous vision with some astute passing.

 

Ben Conaty (Denn): 7/10

Conaty started the match very well and was in the thick of the action when he unfortunately got injured in an accidental collision in front of the stand and had to go off on a stretcher. That didn't stop him wearing the widest grin in the place afterwards, though!

 

Thomas Edward Donohoe (Denn): 8.5/10

The match-winner in the semi-final, 16-year-old Donohoe was very, very closely marked by a Dungannon defence who had obviously done their homework. Cavan struggled to find him with the ball for long periods but when they did, he was deadly, rifling home two goals (see video below) with the ruthlessness of an assassin. 'Ted' was also sound from frees throughout. Only the top players can feast on scraps, and that's what he did - excellent.

 

Subs:

 

Ryan O'Neill (Kildallan): 7/10

Solid performance from Ryan, who was introduced for the injured Conaty. Landed a difficult point and worked hard.

Patrick O'Reilly (Crosserlough) 8/10

Still only a third year student, Patrick made a big impact when he was introduced. He tore into some tackles and forced the vital turnover which led to the first goal.

David Brady (Ballyhaise) 8/10

A great showing from the big Ballyhaise lad, who had just recovered from a broken wrist. Got straight into the thick of the action, fielding, winning primary possession, bombing forward and spresading the ball around. A great option to have for the semi-final, as is Brian Sheanon, who also came on after being out injured.

 

* Other subs not on long enough to be rated.