Munterconnaught hold off Kill to end 31-year wait

JFC final

Munterconnaught 0-11

Kill Shamrocks 0-10

Paul Fitzpatrick at Kingspan Breffni

Munterconnaught landed the Junior Championship title for the first time in 31 years with this nerve-shredding one-point victory over Kill Shamrocks at a blustery Kingspan Breffni.

The Munchies had to fight for every inch against a resolute Kill outfit in a match that was tight and tense throughout, with the sides level on eight occasions and neither team ever leading by more than two points.

It was substitute Shane Hanly who proved the hero, splitting the posts deep into injury time with his first score of the championship – and the most important one.

This was the fourth meeting between the teams this year. Two ended in draws, while Munterconnaught edged the other by two points, so it was little surprise that another nail-biter unfolded. Defences dominated the opening half as nerves and handling errors restricted scoring, but the contest opened up after the break, producing a gripping finale that kept the large crowd in suspense until referee Daire Donohoe’s final whistle.

Munterconnaught were first on the board in the fourth minute when Nwaneri slipped a clever pass to Stephen Sheridan, who quickly laid off to Corey Gilsenan. The corner-forward was fouled as he shot, and Enda O’Shea made no mistake from a tricky free to edge his side ahead.

Kill almost responded with a goal soon after. Ben McIntyre wriggled clear of two defenders but his low shot lacked power and was comfortably gathered by goalkeeper John McCabe.

Both teams were guilty of overcarrying and sloppy distribution as turnovers mounted. Barry McMenamin, Liam Gaffney and Darragh Boyle were all dropping deep as auxiliary sweepers for Kill, cutting out ball after ball but leaving space further forward that Munterconnaught couldn’t exploit.

The wides began to pile up for Kill. Aaron McIntyre, Kevin O’Reilly and Conor Bannon all missed from good positions, while Lorcan Hammond’s 45-metre free fell short. In all, the Shamrocks registered five wides and two efforts into the keeper’s hands inside the opening 17 minutes. Munterconnaught, meanwhile, were struggling to make inroads against the packed Kill defence, with a string of efforts dropping short or drifting wide while on numerous occasions, they ran down blind alleys.

It took until the 22nd minute for Kill to finally get off the mark. Liam Gaffney was fouled while fielding a high ball, and Ben McIntyre converted the resulting free to level matters at one apiece.

Still, both teams continued to waste chances, with Lorcan Hammond sending a two-pointer wide and Sean Hendrick pulling another effort off target for the Munchies.

As the half ticked into injury time, it looked like ending with just a solitary point apiece, but then the contest suddenly came to life. First, Conor Bannon produced a moment of magic, curling a long-range two-pointer from just outside the arc to put Kill ahead by 0-3 to 0-1 and drawing a roar from the Shamrocks crowd.

But Munterconnaught responded instantly. Picking up possession on the right flank, the impressive Ryan Nwaneri showed his pace and class, cutting inside and firing over a quality point from 30 metres with the final kick of the half. That left the score at 0-3 to 0-2 in favour of Kill at the interval after a scrappy but intriguing opening half.

The second half began after an unusually long 17-minute break, and Munterconnaught emerged the sharper side. A sweeping move involving Ben McIntyre, Gary Tiernan and Kevin O’Reilly ended with O’Reilly shooting narrowly wide before Hendrick equalised two minutes in with a lovely strike from play.

That score settled Munterconnaught and they soon began to find their rhythm, with Eoin O’Shea cutting through from midfield and slotting over to make it 0-4 to 0-3 after 34 minutes.

Kill hit back when McIntyre was awarded a soft free and made no mistake to level matters. Moments later, Liam McAuley won a high ball inside and drew another foul, allowing McIntyre to edge his side 0-5 to 0-4 in front. But again, Munterconnaught’s response was swift.

A powerful run from veteran Danny Nolan, who turned in a selfless shift as usual, earned a free, and Enda O’Shea calmly stroked it over. Then came a key moment when Nathan DeKleer, shooting on sight, saw his effort rebound off the upright but he did well to reclaim it before curling it between the posts from a tight angle, nudging the Munchies ahead, 0-6 to 0-5.

McIntyre replied with a 35-metre free to make it 0-6 apiece, and another well-struck free soon after had Kill 0-7 to 0-6 up with 13 minutes remaining. At that stage, Kill appeared to be getting on top, with Liam Gaffney dominating the aerial exchanges and Barry McMenamin mopping up breaks.

But Munterconnaught refused to yield. A free moved forward after a yellow card to a Kill substitute along the sideline, gave Enda O’Shea the chance to equalise once more, and he did just that; 0-7 each.

Then came one of the game’s pivotal passages. Man of the Match Cejay Reilly showed huge bravery to win possession in traffic before releasing Nwaneri, who tore into space and clipped over a superb point to send Munterconnaught ahead 0-8 to 0-7.

However, Kill struck back immediately with another McIntyre free following a technical infraction to restore parity, and substitute Killian Brady then announced himself with a composed 45 that sailed straight between the posts to make it 0-9 to 0-8 on 58 minutes.

When McIntyre knocked over his sixth free of the evening a minute later, Kill led by two and seemed to have momentum on their side as the clock ticked toward full-time but Munterconnaught summoned one last surge.

Enda O’Shea landed a free to reduce the gap to one before Nwaneri, once again at the heart of things, won a crucial kick-out and was hauled down as he burst forward. O’Shea stepped up again, this time from a difficult angle, and nailed the free to level it at 0-10 apiece as the game ticked into the sixth minute of added time.

From the resulting kick-out, Daniel Yore rose above the pack to claim a vital mark. Spotting space ahead, he released substitute Shane Hanly, who had just entered the fray a minute earlier. Hanly, showing ice-cool composure, steadied himself and fired over a wonderful point with his very first touch of the championship to put Munterconnaught back in front, 0-11 to 0-10.

The drama wasn’t done yet. Kill launched another attack, with Brady claiming a high ball and feeding Kevin O’Reilly, but Cian O’Shea produced a brilliant turnover and Munterconnaught broke upfield.

Eoin O’Shea was fouled just outside the 45, and the free was worked short to Nwaneri, whose shot drifted wide. Still, Munterconnaught retained possession from the next restart, and after a frantic final few seconds, the referee blew for full-time to spark wild celebrations among the blue and white contingent.

Kill Shamrocks: Lorcan Hammond, Shane Tiernan, Brendan Brady, Seamus O’Reilly, Darragh Boyle, Barry McMenamin, Luke O’Brien, Aaron McIntyre, Liam Gaffney, Gary Tiernan, Ben McIntyre, Conor Bannon, Liam McAuley, Colin McAuley, Kevin O’Reilly.

Subs: Ciaran O’Reilly for L O’Brien (41), Sean Gaffney for L McAuley (52), Killian Brady for C Bannon (54), Ronan Brady for B McMenamin (64).

Munterconnaught: John McCabe, Fearghal Keogan, Sean Clarke, Tadgh Morrissey, Cejay Reilly, Cian O’Shea, Conor Hetherton, Danny Nolan, Nathan DeKleer, Ryan Nwaneri, Sean Hendrick, Corey Gilsenan, Eoin O’Shea, Stephen Sheridan, Enda O’Shea.

Subs: Ryan Gilsenan for S Clarke (36), Sean Nolan for C Hetherton (45), Daniel Yore for S Sheridan (52), Shane Hanly for F Keoghan (59), Paddy Matthews for S Hendrick (66).

Ref: Daire Donohoe.

See this week's print edition for full report, reaction and analysis.