Stunning Southern Gaels clinch Division 1 crown

Damien Donohoe

Southern Gaels 2-13

Ramor 1-10

At Kingspan Breffni

Southern Gaels became the first winners of the Thomas Moore Memorial Cup following a remarkable final-quarter comeback against Ramor United on Sunday afternoon.

The Gowna-Lacken amalgamation overturned a four-point deficit with just 14 minutes of normal time remaining, producing a devastating closing spell that saw them outscore Ramor by 1-7 to no score to secure a six-point victory.

Midfield pairing Darragh Eccleston and Player of the Match Mark Shiels were central to the comeback, contributing a combined 1-5, while the Southern Gaels defence tightened considerably as the contest entered its closing stages.

At the other end, Ramor goalkeeper Daniel Grinberg also delivered an outstanding performance, producing several important saves, including a penalty stop immediately after half-time.

Southern Gaels made the brighter start, with Eccleston opening the scoring inside the first minute from 35 metres, but Jack Reilly responded with a free to level matters. The sides traded scores in an evenly contested opening quarter, with Shiels registering his first point after ten minutes before Grinberg produced an excellent save to deny the midfielder what looked a certain goal.

For the full match report pick up this week's Anglo-Celt.