Our U13 played their much anticipated All County Cup Div 4 Shield Final this afternoon in a dry but gusty Pairc Taobhoige, Glenfin. The home side, Gleann Fhinne were in opposition in what was an entertaining match up from the first whistle to the last. Naomh Ultan's captain Dylan Cunnea opened the game's scoring in the first minute of play, pointing from distance with a well taken score. Full forward Dylan McHugh doubled that lead two minutes later, scoring from a free. The breeze coming down off the Glen favoured the away team in the first half, it was showing too as Naomh Ultan had Glenfin pinned up in their half. The Glean Fhinne goalkeeper pulled off one of a couple of saves on the ninth minute when McHugh's effort on goal was deflected over the bar. Three points to no score in favour of Naomh Ultan but that lead didn't last long as Glenfin found a goal from one of very few attacks in the half, a shot from distance came off the post to fall nicely for a Glenfin player to toe into the net.

McHugh restored the Naomh Ultan lead within seconds of conceding, a quick restart by Ethan Byrne got the ball up the field and he added to his total so far. Chulainn Gallagher pointed a minute later with a good score and following that, Bobby McGuinness got onto the scoresheet with a point to take the game back to where it was prior to conceding. Glenfin shortened that lead on 14 minutes with a score from play. We'd a break from scoring for a couple of minutes after a lot of back and forth between the sides, Naomh Ultan then won a free which McHugh converted well, making it 0-7 to 1-1.

The goals started to come then, similar to their first Glenfin broke quick and made no mistake hitting the Naomh Ultan net to tighten up this contest. Naomh Ultan responded very well to that, keeping the ball around the middle until they released a high long ball towards goal. Chulainn Gallagher eventually got his hand to the ball and directed it goalwards for his side's first goal of the game. That score came just in time for the half time whistle of referee Gerard McHugh Jr. Half Time Naomh Ultan 1-7 Gleann Fhinne 2-1

The prominent breeze in the opening half died a little as the game recommenced, Glenfin made a couple of tweaks and changes to their side and it immediately paid off as they hit the net 3 minutes into the half to bring us to a drawn game yet again. They pressed up on Naomh Ultan and made it difficult to get out of defence, when they did manage to get out they won a free within scoring range to which McHugh slotted home for his fifth point. Two minutes later disaster struck for Naomh Ultan as Glenfin found the net for the fourth time but again in the same fashion Naomh Ultan had in the previous half they responded well, finding their main scoring threat of the day Dylan McHugh who powered through and scored a great goal, putting his side back in the driving seat with a one point lead.

That unfortunately didn't last long, as Glenfin reacted and pointed to level up proceedings. Bobby McGuinness then stood up for Naomh Ultan and pointed from a quickly taken free, advantage back to his side as we approached the midpoint of the second half. The breeze had began to pick up again and Glenfin knew how to make it work to their advantage, they kicked the ball in long and it broke to one of their forwards to finish with a goal. They then pressed in and were rewarded for doing so, getting two points, one a free and one from play to give them a four point lead. Dylan McHugh pointed to narrow that to three points with 5 minutes remaining. They had opportunities to tighten it further and right at the death had a chance on goal but unfortunately it just wasn't to be. Glenfin held firm and got the game's final score a minute into added time. A contest that had plenty of twists and turns with the lead being exchanged a number of times, one of the two sides had to lose out and it was Gleann Fhinne's day. Full Time Naomh Ultan 2-10 Gleann Fhinne 5-5

A gallant effort from this young U13 side in a hard fought game, the team has put in massive work over the course of the year. They began training way back in February and this game marked ten months on the go for the boys and their coaches. It's great to see young lads putting in such commitment, as well as their managers. They are all developing their skills and talents and it won't be long until they see success. We'd like to give a huge thank you to the management team of 2022 and a massive well done to the team!

NAOMH ULTAN ABÚ

Naomh Ultan Team -

Ethan Byrne

Jake Torrens

Conan Gavigan

Adam McHugh

Oran Reynolds

Ben McHugh

Oisín Boyle

Dylan Cunnea (0-1)

Evan Cunningham

Bobby McGuiness (0-2)

Chulainn Gallagher (1-1)

Dylan McHugh (1-6)

Thomas Murphy

Subs -

Josh Dupuy

James Duddy

Oran Boyle

Jack Cunnea

Daithi Maguire

Joe McNern