On Sunday last, our minor footballers faced Moanasterevin in Hawkfield in the league final. Ballykelly & Kildangan folk alike flocked through the turnstiles in hope of witnessing Abbey Rangers win their first ever minor title. The stand was full, and the terraces were packed. Shorts and sunglasses were the fashion of the day as the sun shone down upon Kildare’s Centre of Excellence. As the supporter’s waited for the referee to throw in the ball there was an air of excitement around the ground. Brendan & Galen said their bit to the lads and captain Paddy Neary was summoned to the centre line for the coin toss. Both sets of supporters were in for a treat and whether they knew it or not at this stage, it was going to be the best €11 they ever spent.

The referee threw in the ball and the game was off. Abbey Rangers did not see much of the ball in the opening period as Monasterevin opted to ease themselves into the game, passing the ball back & forth outside the 40m arc for the opening 5 minutes, not that they had much of a choice as Abbey Rangers had their defence working like a well-oiled machine. As Monasterevin attempted to break through the Abbey Rangers defence the ball was eventually turned over. Abbey Rangers moved the ball up the pitch at pace and managed to win a free, which full forward Nathan Broughall slotted over with ease for the opening point of the game. The ice was broken and both teams went at it hell for leather. Monastervevin responded with a score of their own, in the form of a goal. Abbey Rangers didn’t waste a minute to come up with a response, quite literally, as Dan Geoghan curved the ball in over the keeper’s head just 39 seconds after the opposition’s goal, and they didn’t stop there as Nathan Broughall bagged a goal of his own less than a minute & a half later. This was a massive statement that these young men were not to be taken lightly. A superb save by Tadgh Perry kept the lads in front and a Devan Abbey point put Abbey Rangers five points up coming up to the quarter way mark in the game. Killian Reilly showed off his fielding skills winning kick-out after kick-out throughout the first half. Monasterevin showed they were looking to make their way back into the game by responding with a two-point free and regular point from play. Despite Monasterevin’s best efforts, Tomás Dunne had a different vision of how things would play out. He turned over the ball 40 yards out from goal and managed to make his way into a one-on-one situation …… the rest is history as one of the youngest players on the pitch rattled the Monasterevin’s net from 17/18 yards out – he didn’t have to worry about telling the boys in school about that one, most of them were probably playing against him. A Jamie Delaney point pushed the Abbey Rangers lead even further ahead, whilst at the opposite end of the pitch, Paddy Neary and Alex Conroy had the defence on lockdown, thanks to some help from Rory Nea & Oisin O’Reilly. Monasterevin nicked back two scores before half-time, and the sides went in just two points apart.

Half Time Score: Abbey Rangers 3.03 – 1.07 Monasterevin

The second half began just like the first, with a Nathan Broughall free. The scores had been slow to come up until that point thanks to some superb holding off by Ben O’Connor & Paddy Neary. A two-pointer from captain Paddy Neary got Abbey Rangers into the flow of things and with Darragh Murphy & Killian Reilly both adding points to their names, Abbey Rangers looked unstoppable. Abbey Rangers held a 7-point lead coming into the final third of the game. The scorelines sat at a standstill for the following 8 minutes as Monasterevin pressed and pressed without reward, largely thanks to both Paddy Neary & Rory Nea not allowing Monasterevin’s main threats a sniff at the game. Abbey Rangers introduced some fresh legs with both Evan Brett & Kevin Nolan entering the battle. A bursting run from Paddy Neary saw the game’s first score for a long time and Abbey Rangers found themselves 8 points to the good. Monasterevin hit their purple patch in the final ten minutes bringing the game back to a 4-point difference coming up on the 60th minute, still a comfortable lead you might say…… but not when there’s 6 minutes of additional time. Despite some excellent tracking back by Sam Rainbow and Jamie Delaney, Monasterevin clawed back another point and the sides now sat just a goal apart at 62 minutes played. At this stage, Paddy Neary found himself black carded and Monasterevin scored the subsequent free. Monasterevin got themselves another point and now just 1 point separated the teams. The hearts of every Kildangan & Ballykellyperson in attendance dropped as they saw the Monasterevin midfielder bearing down on goal in the 69th minute but the heroics of Alex Conroy saved the day as he dived on the boot of the Monasterevinplayer, stopping a certain goal and keeping Abbey Rangers alive – with heroics like that he wouldn’t strike you as the type that drives a Fiat 500. Monasterevin won a free in the last play and put it over the push the game to extra-time.

Full Time Score: Abbey Rangers 3.09 – 1.15 Monasterevin

The lads stretched out the legs and devised a plan to takedown the opposition in extra-time. Inspiring words from Killian Reilly reminded the lads to liven up and that there was still 20 minutes of football to play.

Monasterevin got the opening score of extra-time and led for the first time since Dan Geoghan’s goal in the first half. However, heads didn’t drop and instead Abbey Rangers pushed on and responded with, yet another Nathan Broughall point. Devan Abbey showed his class and put Abbey Rangers back in the lead before Paddy Neary showed just why he wears the captain’s armband as he scored his second two-pointer of the game. The fresh legs of Kevin Nolan, Brody Dunne, Cillian Pender & Evan Groves proved vital for Abbey Rangers in extra time. Nathan Broughall put the sides 4 points apart heading into half-time in extra time and Abbey Rangers showed they had a second wind in their locker.

Half Time Score AET: Abbey Rangers 3.14 – 1.16 Monasterevin

The second half of extra time saw a slow start with both sides struggling to put a score on the board. Darragh Murphy showed his endurance in midfield picking up balls left, right and centre, after all endurance is in his blood being a grand nephew of the late & great Rás Tailteann winning cyclist Paddy Flanagan. Paddy Neary put his side 5 points ahead at the halfway point of the second half of extra-time. At this period of the game the Abbey Rangers defence, marshalled by Tadgh Perry, showcased the art of defending, batting everything that came at them right back out. Anything could still happen however and there were concerns that Monasterevin could somehow come back again…… Devan Abbey heard those concerns and put them to bed as he fired home a goal for the last score of the game!

Full Time Score AET: Abbey Rangers 4.15 - 1.16 Monasterevin

This is the first ever minor team in Abbey Rangers history to win a title, congratulations to Brendan, Galen and the team on a well-earned league title. It was an unbelievable game in which both sides fought admirably and fair & clean. But there is one thing you must know about this Abbey Rangers minor team ……. they FIGHT LIKE DOGS!

1. Tadgh Perry – Played superbly throughout and made a couple of vital saves.

2. Ben O’Connor – Fought tooth and nail all game long.

3. Rory Nea – Commanded the full back position and batted out everything that came his way.

4. Alex Conroy – Had the game of his life & without his block in the last minute, we were beaten.

5. Oisin O’Reilly – Used his height to his advantage and won every ball that came his way.

6. Paddy Neary (0.06 – 0.04F); Scored 2 two-pointers and 6 points in total. Played exceptionally well both sides of the ball and lead by example just as a captain should.

7. Kevin Nolan – His fresh legs proved vital in helping his team over the line in extra time as he set up the final goal of the game.

8. Darragh ‘Reggie’ Murphy (0.01) – He ran, and he ran, and he ran. The endurance that Darragh Murphy displayed was game changing. He won some great ball around midfield and he gave an all-round great game.

9. Killian Reilly (0.01) – His fielding of the ball and connection play was superb.

10. Devan Abbey (1.02) – Scored the goal to get us over the line and caused problems for defenders all day long.

11. Jamie Delaney – Showed his experience as one of the older players and made everything tick up-front as he connected and commanded the forward line.

12. Sam Rainbow – Set up several scores and was great tracking back.

13. Dan Geoghan (1.00) – Pulled his team out of the gutter by responding to Monasterevin’s early goal with one of his own.

14. Nathan Broughall (1.04 – 0.04F) – Scored an unbelievable low-placed goal and was confident from the dead ball – exactly what you need from your free taker, ice in the veins.

15. Brody Dunne – His powerful running and linkup play created several scores.

 

17. Cillian Pender – Played excellent when introduced and never put a foot wrong.

18. Aaron Schofield – Unfortunately Aaron was injured for the game and was a massive loss, it could be argued we wouldn’t have needed extra time had Aaron been on the pitch – He did however take up a role as anxious sideline teammate/manager much like Ronaldo in the 2016 Euros final.

19. Tomás Dunne (1.00) – Scored a rocket of a goal and caused problems for defenders despite his young age.

20. Evan Brett – He was given a tough task going in corner forward in a period where Monasterevinscored 9 points unanswered – at such a young age he’s one to watch for the future.

21. Jake O’Rourke – A key player throughout the year, at just 15 he will be hoping to add another minor medal to his locker in the coming years.

22. Evan Groves – Another one to watch for the future, his linkup play was crucial in Abbey Rangers dominating extra-time.

 

Man of the match: Paddy Neary; Paddy led by example just as a captain should. He scored 6 points with 2 two-pointers; an unbelievable skill to have in his locker. One word to describe his performance – solid.

Alex Conroy & Oisin O’Reilly both came in close behind Paddy.

Moment of the match: Impossible to pick one, but here are the contenders;

- Devan Abbey’s goal

- Alex Conroy’s block

- Dan Geoghan’s goal

 

The celebrations went on late into the night for the Abbey Rangers minor team and many thanks to Finlay’s for hosting us. It was great to see the joy that Sunday’s win brought to supporters, players, family and friends both young and old from Ballykelly & Kildangan alike. Well done lads, ye are a credit to yourselves and your club!