St Michael's end Wheery's ambitions with a fully deserved, very important win

THE U20 Football Championship has been the least satisfactory of the Offaly GAA season and the setting for its final less than two weeks before Christmas was not what anyone would want. With a couple of walkovers conceded earlier in the campaign, there is an overwhelming case to be made for a return to a straight knockout format next year but all of that flew straight over the heads of St Michael's and Wheery who served up a compelling, keenly fought and very enjoyable final in O'Connor Park on Saturday afternoon.

Tullamore Court Hotel U20 Football Championship final

St Michael's 1-9

Wheery 0-8

It ended with the Rhode parish side of St Michael's recording a fully deserved and very important win as they got the better of a Wheery outfit that just didn't play well enough on the day. St Michael's starting team comprised of eleven Rhode players with four from St Brigid's, Cameron Egan, Ben Kennedy, Odhran Briody and Ethan Hannon while one Clonmore Harps player, Ross Healion came off the bench to play an important part in helping them get over the line – the input of the St Brigid's contingent has to be acknowledged and it is doubtful if St Michael's would have been able to win it with a purely Rhode selection, though they would still have been very competitive.

All of the Wheery panel was from Ferbane, apart from Shannonbridge's Darragh Mannion who was a late sub and while they will be very disappointed at losing, in many ways, it was more important for St Michael's and particularly, Rhode, to win this title. With Rhode just hanging in as a top four side in senior football, they urgently need a new influx of young players and this win will be a big help to them going forward.

With players at this level playing so many other grades, it is hard to fit this into a congested calendar but this year's championship was notable for the end of Tullamore's five year reign as champions – evicted by the Edenderry dominated St Patrick's.

It was no harm to see Tullamore beaten and a new club get their hands on this cup and St Michael's will be absolutely delighted at both the win and the way they played. Their game management commanded complete respect here as they went about their business in a very professional manner. They controlled the game for long periods, kept the ball well and defended really well to keep Wheery at bay – clearly well coached, there was so much to admire in their display and their focus on executing the basics well.

There was a strong swirling wind that favoured St Michael's in the first half and they looked like they might be in bother when they trailed by 0-3 to 0-1 after seven minutes. Ronan Flynn got all three of Wheery's points, two from play, and looked like he would be a match winner but amazingly the losers didn't score again in the first half. That was down to the sheer work rate of the St Michael's side, who knuckled down all over the field and starved the Wheery attack of the ball.

By half time, St Michael's led by 0-6 to 0-3 with four of their points coming from the excellent Dermot Crombie and while it was far from a done deal, it was also clear that it was theirs to lose – Wheery corner back Ruari O'Neill kept his side alive with a great tackle to deny Charlie Cullen a 27^th minute goal.

St Michael's by 1-8 to 0-4 seven minutes into the second half after a well taken Ryan Murphy goal and Wheery never got enough momentum to pull that back.

Having said that, they were not 100 miles away from getting back into it. Noah Swaine's 44^th minute point put St Michael's 1-9 to 0-5 in front but they failed to score again. They had ample play and possession to have added to their tally as they danced with danger, leaving the door slightly ajar – Cian McNamee dropped a fairly straightforward chance short, the lively Drew Kennedy-Fleming couldn't convert and then fouled the ball with a great goal chance and Wheery got the closing three points to bring the gap down to four in injury time.

The problem for Wheery was that all those points came from frees and their attack had a very barren afternoon. Four of their five second half points were from frees and they missed three decent scoring chances in one sustained spell of pressure coming up to the three quarter mark. They couldn't afford these and it meant that they didn't get close enough to ask really serious questions of the winners.

On the balance of play, St Michael's were the better team by more than four points and anything other than a win for them would have been robbery on a grand scale.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Ross Kellaghan (St Michael's): Three standout contenders and all on the St Michael's wide. Dermot Crombie was the best player on the pitch in the first half, scoring four points but bringing a lot more to the table than that. He worked hard and helped set up other scores in a really excellent thirty minutes.

Adam Kellaghan put in a terrific shift for St Michael's at midfield. He put in the hard yards and did the hard work that is so important, ensuring that St Michael's won this sector.

The choice is centre half forward Ross Kellaghan, who controlled a lot of the game in an almost understated way. His ball carrying was excellent and while he didn't score, he gave a real tour-de-force and was a major factor in St Michael's managing the game so efficiently.

The St Michael's defence, magnificently led by centre back Ryan Kellaghan, should take a bow as a unit as they laid a powerful foundation while Cian McNamee also had an excellent game, working hard and very good in possession.

THE SCORERS

St Michael's: Dermot Crombie 0-4, Ryan Murphy 1-1, Cian McNamee 0-2 (1f), Ben Kennedy and Noah Swaine 0-1 each.

Wheery: Ronan Flynn 0-6 (4f), Niall Flynn (f) and Ruari Woods 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

ST MICHAEL'S: Joshua Kellaghan; Cameron Egan, Matthew McBride, Odhran Briody; Ben Kennedy, Ryan Kellaghan, Drew Kennedy-Fleming; Adam Kellaghan, Noah Swaine; Dermot Crombie, Ross Kellaghan, Ethan Hannon; Charlie Cullen, Ryan Murphy, Cian McNamee. Subs – Ross Healion for Hannon (45m), James Taylor for Kennedy (58m), Oscar Egan for Cullen (62m).

WHEERY: Eoin Coughlan; Ruari O'Neill, Eamon Maher, David Heffernan; Michael Spillane, Jake Maher, Daniel Kelly; Eoin Grennan, Conor Grennan; Niall Flynn, Lee Moore, Gavin Egan; Ruari Woods, Rory Dunican, Ronan Flynn. Subs – Eoghan O'Neill for Spillane (38m), Luke Healy for Niall Flynn (48m), Andy McEvoy for Kelly (60m), Darragh Mannion for Egan (62m),

Referee – Fergal Smyth (Kilclonfert).

REFEREE WATCH

Fergal Smyth had a good game. He got most calls right and was consistent.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Ryan Murphy's 37^th minute goal was a big moment. It gave St Michael's a 1-8 to 0-4 lead and with a mixture of the St Michael's defence in impregnable form, the Wheery attack misfiring, that was more than an ample cushion to get home.

VENUE WATCH

The O'Connor Park pitch was in good order considering the inclement weather and it was great that this final went ahead there.

WHAT'S NEXT

That concludes the year for both sides.

STATISTICS

Wides: Wheery – 4 (1 in first half); St Michael's – 6 (4 in first half).

Yellow cards: Wheery – 2 (Rory Dunican, Ruari Woods); St Michael's – 3 (Ben Kennedy, Ross Healion, Adam Kellaghan).

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0