St Michael's, Enniskillen booked their place in the Hogan Cup final but it wasn't until the second half that they imposed themselves on this scrappy game played in brilliant conditions in Clones on Saturday afternoon.
Shaun Doherty was a real powerhouse in midfield for the Ulster college and it was his ball winning ability and strong running that eventually saw his side gain a foothold on the game in the second half, while the finishing of Ryan Keenan at full forward was also a key element in their success.
St Michael's laid the foundations for victory with a strong third quarter in which they hit six points without reply, Ryan Keenan and Ciaran O'Reilly with two apiece, to turn a one point half time deficit into a five points lead.
Earlier the teams had been level four times in a close first half, with Dundalk taking the lead for the first time with a point from Shane Lennon in the 23rd minute and they went in 0-6 to 0-5 in front at half time after another exchange of scores between Shane O'Brien and Lennon again.
Any hopes of a Dundalk comeback were dispelled when Enniskillen struck for the only goal of the game, substitute Brendan Gallagher applying a nice finish after good work by Shaun Doherty and Paul Ward.
ST MICHAEL'S: C Breen; N Bogue, P O'Kane, P Johnson; P Magee, S Burns, K Murphy; S Doherty 0-1, J Sherry; M Cunningham, S O'Brien 0-2, C O'Reilly 0-3; P Ward, R Keenan 0-7, K Gallagher. Subs: B Gallagher 1-0 for Cunningham, N McVeigh for Gallagher, J O'Flanagan 0-1 for O'Brien, J Tapster for McVeigh.
DUNDALK SCHOOLS: N Gallagher; N Smyth, P Malone, C Sheridan; C Hoey, R Carroll, P Hearty; J Doyle, P Keenan; N Shevlin 0-2, J Quigley, S Kelly 0-2; S Lennon 0-6, D O'Connor, S Fee. Subs: J Molloy for O'Connor, D Macken for Malone, D Greene for Hoey, J O'Brien 0-1 for Fee, E Duffy for Quigley.
Referee: D Joyce (Galway).
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