Hogan Cup All-Ireland SFC PPS final: Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar 3-11 Tralee CBS 1-16
When Gearóid White fisted Tralee CBS ahead with 60 minutes on the clock at Croke Park, we appeared to be heading towards the Hogan Cup final outcome most expected.
White captained the Kerry minors to last year’s All-Ireland final and would have been a fitting match-winner, the latest Kingdom talent to seal a landmark win at Croke Park.
It didn’t pan out that way though. Instead, Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar dug deeper and responded with the levelling point from Finn Higgins, before Will Scahill kicked a 63rd-minute winner.
Bear in mind that they’d coughed up a six-point half-time lead to trail by one after that White score.
But a side brilliantly led by player of the match Michael Moloney, who struck the same 1-2 tally as Scahill, scored a win for the ages with that late show of defiance.
Moloney mentioned in an interview afterwards that the school couldn’t win a game a couple of seasons ago before things “just clicked”. Now they are All-Ireland champions, joining Carmelite College, Moate as the only two Westmeath sides to have achieved that feat.
It is significant also that the Hogan Cup is named after Brother Hogan, who closed out his teaching at the Mullingar school.
“Truth be told, we never thought we would get here,” said Coláiste Mhuire manager Dean McNicholas. “This wasn’t on our cards. I think for three or four years on the trot, we didn’t win a game in the championship. Then last year came about, we won Leinster, and we knew we had a decent side but there was still a lot of work to go in this year.”
Tralee received an early roasting from a Mullingar side that opened up a 1-4 to no score lead in the opening five minutes, with Scahill netting during the blitz.
Tralee were probably the better side for the rest of the game but the Mullingar goals, sored by Conor Cleary and then Moloney, all in the first half, gave the back-to-back Leinster champions a vital cushion throughout.
Even with midfielder Máirtín McGivergan pulling the strings for Tralee, scoring four first-half points, they still trailed 0-9 to 3-6 at the interval.
The side, jointly managed by Kerry great Marc Ó Sé, didn’t get back level until the 47th minute and only took the lead for the first time with that White point.
They’ll feel they should have held on and will reflect on six second-half wides as costly.
COLÁISTE MHUIRE, MULLINGAR: A Buckley; B Sheerin, T Masterson, E Donohue; M Weir (0-0-1), S Byrne, M Moloney (1-0-2); C Ormsby, R O’Brien; P Keating (0-0-3), K Loughlin (0-0-1), C Cleary (1-0-0); W Scahill (1-0-2), F Higgins (0-0-1), S McWade (0-0-1).
Subs: S Hayes for McWade (46 mins); P Monaghan for Cleary (61).
TRALEE CBS: O Lata; M Enright, E Moriarty, S Turner; F Ryan, E O’Flaherty (0-0-2), M Corridan; M McKivergan (0-1-2, tpf), C McKenna (1-0-0); T O’Connor (0-0-1), G White (0-0-2), T Quilter; R Hurley, R Carroll (0-0-4, 3f), N Lacey (0-0-3).
Subs: C Hurley for O’Connor (45 mins); D Murphy for R Hurley (48).
Referee: B Cawley (Kildare).
