White’s Cross won their third and their final game of the Junior A League in a game played in glorious sunshine on Sunday morning last (18th of July). They finish the campaign and sit in the top place in the group with only the group winner progressing to the final. There is now an anxious wait for the result of the Passage v Whitechurch game. A Passage win here will see them share the top spot with White’s Cross. However as Passage won the head to head , they will progress to the final.
To get themselves into this position, White’s Cross first had to beat St Michaels (who, had they won would have finished top and guaranteed themselves a final spot). This was going to be no easy task. Conor Buckley got the first two points from play for the Cross but each was cancelled out by points at the other end of the field. In fact St. Michaels were probably on top at this stage and only for very solid defending from Robert McElhinney and Cormac Manning, may well have fallen further behind. The game changed however when a peach of pass from James Murphy found Conor Buckley on the move inside who collected and gave the goalkeeper no chance. Stephen Whooley, who put in another tireless performance, never gave up on a ball that was going wide; managing to keep the ball in play he set up fellow minor player Harry Coughlan for a rallying score. James Murphy got his first pointed free before the two minor stars combined again and this time Harry Coughlan fisted the ball into the net. Conor Buckley got another fine score from play before James Murphy added his second from a free. Michaels added three points to stay in touch but it was fitting that the Whooley/Coughlan combination would finish the half with the last point. Again Whooley provided the assist and Harry Coughlan got the point. White’s Cross lead 2 -07 to 0- 06 at the short whistle.
Killian Ryan
James Murphy extended the lead to eight points as the game resumed. This game was never going to be an 8 point or more victory and the expected period of dominance from Michaels came. They added 1 -06 without reply before the water break which came after 18 minutes. Now they lead by a point and had really thrown the gauntlet. The question was did White’s Cross have it in them to make a fight of it? That was answered emphatically in the final quarter. As both sides tired in the final quarter , it was White’s Cross that had all the answers. The defence was marshalled by the outstanding Killian Ryan who put in another top performance as he drove his side to victory. Conor Buckley equalized before midfielder Barry Prendergast seemed to have scored a goal. There was some controversy whether the ball had crossed the line or not. To be fair to referee Chris Broderick, it was a very hard one to call and as there was some doubt, he decided not to give it. White’s Cross rallied however and Harry Coughlan brought his tally to 1 -04 as he put his side in front. Another minor plyer Daniel Kelleher came on to extend the lead with a great score from out on the wing. There were some nervy moments to endure before the ref blew the final whistle. White’s Cross hung on for a deserved win.
Team: Rory Teehan, Sean O’Gorman, Robert McElhinney, Cormac Manning, Seamus Quinlan, Killian Ryan, Fiachra O’Connell, Cathal Quinlan, Barry Prendergast, Stephen Whooley, Edwin Buckley, Harry Coughlan, Dylan Burke, James Murphy, Conor Buckley.