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Tue 11th May 2010
BT D’Alton Cup final, Thursday 2pm, Pearse Og Armagh :
Abbey Newry v St Patrick’s Cavan
In a break from the norm, Abbey and St Patrick’s Cavan will serve up a novel pairing in Thursday's BT D’Alton Cup final in Pearse Og grounds Armagh.
Neither are frequent visitors to Colleges’ final, although the Abbey did lift the MacRory and Hogan double a couple of seasons back and Cavan collected a Rannafast title back in 2004.
Abbey are bidding for a fifth D’Alton title, their last being in 1994, when future Down stars Michael Walsh, Ronan Sexton, Danny Hughes, Damien Rafferty and Armagh’s Barry Shannon featured.
Abbey, like their opponents, have had an impressive run to the final with 5 straight victories including a quarter-final against St Michael’s Enniskillen that saw their narrowest winning margin – 5 points.
In the semi final they beat Omagh 3-15 to 1-8, with 1-7 bagged by centre-forward Ryan Treanor, son of former Down star John “Shorty” Treanor.
Captain Sheagh Dobbin and his midfield partner Conor McCoy played in last year’s team that reached the semi-final, but a third star of that team Killian McEvoyhas picked up an injury and misses out.
Cavan had to beat St Patrick’s Maghera twice to reach this final, firstly in the group stages and then on Monday last in the semi-final when a 2-4 blast inside a five minutes’ spell early in the second half closed the Derry boys out of the game.
Their run to the final is all the more significant in that they have only one age-group to chose from in comparison to two in Six County schools.
A lot could hinge on how Colin McCabe and Matthew McKenna fare in the midfield battle with Dobbin and McCoy, as both attacks appear pretty fast and accurate, provided they have enough possession.
It is an interesting final and a win for either would raise hopes of more to follow later in their school careers.
St Patrick’s Cavan : Mark Fegan, Glen Brady, Jason Rahill, Declan Lunney, Cian McManus, Thomas Galligan, Paul Sexton, Colin McCabe, Matthew McKenna, Ronan O’Reilly, Ryan Connolly, Pierce Smith, Brian Sheanon, Ben Conaty, Darragh Gannon.
Substitutes: Tommy Boylan, Dominic Carney, Dylan Donohoe, Darragh Duggan, Stephen Enright, Ryan Galligan, Dillon Kiernan, Donovan McCaffrey, Aaron Reilly, Shane Smith, Pauric Sweeney.
Abbey : Aaron Campbell, John Catterson, Fergus Quinn, Thomas Looney, Cathair McKinney, Shea Gregory, Luke Byrne, Sheagh Dobbin (captain), Conor McCoy, Joe Rock, Ryan Treanor, Ruairi Campbell, Niall Rafferty, Shane Fitzpatrick, Ronan McGrath.
Subs : Cillian Burns, Gavin Fox, Steven Fegan, Ardghal McMahon, Gavin Carvill, Emmet Irwin, James Carragher, Conor Nugent, Niall Quinn, Tarlach Byrne, Caolon O’Reilly, Killian McEvoy.
Submitted by: Seamus McAleenan
