Premier 1 U16 FC final: Thomas Murray the hero as Douglas defeat Na Piarsaigh to land title

Douglas: 1-13 

Na Piarsaigh: 1-12 

Douglas have been crowned Rebel Óg Premier 1 U16 football champions after overcoming the challenge of Na Piarsaigh at Páirc Uí Rinn on Monday night.

This all-city affair drew a large attendance for this final, and they weren’t disappointed in what was an open and enjoyable game of football between two very committed and honest teams.

Ultimately, in what was a nail-biting contest, Douglas’ Thomas Murray was the hero with a point three minutes into second half additional time to win the game for his side. Huge credit must go to Na Piarsaigh, who played their part in this decider.

Na Piarsaigh had the talented Luke Hurley in their team as he finished up with 1-8, with all of his points coming from frees. He was largely nullified from play partly down to a resolute Douglas defence.

Douglas had a bright start as they reeled off points from captain Darragh O’Connor and Murray inside the first three minutes, but they failed to build on it for the rest of the half. Na Piarsaigh got their first score after seven minutes through a Hurley free.

The sides traded points before the Fairhill side were slowly getting to grips with their opposition as they now largely controlled possession but lacked penetration. A Hurley free did tie up matters at 0-3 apiece after 12 minutes.

The game was at an arm-wrestle stage with both sides cancelling each other out. With eight minutes to the break, it was deadlocked at 0-5 each. Douglas took the initiative with points from Ben Herlihy and Murray. Another Hurley free from the Na Piarsaigh sharpshooter did reduce the deficit, 0-7 to 0-6 at half-time.

Douglas started the new half with a neat Adam Kelly effort to push his team two points clear, but they couldn’t shake off their city rivals at any stage. A pair of Hurley frees drew the teams level once more after 34 minutes. The score of the game came a minute later when Douglas’ Noah Duane set up Herlihy and the latter curled over a beauty, 0-9 to 0-8.

Douglas took a firm grip with 1-1 without reply. Herlihy with the scores with the goal coming after 38 minutes as he finished from close range, 1-10 to 0-8. Hurley frees was keeping his side in touch, and another one left four points in it.

A pair of Callum Coffey white flags left two points between the teams before O’Connor settled the Douglas nerves with a point, 1-11 to 0-11 with 10 minutes remaining. It was level after 53 minutes of play when Hurley pounced on an error in the Douglas defence and the forward finished with aplomb. A great goal.

A Murray free from long range was a difficult one, but he nailed it as Douglas nudged ahead with two minutes to go. A Hurley free levelled up matters once more.

A point from Murray three minutes into added time proved to be the winning score to spark wild celebrations from the Douglas camp.

Scorers for Douglas: B Herlihy 1-3, T Murray 0-5 (0-3 f), D O’Connor, N Duane 0-2 each, A Kelly 0-1.

Na Piarsaigh: L Hurley 1-8 (0-8 f), C Coffey 0-3, Corey O’Sullivan 0-1.

DOUGLAS: R Hourihan; A Reidy, T Curtin, P Rudden; L Cregan, D O’Donoghue, I Butler; C Fitzgerald, J Gordon; N Duane, D O’Connor (c), J Naughton; B Herlihy, A Kelly, T Murray.

Subs: S Ó Súilleabháin for J Gordon, F O’Sullivan for N Duane (both 43), L O’Brien for P Rudden (47), S Linehan for J Naughton (49), C Dooley for L Cregan (53).

NA PIARSAIGH: C Quinn; N Coffey, R Quinlan, J O’Connor; D O’Leary, R Cronin, J Cregan; Corey O’Sullivan, J Coughlan; Craig O’Sullivan, J Cahalane (c), C Coffey; J Ring, L Hurley, R Manley.

Subs: S O’Callaghan for J Ring (42), J Constant for R Manley (53).

Referee: Brian Crowley (Castlehaven).