Tyrone's thundering finish secures ninth All-Ireland minor football crown
An hour after full-time in Newbridge, with only the victorious
Tyrone
players and their families left on the pitch, it was still like a scene from an Oasis concert.
Manager Gerard Donnelly was suddenly hoisted up and along the top of a dozen or so players, tossed around like a crowd surfer.
When he was eventually let down, Donnelly made a beeline for Pádraig Goodman and caught his full back in a deep embrace.
These are memories Donnelly has been trying to create ever since his first season as minor manager ended with a one-point All-Ireland final loss to
Meath
in 2021.
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It went the other way this time thanks to a remarkable finale from the young Red Hands who, trailing
Kerry
by four points with 11 minutes to go, outscored the Munster champions by 1-4 to 0-2 from there on.
Peter Colton's penalty conversion in the 52nd minute was a vital score but Diarmuid Martin's point three minutes into stoppage time was the eventual winner.
Four years ago, Shaun Leonard struck the winner for Meath around the very same time.
Diarmuid Martin shoots to score the winning point for Tyrone. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho
This time it was Martin who etched his name in the history books, clinching a ninth All-Ireland win at the grade for Tyrone and their first since 2010.
Martin only came on in the 59th minute of the semi-final as he recovered from injury. But with Joel Kerr missing the final due to his soccer commitments with West Ham United, Martin got the nod from the start and enjoyed a huge impact, scoring three points.
'I knew that was coming,' smiled manager Donnelly. 'I said, 'Diarmo, you'll come in and you're going to have a big day'. And he scored the winner!'
And yet it was only a couple of hours before throw-in that reports of Kerr's apparent availability did the rounds. He had been a key player throughout their campaign, netting against Roscommon.
'No, no, we knew straight away he wasn't available,' said Donnelly. 'We knew from the first of July that he was a West Ham player. Me and his father had constant chats. Joel is a West Ham player, he's away now starting his career. I just chatted to him there. He's the happiest man going.'
That's the All-Ireland minor and Under-20 titles tucked away now by Tyrone this year. The seniors will face Kerry in their semi-final next weekend and for minor coach Niall Morgan, the senior goalkeeper, if he's into visualising and projecting forward, this was surely a useful afternoon.
Kerry supporters cried foul at the death as Ben Kelliher, their exciting corner forward who scored 1-2, chased a winner and was snuffed out by a combination of two Tyrone defenders and the goalkeeper. Even after a few TV replays, it's hard to see where a foul occurred so referee Thomas Murphy perhaps got it right.
Tyrone probably just about deserved it for the manner of their final-quarter display. Aside from the 1-4 they scored, Eoin Long also hit a post during the blitz and, in a separate attack, fired a shot just over.
Kerry's Ben Kelliher celebrates after scoring his side's goal. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho
Long finished with five points and was another young hero in red and white, just like Goodman, who had a big second half as Tyrone dominated the middle third.
Kerry didn't lose any face in defeat. Wayne Quillinan's Munster champions led 1-7 to 0-8 at half-time and pushed Tyrone all the way.
In fact, when Kelliher nudged them a point ahead with a brilliant solo score on the hour, which still separated them in the 63rd minute, they were in pole position themselves.
Wing back Danny Murphy was a strong performer for Kerry, scoring a first-half point and playing the ball for Kelliher's goal approaching the interval.
Alex Tuohy's GPS unit was smoking too as he put in the hard yards, scoring one point and setting up both Murphy and later Tadhg O'Connell.
Gearóid White and Kevin Griffin two-pointers in the third quarter nudged Kerry into that 1-13 to 0-12 lead and suggested great gains.
But they couldn't hold on for a landmark win, their first since 2018, as Tyrone came with their late rally.
'I am absolutely heartbroken,' said Kerry manager Quillinan. 'But on the flipside, I am so proud of them. That is the overriding feeling I have. Those guys left it all out there. How can you complain about that? You just can't.'
TYRONE:
R Donnelly; E Kerr, P Goodman, C McCrystal; A Quinn (0-0-1), J Daly, T Meenan; J Mulgrew (0-1-1), P Donaghy; C Farley, P Colton (1-0-2; 1f), D McAnespie (0-0-1; f); D Martin (0-0-3), E Long (0-0-5; 3f), P McDonald.
Subs:
MF Daly (0-0-1) for McAnespie (44 mins); V Gormley for McDonald (48); M Kennedy for Long (59).
KERRY:
R Kennedy; E Joy, R Sheridan, T O Slatara; D Murphy (0-0-2), D Sargent, M Clifford; M Ó Sé, J Curtin (0-0-1); M O'Carroll, G White (0-1-2; 1f), A Tuohy (0-0-1); B Kelliher (1-0-2), K Griffin (0-1-1; 1 tpf, 1 45), T O'Connell (0-0-2).
Subs:
N Lacey for O'Connell (44 mins); J Kissane for Ó Sé (52); P Ó Mainnin for O'Carroll (54).
Referee:
T Murphy (Galway).
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