Oranmore-Maree minors do their club proud

  By BILLY COSS Oranmore-Maree ...................................1-7 Caltra ...................................................0-8 SIX POINTS from Man of the Match Johnny Kelleher and a superb second-half goal by Brendan Hanniffy set Oranmore-Maree on the road to victory in the SuperValu North Board Minor B final against Caltra at Tuam Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Trailing by five points late in the opening half, Oranmore-Maree had it all to do but a second half comeback, in which Hanniffy's 42nd minute goal changed the momentum of the game, gradually overhauled Caltra and secured a narrow, yet deserved win. [private] Defensively, the winners were outstanding during a second half in which Caltra struggled as an attacking force and were restricted to a solitary point. Goalkeeper Donal Greene, so impressive for the club's Junior B side against Tuam Stars at the venue a day earlier, was rock-solid behind a defensive unit anchored by full-back Pádraig Burke and Galway minor Shane Geoghegan. Oranmore-Maree convincingly won the kick-out battle thanks mainly to the fielding ability of midfielder Enda Walsh, while Johnny Kelleher was the star turn in attack, linking up play cleverly and kicking pressure frees late on. Caltra have endured a difficult year at Senior level but there have been some encouraging signs for the future at under-age level. The club's U-21s qualified for the North Board B final also, while a number of this minor side have represented Galway at various grades. James Birch, Luke Cosgrove and Benny McLoughlin were all in the Galway U-17 development panel that reached the National Football Academy Blitz final recently, where they lost narrowly to Dublin, and all three played prominent roles as Caltra dominated the opening half after opting to play with wind advantage. A week on from his heroics in Croke Park for Galway's minor hurlers, Pádraic Mannion lined out at midfield and although hampered by injury he was a constant driving force for Caltra. His younger brother, Cathal, also a member of that Galway panel, was the pick of their attack with two excellent points that contributed to a 0-7 to 0-3 interval lead. Given the conditions, it was difficult to assess how Caltra's score stacked up but the feeling was that a four-point cushion was not enough before turning to play into the elements. Oranmore-Maree's goal threat was well signalled in the first half when they opened up Caltra's defence for three clearcut goal chances. Had it not been for the superb reflexes of their â€Ëœkeeper James Birch, Caltra could well have been trailing at the interval. Caltra re-started promisingly but Fergal Mulryan's goal-bound shot was cleared off the line by Oranmore-Maree corner-back Simon Dunne and after play swung to the other end Galway minor Johnny Kelleher hit a morale-boosting score for the winners. A converted free from Benny McLoughlin, coming in controversial circumstances after referee P. J. Rabbitte ordered a retake after the midfielder had struck his first effort wide, extended Caltra's margin once more but it proved to be their final score as Oranmore-Maree took over. Having scored a combined total of 23 goals on the way to the final, it was a surprise that the sides only produced one green flag between them; it proved to be the game's decisive score and fell to Oranmore-Maree. The move had its origins in a spectacular catch by the promising Enda Walsh, another member of Galway's U-17 squad, and was clinically finished by full-forward Brendan Hanniffy after Shane Geoghegan's searching delivery found him unmarked behind the Caltra defensive cover. Scoring chances had dried up for Caltra; Oranmore-Maree continued to press on and the winning scores came from Johnny Kelleher placed balls. The Galway minor converted two late frees and followed up with a 45 in added time to open up a two-point advantage they held to the final whistle. This result sets up a County final meeting with Oughterard, who defeated An Cheathrú Rua by 2-14 to 1-4 in the West Board decider. Oranmore-Maree: D. Greene; S. Dunne, P. Burke, N. Geoghegan; P. Canning, S. Geoghegan (Capt.), R. O'Donnell; E. Walsh, E. Stenson; A. Dempsey (0-1), S. McInerney, J. Costello; J. Kelleher (0-6, five frees, one â€Ëœ45), B. Hanniffy (1-0), P. McAndrews. Subs: P. O'Donnell for McAndrews, 27 mins. Caltra: J. Birch; S. Smyth, captain, E. Conway, L. Burke; P. Birch, J. Finnerty, P. Hughes; B. McLoughlin (0-4, all frees), P. Mannion; E. Ó Ceallaigh (0-1), L. Cosgrove (0-1, free), F. Mulryan; D. Harney, C. Mannion (0-2), M. Reaney. Subs: M. McDermott for Reaney, 45 mins; C. Nolan for Cosgrove, inj., 45 mins; J. Sammon for Ó Ceallaigh, 58 mins. Referee: P. J. Rabbitte (Kilkerrin-Clonberne). Herald Sport Man of the Match: Johnny Kelleher (Oranmore-Maree). [/private]