GAELIC GAMES: St Peter's, Wexford... 3-9 Coláiste Eoin... 2-8: There was something special about this first-round match of the Leinster Colleges' football championship that made for compulsive viewing.
Two former winners, both equally a thirst for another crack at the title, provided a ferociously tight and competitive contest that required extra time to settle the result.
For Coláiste Eoin, the champions of 1998, the disappointment of losing on their home turf of Stillorgan was made worse by the knowledge that they'd enjoyed a well-merited lead for the first three-quarters of the match.
And then, having forced the game into injury time, they were made surrender by the most unexpected of winning scores from a St Peter's substitute.
The bitter cold wind around Kilmacud Crokes was far from spectator-friendly, yet it hardly seemed to register on the field. The standard of scoring was consistently high from the start, although Coláiste Eoin did misgauge several shots at goal and ended up with the higher wide count.
Still it was 15 minutes from the end of normal time before St Peter's first took the lead. Odhran Murphy took advantage of a loose ball in front of goal and kicked it straight into the net, putting the Wexford school ahead 1-6 to 1-5.
A few minutes later they won a penalty and that was neatly converted by centre back Darren Foran, their best player on the day.
A point from their burly full forward Stephen Banville and another free from Foran took St Peter's six points clear and suddenly the Leinster champions of 1992 looked like certain winners.
But Coláiste Eoin drifted back into the game for the last 10 minutes. Full forward Cuain Ó Flathearta chased up a long, long ball and directed it straight into the net (for his second goal) and Concubhair Ó Núain - their most consistent forward on display - followed that up with two vital points in succession, one from a hard-placed ball.
So with three-minutes to play they went in desperate search of an equaliser, and found it right on the buzzer through substitute Shane O Ruairc.
The excited Coláiste Eoin supporters dutifully invaded the field - only to be quickly reminded that extra-time had still to be played.
At this point the wind-advantage became even more of a lottery, but in slightly favouring St Peter's, it helped Foran convert his third free from centre back. At this point too the Coláiste Eoin shooting went increasingly off target.
Still it took the unlikeliest of scores to decide the game. Ibar Murphy had done well for St Peter's since appearing in the second half, and then midway through the second spell of extra-time he stepped up for what appeared to be a standard free.
Only it dropped into the top right corner of the net much to the bemusement of the Coláiste Eoin defence. It made Murphy a hero for one day, and sent St Peter's into the quarter-finals. For Coláiste Eoin it was back to the blackboards for another year.
ST PETER'S, WEXFORD: D Redmond; A Murphy, B Malone, A Doyle; S Fallon, D Foran (1-5, three frees, one penalty), C Meagher; J Fogarty, M Doyle (0-1); O Murphy (1-0), K Gore (0-2, one free), E Raftery; E Staunton, S Banville (0-1), J Keale. Subs: P Waters for Staunton (18 mins), I Murphy (1-0) for E Raftery (40 mins), J Codd for Murphy (60 mins).
COLÁISTE EOIN: D Mac Con Adhaster; N O Concubhair, C O'Morain, D Breathnach; D Ó Cathain, T Ó Seafrair, P O Muiri; D O'Ceadaigh, P O Duagain; C Ó Núain (0-5, four frees), R Ó Rian, D Ó Floinn; M Ó Daltuin, A Ó Cochloin (0-1), C Ó Flathearta (2-1). Subs: S Ó Ruairc (0-1) for Ó Daltuin (50 mins), N Duce for Ó Floinn (65 mins), E Murchu for Ó Cathain (69 mins).
Referee: P Power
