Marist pay the penalty as champions hold on for narrow win

THE Marist College's involvement in this year's Leinster Colleges SF 'A' Championship is over after a narrow defeat against reigning champions St Mary's, Edenderry, at Kiltoom on Tuesday afternoon. And the Athlone side will be kicking themselves after meeting St Mary's on a day when last year's All-Ireland finalists were very much there for the taking. But the Marist - who squandered an early penalty kick - ultimately failed to put their slightly off-colour Offaly rivals to the sword. St Mary's were also missing the hugely influential Paul Cribben on the day but, in towering midfielder Sean Hurley, they possessed a genuine leader and without doubt the best player on the pitch, scoring six points, including five frees, and leading by example throughout. The Marist's Callum McCormack, a star for Maryland, wasn't too far behind the impressive Hurley, and notched five points, but it was an early penalty miss that ultimately caught up with the Marist and played a huge part in their elimination from the competition. David Fagan was fouled in the penalty area inside 90 seconds of the throw-in, but his left-footed kick went wide of the post. The Marist, who were without Robbie Benson on the day, didn't panic and two points before the fifth minute from Callum McCormack and Fagan put them in front. Edenderry were level by the ninth minute through a Sean Hurley free and a well-taken score from Anton Sullivan. Jack Carty's precise pass set up Callum McCormack to quickly restore the Marist's slender advantage but matters were level again by the 17th minute, thanks to Philip Foy's point. McCormack saw an excellently taken free crash off the woodwork before Edenderry found themselves in front for the first time through a straightforward free by Hurley. Less than a minute later, McCormack's brilliantly taken sideline ball sailed over the bar but two frees by Hurley, followed by a terrific free from McCormack, left Edenderry leading by a point at the interval. The Marist started the second half slowly and points from Hurley (free) and Ewan Farrell gave the Athlone side a mountain to climb. Fagan's 36th minute free narrowed the gap to just two points but Hurley quickly responded for St Mary's and they led by three going into the last 20 minutes. Converted frees by Fagan and McCormack had the Marist breathing down their opponents' necks, before Carty set up substitute Seamus Connaughton for the equalising score. The Marist had the momentum and Edenderry's Stuart Cullen was fortunate to only receive a yellow card after clearly striking McCormack in front of the referee. But Ciaran Hurley pointed for St Mary's with seven minutes remaining, and although the Marist tried on numerous occasions to force extra-time, there was to be no more scores in an overall disappointing contest, and the Marist are out for another year. SCORERS - Marist College: C. McCormack 0-5 (2f), D. Fagan 0-3 (2f), S. Connaughton 0-1. St Mary's, Edenderry: S. Hurley 0-6 (5f), A. Sullivan, P. Foy, E. Farrell, C. Hurley 0-1 apiece. TEAMS: Marist College - Ian Gardiner; Nigel Farrell, Paul Fuery, Luke Kelly, Michael Irwin, Conor Fitzgibbon, Donal O'Riordan, Robbie Henshaw, Aidan Connaughton, Brian Gill, Callum McCormack, David McCormack, David Fagan, Jack Carty, Adrian Gleeson. Subs: Seamus Connaughton for A. Connaughton (45 mins), Alan Coffey for D. McCormack (49). St Mary's, Edenderry - Shane Geoghegan; Conor Grehan, Jake Kavanagh, Ewan Farrell, Ben Kenny, Derek Kelly, Daniel Flynn, Sean Hurley, Philip Farrell, Philip Foy, Anton Sullivan, Conor McNamee, Lorcan Pender, Stuart Cullen, Ciaran Hurley. Subs: Ger Leech for Pender (38 mins), Eddie Holten for Foy (53), Sean Doyle for Flynn (54). Referee: Tommy Donoghue (Longford).