In the riveting Lory Meagher Cup final held at Croke Park on Sunday afternoon, Fermanagh managed to hold off a late surge by Longford, securing a victory with a five-point lead, the final score being 3-22 against 2-20. Fermanagh showed dynamism from the start, with initial points being won by Brian Teehan, Aidan Flanagan and Luca McCusker. Longford’s sole early breakthrough was delivered by Evan Tully.
Fermanagh was denied an extension of their lead in the 6th minute when Teehan’s goal, rebounded from Seán Corrigan’s shot off the upright, was invalidated by referee James Judge following discussions with his umpires. Yet Fermanagh sustained their dominance thanks to additional scores by John Duffy and Tom Keenan. Longford remained in the game due to point contributions by Joe Rabbitt, Cian Darcy and Cathal Mullane.
A goal by Teehan in the 17th minute, a well-deserved one he had swept across Pat Burke in the Longford goal from 10 yards, widened the gap by six points. Longford replied with two scores from Darcy, but Fermanagh concluded the half powerfully, securing five consecutive points courtesy of Danaan McKeogh (twice), Caolan Duffy, John Duffy and Corrigan. This gave them an eight-point lead at half-time.
Longford’s aspirations for a turnaround were dashed at the start of the second half when McKeogh netted a goal within twenty seconds, thanks to Teehan’s pressure on Burke. David Buckley’s shot for Longford in the 40th minute and Darcy’s frees, kept them in the contest as the game progressed. Teehan’s match-clinching second goal came in the 56th minute but an unexpected goal by Rabbitt led to a tense finish. This necessitated McCusker and JP McGarry adding insurance points in extra time.
In Fermanagh’s lineup were players C McKernan; S McKendry, R Porteous, Ciarán Duffy who scored 0-1; A Flanagan, gracing a score of 0-1, R Bogue, O Johnston; D Bannon, Caolan Duffy scoring 0-1 as well; L McCusker – 0-4 where one score was from a free, T Keenan with 0-2, J Duffy with yet another 0-2; S Corrigan at 0-4, B Teehan managed a 2-3, and D McKeogh who scored 1-3, with one free. As the match progressed, the substitutes came in as J Tormey replaced J Duffy after 46 minutes, followed by R McGurn for McKendry after 51, JP McGarry (scoring 0-1) came in for McKeogh after 62 minutes played; B Corrigan came in for Flanagan after 64 minutes, and D Teague replaced Keenan after a lengthy 72 minutes.
Longford, on the other hand, had P Burke; J Casey, E Allen, S Lancaster; A Quinn, K Murray, E Tully who scored impressive 0-2; P Lynam at 0-1, C Mullane also with a score of 0-2; O Gately, D Buckley managed 1-1, J Rabbitt with 1-1 as well; R Murray, C Darcy with 0-13 where twelve scores were frees, R Courtney. As the game reached its ado, C Flynn replaced Gately after 48 minutes of play, then M Mulcahy replaced R Murray at 51 minutes, D Caslin subbed for Buckley after 59 minutes, and finally D Crossan came in for Courtney after 70 minutes had passed.
The match was overseen by referee James Judge from Mayo.