Great Championship Comebacks

[CC1]

Cavan versus Down in Breffni park in 2003/4? Cavan losing by 8 points with ten minutes to go and end up scoring 3 goals and 2 points in those ten minutes to win the game by 4 points. It was great fun to hear the Down manager moan about Dermot McCabe, with legs hanging off and all, beating Down all by himself later that night.

[pedro]

Louth vs. Tyrone in Navan 2006. Down by 8 points at one stage in the first half and by 7 at half time. Louth came back to draw it and were certs to win in extra time as the All-Ireland champions looked beaten. Stanfield missed a glorious effort for a goal and a draw was the result. Probably the best game of football I was ever at. If we had to have won that game, god knows where we would have ended up because we were moving well that year (bar the second half against Meath in the Leinster but the less said about that the better...)

[ONeill]

Any of you lads who have the video of Derry v Tyrone fancy putting her onto DVD? I'll pay loads of money for it in coppers.

[Our Nail Loney]

Is there any youtube links to these comebacks?? Would be good to see some of them... Can't search for any masel as I am in work here

[AZOffaly]

The Offaly Limerick one..

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=TBYTe82fmlE&feature=related

[pedro]

Pats vs Mattock Rangers, Junior League, June 3rd 2008. Losing by 7 points with 10 minutes left and end up winning by 7. Pretty impressive! 

[screenexile]

The Convent v St. Pat's a few years ago... Convent were well up at half time by 7 or so... Justin Crzier had emptied St. Pat's captain Gerard O'Kane to get him stretchered off early in the match while Colin Devlin had missed a penalty for Magherafelt but Joe O'Kane then got them a goal shortly after. St. Pat's best player Mark Lynch had also been totally nullified for the first half.

Second half Gerard O'Kane came back on and himself and Mark Lych tore St. Mary's to shreds and they won out easy in the finish up... very strange game but probably an enjoyable one for the neutral (I wasn't!)

[Lone Shark]

The Offaly Limerick one..

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=TBYTe82fmlE&feature=related

This one is better - it's in real time. It's basically the same thing, but when you see that it wasn't actually a montage it works better for me.

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=kMFUsN3OWo0&feature=related

[billy the kid]

The Convent v St. Pat's a few years ago... Convent were well up at half time by 7 or so... Justin Crzier had emptied St. Pat's captain Gerard O'Kane to get him stretchered off early in the match while Colin Devlin had missed a penalty for Magherafelt but Joe O'Kane then got them a goal shortly after. St. Pat's best player Mark Lynch had also been totally nullified for the first half.

Second half Gerard O'Kane came back on and himself and Mark Lych tore St. Mary's to shreds and they won out easy in the finish up... very strange game but probably an enjoyable one for the neutral (I wasn't!)

Remember that one exile watched it on the big screen in Charlie Belly's Bar with our gammy legged friend.  Convent were playing them of the pitch in the first half and at half time that man Conway who was helping with the convent was interviewed and started talking about how the McCrory final was only an All-Ireland Quarter final for them and how they were looking at the Hogan. You could tell he thought the game was over.

Then early in the second half the Convent keeper, one of the Kidds (no relation) from Desertmartin let in a stinker of a shot from way out the field that bounced in the square.  Think it might of been Gerard Okane who got the final flick on it.  The Convent just collapsed after that as St Pats stepped it up a few gears.

It was a very strange game indeed and very entertaining for neutrals like myself who was supporting pints of Harp that day.

Our Gammy legged friend didnt find it as entertaining as me though as he was obviously supporting the Convent.

[AZOffaly]

The Offaly Limerick one..

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=TBYTe82fmlE&feature=related

This one is better - it's in real time. It's basically the same thing, but when you see that it wasn't actually a montage it works better for me.

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=kMFUsN3OWo0&feature=related

Actually the full match is on YouTube, so for the full impact of the comeback, you should at least watch 3/5 and 4/5 beforehand. It really looked hopeless, we were playing so badly in the last portion of the first half and that second half especially.

[Estimator]

The Convent v St. Pat's a few years ago... Convent were well up at half time by 7 or so... Justin Crzier had emptied St. Pat's captain Gerard O'Kane to get him stretchered off early in the match while Colin Devlin had missed a penalty for Magherafelt but Joe O'Kane then got them a goal shortly after. St. Pat's best player Mark Lynch had also been totally nullified for the first half.

Second half Gerard O'Kane came back on and himself and Mark Lych tore St. Mary's to shreds and they won out easy in the finish up... very strange game but probably an enjoyable one for the neutral (I wasn't!)

Remember that one exile watched it on the big screen in Charlie Belly's Bar with our gammy legged friend.  Convent were playing them of the pitch in the first half and at half time that man Conway who was helping with the convent was interviewed and started talking about how the McCrory final was only an All-Ireland Quarter final for them and how they were looking at the Hogan. You could tell he thought the game was over.

Then early in the second half the Convent keeper, one of the Kidds (no relation) from Desertmartin let in a stinker of a shot from way out the field that bounced in the square.  Think it might of been Gerard Okane who got the final flick on it.  The Convent just collapsed after that as St Pats stepped it up a few gears.

It was a very strange game indeed and very entertaining for neutrals like myself who was supporting pints of Harp that day.

Our Gammy legged friend didnt find it as entertaining as me though as he was obviously supporting the Convent.

It was Friel from Swatragh who got the final touch, he knew nothing of it, I think it bounced off his back or something ridiculous like that.  That game should only be remembered for the Ulster Colleges making the two teams wear almost identical colours!

[screenexile]

The Convent v St. Pat's a few years ago... Convent were well up at half time by 7 or so... Justin Crzier had emptied St. Pat's captain Gerard O'Kane to get him stretchered off early in the match while Colin Devlin had missed a penalty for Magherafelt but Joe O'Kane then got them a goal shortly after. St. Pat's best player Mark Lynch had also been totally nullified for the first half.

Second half Gerard O'Kane came back on and himself and Mark Lych tore St. Mary's to shreds and they won out easy in the finish up... very strange game but probably an enjoyable one for the neutral (I wasn't!)

Remember that one exile watched it on the big screen in Charlie Belly's Bar with our gammy legged friend.  Convent were playing them of the pitch in the first half and at half time that man Conway who was helping with the convent was interviewed and started talking about how the McCrory final was only an All-Ireland Quarter final for them and how they were looking at the Hogan. You could tell he thought the game was over.

Then early in the second half the Convent keeper, one of the Kidds (no relation) from Desertmartin let in a stinker of a shot from way out the field that bounced in the square.  Think it might of been Gerard Okane who got the final flick on it.  The Convent just collapsed after that as St Pats stepped it up a few gears.

It was a very strange game indeed and very entertaining for neutrals like myself who was supporting pints of Harp that day.

Our Gammy legged friend didnt find it as entertaining as me though as he was obviously supporting the Convent.

It was Friel from Swatragh who got the final touch, he knew nothing of it, I think it bounced off his back or something ridiculous like that.  That game should only be remembered for the Ulster Colleges making the two teams wear almost identical colours!

That's the excuse I'm using anyway!!!!

Nah in fairness Maghera had Gerard O'Kane and Lynch who were the FB CHB partnership from the minors the year before and they took the game by the scruff of the neck that day and pulled St. Pat's through. Some big names on both sides that have made an impact on Derry (and I think McCann in Antrim) teams in one way or another.

From bbc.co.uk

Maghera earn 12th MacRory title
The Maghera management's half-time team talk did the trick
Dermot McNicholl celebrates with Adrian McGuckin and Paul Hughes

St Pat's Maghera 1-9 1-4 St Mary's Magherafelt

St Patrick's Maghera produced a tremendous second half performance to crush St Mary's Magherafelt's hopes of claiming a first Bank of Ireland MacRory Cup title.

The Magherafelt school seemed set to break their duck when they led 1-4 to 0-2 at the interval.

However, amazingly St Mary's failed to score in the second half with Maghera taking complete control to claim their 12th MacRory success.

St Mary's second half collapse was truly baffling.

They had comfortably been the more accomplished outfit in the opening period against a strangely subdued Maghera.

St Pat's captain Gerard O'Kane's re-appearance early in the second half after he had been stretchered off in the first period undoubtedly boosted Maghera morale yet it didn't fully explain Magherafelt's loss of momentum.

Gerard O'Kane returned to the field after being stretchered off in the first half
Winning Maghera captain Gerard O'Kane

Both sides exhibited nerves in the opening moments and it took seven minutes for the first score to arrive with Michael McCann pointing for Maghera.

After the opening quarter, the score was 0-2 each with McCann and St Mary's Colin Devlin having notched the opening four points from placed balls.

In the 16th minute, Devlin squandered a great chance to hit the opening goal of the game when his tame penalty was saved by Maghera goalkeeper Eoin McNicholl.

The spot-kick had been awarded after McNicholl had felled Magherafelt full-forward Murtagh O'Brien.

However, Magherafelt recovered from the miss to hit the net within minutes.

Paul Kielt found Joe O'Kane with a clever pass and the half-forward picked his spot gloriously with a low shot from the tight angle past McNicholl.

With the Magherafelt defence comfortably breaking up Maghera attacks, St Mary's were able to notch two further scores in the second quarter through Conor Scullion and Paul Kielt.

"We were getting pushed around physically in the first half
Dermot McNicholl

Kielt's score was a glorious effort with the outside of his right boot.

Things seemed to have moved decisively in Magherafelt's favour a minute before the break when Maghera skipper Gerard O'Kane was forced to leave the field after a cynical challenge by Stephen Crozier.

The Magherafelt player played picked up a yellow card for the challenge and was perhaps fortunate not to have seen red.

A la Armagh in last year's All-Ireland's final, Maghera kept Magherafelt waiting at the start of the second half.

Magherafelt were out on the pitch for a full five minutes before a charged-up Maghera side re-appeared - no doubt after hearing some harsh words from manager Dermot McNicholl.

Within nine minutes of the re-start, Maghera had hit five points without replay to level the contest.

"Our name was on the cup
Dermot McNicholl

Substitute Michael Friel hit an immediate point seconds after the break and within eight minutes, Mark Lynch's score had squared the contest.

Captain O'Kane, who was given oxygen at the break, then played a key role in Maghera's crucial goal with Friel diverting the skipper's lob past Magherafelt goalkeeper Ryan Kidd.

One would have expected Magherafelt to have a spell of supremacy in the second period but it never materialised.

Jonathan Nelson and Brendan Mullan added further Maghera points in the final quarter against a visibly wilting Magherafelt side.

Teams
St Pat's Maghera: Eoin McNicholl, Dermot O'Hagan, Joe Keenan, Paul Donnelly, Gavin Scullion, Gerard O'Kane (capt), Philip O'Connell, Jonathan Bradley, Liam Hinphey, John Paul Higgins, Jonathan Nelson, Mark Lynch, Charlie Kielt, Michael McCann, Brendan Mullan.

St Mary's Magherafelt: Ryan Kidd, Mark Collins, Colm McElroy, Kevin Bradley, Michael McIver, Stephen Crozier, Cathal Doyle, John O'Boyle, Ciaran McCallion, Paul Kielt, Ruairi Murray (capt), Joe O'Kane, Colin Devlin, Murtagh O'Brien.

Referee: Mickey Convery.

[billy the kid]

Rauri Murray from the Convent was in the Derry set up to exile for the last couple of years although he not involved this year.

[western exile]

Are we allowed to add the Down comeback v. Tyrone on Sunday?  Twice were 7 points behind in the first half, to end up on level terms at the end. And could (perhaps should) have won it.

[clarshack]

Any of you lads who have the video of Derry v Tyrone fancy putting her onto DVD? I'll pay loads of money for it in coppers.

i actually have the highlights of that game on dvd. will never get sick of watching it!