Donegal 1-10…..Kerry 0-17
Battling Donegal were beaten by Kerry in the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship Final at Croke Park.
Kerry had the edge in the first half and led 0-8 to 0-6 at the break.
The Kingdom then began to get a grip on the game and at one stage led by five points.
But with seven minutes left Jamie Brennan fired into a goal after latching onto a Tony McCleneghan pass to leave them trailing 0-14 to 1-8.
Niall Harley then pointed and Lorcan O’Connor added another one from a free to narrow the deficit further to leave it 0-14 to 1-10.
But Kerry rrespondedstrongly in the final few minutes and were sharper in front of the target.
Boosted by a free taken by goalkeeper Shane Ryan that went over the bar, Kerry moved into a three point lead, 0-16 to 1-10 as the game went into injury time.
And a fine point by Killian Spillane – a nephew of Pat Spillane – increased the Kerry lead to four points in stoppage time.
In the end, Kerry just about deserved their win.
But Declan Bonner’s team can hold their heads high after being the first Donegal minor team to reach the final.
After the match a disappointed Declan Bonner spoke to Tom Comack:
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