Athenry seal Connacht title

CRAIG KENNEDY powered his Athenry VS to the Connacht Vocational Schools SAFC title in Garrymore. Kennedy hit 1-3 and was their chief creator, setting up their first goal after 21 minutes as Dylan Murphy finished to the net (1-2 to 0-2).

A minute later Kennedy fired an unstoppable shot past Martin Corcoran to open a six-point lead. The Castlebar lads hit back with points from Jamie Ivers, Conor Finnerty and Diarmuid O’Connor to trail 2-4 to 0-5 at the break. Athenry tagged on two frees after the restart, before Kennedy set up Michael Hession for Athenry’s third goal. Midway through the half Athenry’s Kieran Forde was shown a second yellow and when Gary Concannon converted a penalty, a comeback looked on. But a Flaherty free and Caolin Blade point sealed the victory.

Scorers for Athenry VS: C Kennedy (1-3); M Hession (1-2, 2fs); P Flaherty (0-3, 2fs); D Murphy (1-0); K Forde (0-1); C Blade (0-1).