Gordon Walker fires Rochestown boys to All-Ireland glory

Late goals have been the hallmark of the St Francis College march to the senior schools final and another late intervention yesterday claimed the Rochestown school the prestigious FAI Schools Tony O’Neill Cup.

It looked like 10-man Rice College of Westport, who had Cian McAllister sent off for a second yellow card early in the second-half, had sufficiently repelled the Rebels at Whitehall to force extra-time until Gordon Walker seized upon the space afforded to him with three minutes left and calmly stroked home the winning goal from the edge of the box.

Similar to the semi-final success over Dublin side St Aidan’s, patience paid off for St Francis. They’d been frustrated in their efforts to kill off a Mayo side, operating with a man less for almost all of the second-half and eventually made full use of the numerical superiority.