There's no football like championship football, and that was certainly the case when Cork and Kerry met in Munster last week. The Kingdom have been unstoppable in the Electric Ireland GAA Minor Football Championship the past few years, but Cork were determined to put an end to their dominance. They came up short in a thrilling encounter, but pushed Kerry further than anyone else has in recent memory. Winning 1-11 to 1-10, the boys in green and gold simply would not be stopped, evidenced by this clip of Dan Murphy putting a definitive end to a Rebel attack.
A leithéid do chluiche! Peil iontach ó Dan Murphy @Kerry_Official i gcoinne @OfficialCorkGAA
Dan Murphy won’t be beaten in a dramatic @MunsterGAA @ElectricIreland minor semi-final between #Kerry & #Cork Tues night
📺 @SportTG4
⏰ Dé Luain ag 20.00 pic.twitter.com/vZJc9a1wKA— GAA 2022 (@GAA_2022_TG4) May 11, 2018
That wasn't the only entertaining game of the week, of course, so here are your contenders for the Electric Ireland GAA Minor Footballer of the Week.
Ronan Grimes - Monaghan
If there's one takeaway from this year's championship, it's that Monaghan don't do things the easy way. Having lost in the first round of the Ulster championship to Derry after extra-time, the Farney boys gave themselves another mountain to climb against Donegal.
In a repeat of the Ulster minor league final from earlier this year, Donegal were determined to exact revenge on their rivals. Racing into a four point lead just after the commencement of the second half, they were heading in the right direction. Monaghan contributed plenty to their own deficit, making mistakes all over the pitch.
A comeback didn't seem likely, but the team drew inspiration from their own defense, led by the imperious Ronan Grimes. By continually intercepting the ball and recycling it to great effect, Grimes laid the platform for Monaghan to get back into the game. Donegal were swarmed by counter-attacks when they expected to be cruising to victory.
Extra-time has been a regular feature of this years competition and this fixture looked like following that trend, with the scores tied as the game was coming to a close. Two stoppage time scores secured a dramatic victory for Monaghan though, as Donegal crash out of the qualifiers.
Adam McDermott - Roscommon
If this game is anything to go by, then the future is bright for the Rossies, but the one burning brightest is Adam McDermott.
The reality is not quite as simple as that, considering Roscommon lost their first game if the championship by 21 points to Galway. But to make such a stark turnaround and wallop their neighbours 4-12 to 0-11 in Kiltoom has to be considered seriously impressive.
Mayo were only behind by four at half-time but that was the closest they got all evening, as McDermott blitzed the opposition with a hat-trick that can only be described as sensational. Each score was met with a jubilant "ggggoooaal" by the @RoscommonGAA account.
Well done to our Minor team. #rosgaa #gaa
Full time
Roscommon: 4-12(24)
Mayo: 0-11(11) pic.twitter.com/uEifoDHTX2— Roscommon GAA (@RoscommonGAA) May 11, 2018
Leitrim are now in the cross-hairs for Roscommon, who will surely dominate that game if McDermott demonstrates the kind of speed and awareness that he did in this fixture, in which he finished with a tally of 3-2.
Mark Lavin - Dublin
The Dubs beat Louth by 14 points last Monday, but don't let the scoreline fool you; the Wee County deserved a lot more out of this game.
Leading by a point with fifteen minutes to go, Louth were on the receiving end of a scoring flurry in which Dublin scored 3-6 without reply.
Leinster MFC Round 1
Full time score -
Dublin: 3-15 (24)@louthgaa: 1-07 (10)
Great start to the championship for our Minor Footballers 💪#UpTheDubs @gaaleinster @ElectricIreland pic.twitter.com/ZYArSvfsjT— Dublin GAA (@DubGAAOfficial) May 7, 2018
As much as we can question the true value of this victory for the Boys In Blue, one thing we can be sure of is that Mark Lavin has a bright future ahead of him.
The Lucan Sarsfield player emerged from the game with three points to his name, including two free kicks, but he could have expected more given his good play. The wing-back will be hoping to get more scores from play when Dublin face Laois in round two of the Leinster Minor Football Championship.
Have your say and cast your vote for the player of the week nominees on Electric Ireland's Facebook page by clicking here. All nominated players will be in with a chance of making overall team/player of the year at the 2018 Electric Ireland GAA Minor Star Awards.
