Ballyhaise recorded a 4 in a row of All Ireland Agricultural Colleges football titles with this win over Mountbellew in very tough weather conditions at Pearse Park, Longford.

Ballyhaise College 2-07   Mountbellew College 0-04

They were handed a dream start when referee Derek Fahy awarded a penalty for an off the ball drag down, Leitrim man Cathal McCauley dispatched it to the net to add to his earlier point.

Longford man David McGivney hit 4 points from full forward, 2 in each half on a day when scores were very hard to come by. Killany clubmen Conor Russell and Eddie Markey gained dominance in the first half around the middle of the field and were supported by powerful Louth man Brian Howell.

Leitrim man James Gallagher finished off a great team move to the net to give Ballyhaise a 2 goal cushion which they would never surrender. However the loss of the impressive John Smith from centre back to a 22nd minute black card left Ballyhaise with plenty of work to do.

Johnny McCrossan (Monaghan), Stephen Clarke (Meath) and the impressive Ciaran Cooney drove on from the Ballyhaise  half back line. Mountbellew relied on their talented full forward Joseph Donnellan but Ballyhaise full back Padraic Rooney (Donegal) held the Galway man scoreless giving a man of the match performance.

Further points from Cathal McCauley, McGivney (2) and a great effort from James Gallagher kept the Mountbellew second half rally at bay. Captain Charles Brogan from the Carnaross club in Meath accepted the cup for the Cavan college.

The Ballyhaise squad was: James Gallagher (Leitrim), Andrew Cusack-Smith (Cavan), David McGivney (Longford), Jamie Coyle (Cavan), Shane Shiels (Cavan), Owen McPartland (Cavan), Johnny McCrossan (Monaghan), Cathal McCauley (Leitrim), Mickey Dunne (Meath), Ciaran Cooney (Cavan), Stephen Halton (Cavan), Charles Brogan (Meath), John Smith (Meath), John Duffy (Monaghan), Eddie Markey (Monaghan), Padraic Rooney (Donegal), Brian Howell (Louth), Johnny Lynch (Meath), Caoin McCabe (Cavan), Conor Russell (Louth), Nicholas Mckenna (Meath), Mark Kiernan (Cavan), Darren Brady (Cavan), Stephen Clarke (Meath), Oisin Kiernan-Coyle (Meath).

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