Salthill Devon came away from Mervue on Sunday afternoon, bruised but proud having defeated near neighbours Mervue Utd by the narrowest of margins in the FAI Under 17 Cup.

They were deserving winners in the end, coming back from a goal down at half time to win out, and were it not for the heroics of the Mervue keeper, Conor Winn, it would have been more than a single goal victory.

Salthill started the game with seven U16 players , Daryl Horgan, Sam Ryan, Conor Murray and Ronan Burke acting as the senior players in the team.

Indeed each of these older players played a significant role in the early stages as the Seasiders sought to impose their passing game on their opponents.

In contrast, Mervue looked to put Billy Lane and former Devon stalwart Enda Curran through on almost every occasion, with a succession of long balls causing discomfort for the young Salthill rearguard.

The central defensive partnership of Eoin Walsh and Tom Curran found their feet and imposed their will on the game after a nervy opening ten minutes.

Winn had to be alert to push aside an early Horgan effort, but when he failed to hold Dara Duggan’s drive on fifteen minutes, Eamon O’Donnell dispatched the loose ball to the net.

Salthill pushed forward in waves after this driven on by Murray and Heskin, but despite the stranglehold they established in midfield, the finishing in the last third left a lot to be desired.

On forty minutes, Winn pulled off a magnificent save from Horgan, who surely would have scored had the keeper not stood 6’4”, and from the resultant corner, Ward looked to have scored a second for Devon only to be called back for a foul on the giant keeper.

Mervue snatched a lifeline moments later when Curran ghosted behind his marker to pick up a long Shane Keogh clearance and cooly finished to the net, scoring from practically his first clean touch of the ball.

Stung by this reversal, Horgan and Co. redoubled their efforts beofre half time taking the game to Mervue, but were outdone for a second time when Lane won a footrace with Walsh to beat Burke in the Salthill goal.

The second half was pretty much a carbon copy of the first, with Mervue’s James Casserley at centreback and Michael Collins (another ex Devon player) the dominant main players in the these central roles for much of the half. Salthill to their credit continued to probe and pass the ball and were finally rewarded when Conor Murray scored a captains goal and he drove through the heart of the defence before chipping the ball over the dive of Winn.

Within minutes, Ronan Conlon looked to have gained a penalty for Devon when he was upended in the box, but referee Forde waived play on when it seemed a legitimate claim.

Horgan, Duggan and O’Donnell each missed opportunities before Tony Ward scored on the 90th minute. The goal owed much to Horgan’s enterprising play on the flank when he beat his marker and crossed early for Ward to poach a delightful winner right at the death.

Mervue to their credit mounted one more meaningful attack and Burke had to be really vigilant, advancing well to block a drive from Murphy when the sub broke clear in the 95th minute.

Salthill have built another fine team here, who will no doubt form the basis of the next U19/U20 squad. Bradley, Duggan and Walsh were outstanding with Murray and man of the match Horgan all playing starring roles for the winners.

Mervue have fine players in Casserley, Maloney, Lane and Collins, with keeper Winn star of the show for them on the day.