ONE out of one. That's what Clann Mhuire's record in under-21 championship finals reads like as they brought their first ever title in the grade home to the Naul on Saturday.

It was a gripping contest from start to finish. The exchanges were physical and the football was typical of the time of year, but there was no shortage of entertainment between two well-matched sides.

Plunkett's will feel like it was one they possibly left behind them. The opening 20 minutes in particular was dominated by the Navan Road outfit, but a combination of excellent defence and poor finishing meant that dominance was never evident on the scoreboard.

They began with a two-man full-forward line of Niall Murray and Daniel Stritch, and it appeared to have the potential to be the perfect game plan, especially as the roaming Conor Walsh was handling a massive amount of ball.

But four shots resulting in four wides inside 10 minutes told the tale of their luck in front of goal as Mhuire's Gary McGrane opened the scoring with a free. Suddenly the Plunkett's profligate attack found their range. Three unanswered points, all from the boot of Niall Murray, put them in the driving seat, but these were followed up with more wastefulness in possession.

GEARS

Eoin Whyte, one of seven relations involved in the side, put Clann Mhuire within a point from another placed ball. His team must have felt relieved to have survived the early onslaught as they began to move up the gears.

McGrane levelled before the Whyte cousins, Eoin and Brian, put the victors in control. They led at the break by 0-5 to 0-3, and it was to be a position they would not relinquish.

Mhuire picked up where they left off at the restart and another McGrane free was followed by an inspirational score from the skilful centre forward Brian Whyte. Wing forward Cian Darby was all over the field and his direct running style and economy in possession was creating all kinds of problems.

To their credit, Plunkett's battled hard to get back into the game and quickly cancelled out those two second-half scores.

The seemingly tireless half-back Shane Heffernan grabbed a particularly memorable effort.

But then came the most significant period of the game. McGrane again showed his deadly accuracy with his fourth free of the day before the move which clinched the championship.

Big midfielder, and another of the Whyte clan, Ciarán, played a brilliant defence- splitting pass into the path of Darren Kealy.

The nippy No13 still had a lot of work to do but his top-corner finish left Plunkett's keeper Dylan Burke with no chance.

The misery was further compounded when Murray was dismissed for his second booking by referee Gary Carthy. Clann used the extra man brilliantly for the last 10 minutes and held on for the famous victory which sparked great celebrations.

Manager Joe Keane was thrilled with the triumph: "It's brilliant for the club to win our first title. I've had these lads since they were 12 years of age and they're a great group. It's just what they deserved."

- Diarmuid Geraghty