Colm Shalvey, New York, and Matthew Joyce, London, in All-Ireland JFC Final action at Croke Park. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
All-Ireland Junior Football Championship Final
New York 0-13 London 0-12
By Paul Keane at Croke Park
A third quarter burst of scoring helped New York secure back-to-back All-Ireland junior football titles at Croke Park.
A point back early in the second-half, the holders suddenly came alive with seven of the game's next eight points to give themselves a vital cushion and ensure they retained the title.
In just the third season since the junior championship was reconstituted in 2022, catering mainly now for overseas teams, it's another impressive win by New York.
Shay McElligott, part of The Big Apple side that beat Kilkenny in last year's final, enjoyed another landmark afternoon with six points in total; two from frees, two from advanced marks and two more from play.
Gearoid Kennedy impressed at midfield too while Thomas Shalvey's two points in the 48th and 50th minutes rounded off New York's burst of scoring and left them five points clear at that stage.
They also had an extra man following the 41st minute dismissal of London midfielder Ryan O'Connell for a second booking.
But New York, surprisingly, didn't score again as London reeled off the game's last four points, leaving just a point in it at the death before time ran out on their comeback.
Both sides were unchanged from their Friday evening wins, New York beating All-Britain finalists Warwickshire 0-11 to 0-8 less than 48 hours earlier and London taking care of USGAA 1-8 to 0-10.
Chasing a repeat of last year's final success, when they beat Kilkenny by a point, New York started brightly and won the opening quarter by 0-4 to 0-1.
McElligott was one of nine players retained in the lineup from last year's final win and struck three first-half points this time for New York.
One of those came from an advanced mark following a terrific long ball in from Kennedy who also pinched the game's opening score.
London came alive in the second quarter and outscored New York 0-5 to 0-2 in the second quarter to tie it up at the interval, 0-6 apiece.
Noel Maher scored four of those London points from placed balls as they ran hard at the New York defence and were rewarded with a series of frees.
Rhys Lennon put London ahead shortly after the restart but with seven of the next eight points going New York's way, the game swung decisively.
McElligott, from the Rangers club, was terrific in this period as was Thomas Shalvey who struck two points. Coughlan drew the foul for London midfielder O'Connell's second yellow card with just under 20 minutes to go and suddenly the men in green had a mountain to climb.
They almost scaled it too, reeling off the last four points of the game including two from substitute Ryan Kearney but they left themselves just too much to do.
Scorers for New York: Shay McElligott 0-6 (0-2f, 0-2m), Gearoid Kennedy 0-2, Thomas Shalvey 0-2, Colm Shalvey 0-1, Brian Coughlan 0-1, Emmet Loughran 0-1.
Scorers for London: Noel Maher 0-4 (0-4f), Sean Hickey 0-4, Ryan Kearney 0-2, Rhys Lennon 0-1, Aidan McGarvey 0-1.
New York: Ryan Corrigan; Peter Cronin, Paidi Mathers, Shane Doheny; Ian Kavanagh, Dylan Curran, Aaron Traynor; Colm Shalvey, Gearoid Kennedy; Aidan Lawlor, Danny Corridan, Thomas Shalvey; Emmet Loughran, Brian Coughlan, Shay McElligott.
Subs: Lorcan Kennedy for C Shalvey 41, Ciaran O'Connor for Loughran 56.
London: Gavin McEvoy; Eoghan Reilly, Patrick O'Reilly, Donncha Byrne; Matthew Tierney; Ryan McCready, Aidan McGarvey, Darragh Griffin; Ryan O'Connell, Noel Maher; Rhys Lennon, Ryan Forde, Matthew Joyce; Alfie McNulty, Sean Hickey.
Subs: Thomas Waters for McNulty h/t, Ryan Kearney for Joyce 45, Brendan Rice for Byrne 45, Darren Lynch for Maher 50, Ciaran Houlihan for McGarvey 61.
Referee: Conor Dourneen (Cavan).
