McFadden finishes as top scorer
COLM McFADDEN hasn't just secured his maiden Celtic Cross - his latest 1-4 haul in a prolific summer has ensured he is crowned top championship scorer of 2012.
The St Michael's man was tied with Meath's Brian Farrell ahead of yesterday's All-Ireland decider against Mayo, but he nailed top spot on his own with an early free, quickly followed by his 11th-minute goal. By the end of the afternoon he had soared seven points clear of his Royal rival.
McFadden's final championship haul was 4-32 (44 points) from seven games, including 2-12 from open play, two further goals via a penalty and that sideball 'fluke' against Kerry, 19 frees and one '45'. His average tally per match was 6.3 points.
Next came Farrell on 0-37 followed by Longford marksman Sean McCormack on 0-33, this duo claiming 'podium places' even though both were eliminated from the Sam Maguire race in July.
While McFadden can now celebrate a first All-Ireland medal, the personal awards won't end there as he is an All Star shoo-in and will also be challenging strongly (along with team-mates such as Karl Lacey and Frank McGlynn) for the Footballer of the Year gong.
Either way, a Donegal winner is a certainty given the emphatic nature of their entire All-Ireland campaign.
2012 TOP SCORERS
1 Colm McFadden (Donegal) 44 points (4-32, 2-12 play)
2 Brian Farrell (Meath) 37 points (0-37, 0-14 play)
3 Sean McCormack (Longford) 33 points (0-33, 0-11 play)
4 Bernard Brogan (Dublin) 32 points (3-23, 3-8 play)
5 Ian Ryan (Limerick) 31 points (1-28, 1-9 play)
6 Cillian O'Connor (Mayo) 28points (0-28, 0-2 play) and Colm Cooper (Kerry) 28 points (1-25, 1-15 play)
