St Pats, Lisburn 1-08-1-05 St Malachy’s

St Patrick’s Lisburn booked their place in the semi-final of the Junior Football Championship when they withstood the challenge of fourteen men St Malachy’s in dreadful conditions a Pairc MacRuairi on Friday night. Four ahead at the break with the wind, driving rain and the ‘slope’ in their favour in the second half it all appeared to be plain sailing for the Lisburn men and when St Malachy’s defender Conor Martin was dismissed for a second yellow card their task seemed even easier. However St Malachy’s refused to concede defeat and when Ciaran Vernon finished a breaking ball to the net they were back to within a point. Nervous times for the St Patrick’s followers, who had seen their team fall to defeat to the same opposition last season, but they finished strongly and two late points secured victory and a semi-final place.

Weather conditions were ideal as the game got underway and it was St Malachy’s who started the brighter with a well taken point from Aidan Connors, but the Lisburn men were soon back on terms when Francis McMeel pointed at the other end. McMeel was denied a great goal chance when St Malachy’s keeper Sean Turley showed great bravery to deny him but his side moved ahead soon afterwards when Eoin Fay sent over a free. The Markets men hit back to level on terms on twelve minutes when Patrick Turley sent over the equaliser.

St Malachy’s got themselves back in front on eighteen minutes when Karl McCavana sent one over from a free but the lead didn’t last long  as McMeel was again on target for St Patrick’s to square things up at three points each in the eighteenth minute. The decisive score of the half came on twenty-two minutes when Josh McMullan attacked up the left wing before finding his brother Ben free in the centre and the right corner forward fired to the net to give his team a lead they would never subsequently lose and when Josh McMullan added another point they went in at the break with a 1-4 to 0-3 lead.

St Malachy’s literally faced an uphill task as the second half got underway, and when the rain arrived in torrents soon after the restart their task got even greater.  By this stage Josh McMullan had stretched St Patrick’s lead to five but St Malachy’s showed they would not capitulate and a Patrick Turley point cut the gap back to three on thirty eight minutes. As if things weren’t bad enough for the men from the Markets they were soon down to ten men when Conor Martin received his second yellow, and subsequent red card, and when St Patrick’s substitute Denver Taggart landed one of the best scores of the game soon after coming on the gap was back out to four.

A lot of teams would simply have given up at this stage but St Malachy’s are made of sterner stuff and after Turley cut the gap back to four with a pointed free, another free kick from distance landed in around the St Patrick’s square when Charlie Verrnon took advantage of the ensuing mayhem to poke the ball home and cut the gap back to a single point.  The impossible now suddenly looked as if could be done and with seven minutes still to play but St Patrick’s shut the door on their rivals with two late points, one from Ben McMullan and the other from substitute Denver Taggart to deservedly seal the win and secure that semi-final spot.

St Pats Lisburn: P O’Neill, M Chernek, T Burns, J McMullan, T O’Malley, S Casey, E Fay (0-01f), N Ward,  T Fay, M Torbitt, A McDonald, Patrick Agnew, B McMullan (1-01), F McMeel (0-02), Josh McMullan (0-02). Subs: D Taggart (0-02) for P Agnew, Gerard Kennedy for S Casey, C Dixon for M Torbitt.

St Malachy’s: S Turley, C Corr, C Connolly, P Carlise, C Martin, M Connolly, A Dobbin, C Vernon (1-00), T Rice, C Drain, S Moorland, A Connors (0-01), P Turley (0-03,0-01f), S Carson, K McCavana (0-01f). Subs: C Corr for D O’Neill, C Drain for G Flynn.

Referee: Charlie Hemsworth (St Pauls )