Minor Football ‘B’ Championship Semi-Final
Dunloy Cuchullains 4-16 Con Magees Glenravel 0-5
Referee: Kevin Parke (St Enda’s)
By Brendan McTaggart
Four goals in the first half along with a dominant second 30 minutes ensured Dunloy made a safe passage to the Minor ‘B’ final at Rasharkin on Sunday afternoon. 23 points separated the sides at the full time whistle as the Cuchullains steam rolled their way past the challenge of Con Magees to set up a final showdown with Aldergrove.
It was a strong performance from the Cuchullains with the midfield pairing of Callum Scullion and Deáglán Smith in top form throughout the hour while in defence Aaron Crawford and Patrick Kinsella didn’t put a foot wrong. Five of the starting six Dunloy forwards all recorded their names to the list of scorers as they continuously found holes in the Glenravel defence.
For the Con Magees Charlie Henry and Aidan McKenna put in a strong shift at centre half while Conleth O’Loan and Adam Neeson were always dangerous in attack but their efforts were in vain as the Cuchullains were simply on another level.
The Pearse Park side made the perfect start to the semi-final when Sean O’Neill bagged the first goal of the match with just 40 seconds on the clock. Glenravel managed their first score with a Neeson free in the fifth minute but the Cuchullains had opened up a six point lead by that stage with O’Neill, Anthony Smith and Anton McGrath all splitting the posts in the opening exchanges.
The speed and agility of the Dunloy attack was troubling the Glenravel defence with O’Neill, Daire Crawley and Daithi McGuigan to the fore while Anthony Smith was a great outlet for a long ball for his side.
It was full forward Smith who grabbed the Cuchullains second major of the afternoon in the 12th minute when he collected a deft pass from Crawley, he applied a tidy finish to beat Cathal Hynds in the Con Magees goals.
The third goal followed soon after, Liam McCann turning provider this time for Daithi McGuigan and the writing was already on the wall for the Con Magees in the 16th minute as the Cuchullains opened up a 12 point advantage. The Con Magees managed their second point of the match when Henry split the posts in the 23rd minute but it was a brief respite from the Cuchullains onslaught.
The Glenravel goal keeper was being worked over by the lively Dunloy attack but his afternoon was cut short when he had to leave the field with a leg injury. His replacement Gerard Scullion was barely on the field two minutes when he had to pick the ball out of the back of his net, Eoin O’Neill with his second major of the afternoon after showing superb footwork to evade the challenges of the Glenravel defence.
The Con Magees men did finish the half strong, points from Sean McKay and O’Loan (two) meant that the four Cuchullain goals separated the sides at the short whistle but it was to be the last scores Glenravel would register. The Cuchullains had the wind at their backs in the second half and they put in an efficient and ruthless performance in the second 30 minutes.
The Dunloy forward unit were hugely impressive after the restart with Anthony Smith extending his own personal tally to 1-5 for the hour while O’Neill finished with 2-3. Eoghan McGrath, Daithi McGuigan, Liam McCann, Callum Scullion and DJ McKendry all registered scores in the second half to give the Cuchullains a comprehensive victory.
TEAMS
Dunloy: Padraig McGilligan; John Dixon; Patrick Kinsella; Oisin McErlane; Eoin McMullan; Aaron Crawford; Anton McGrath; Callum Scullion; Deáglán Smith; Eoghan McGrath; Liam McCann; Sean O’Neill; Daire Crawley; Anthony Smith; Daithi McGuigan
Subs: Cathaoir McCloskey for D Crawley (38 mins); DJ McKendry for D McGuigan (38 mins); Ciaran McQuillan for J Dixon (44 mins); Ryan Donnelly for E McMullan (44 mins)
Scorers: Sean O’Neill 2-3; Anthony Smith 1-5 (2 frees); Daithi McGuigan 1-1; Callum Scullion 0-2; Anton McGrath 0-1; Eoghan McGrath 0-1; Deáglán Smith 0-1; Liam McCann 0-1; DJ McKendry 0-1
Glenravel: Cathal Hynds; Conor Martin; Ruairi Lennon; Darragh Donaghy; Odhran McAleese; Charlie Henry; Aidan McKenna; Eoin McCusker; Eoin Hynds; Adam Neeson; Conleth O’Loan; Rian Lennon; Dylan McIlwaine; Sean Pól MacCionnaith; Sean McKay
Subs: Gerard Scullion for C Hynds (25 mins); Declan McAuley for D McIlwain (35 mins); Sean McCusker for C Martin (35 mins)
Scorers: Conleth O’Loan 0-2; Sean McKay 0-1; Charlie Henry 0-1; Adam Neeson 0-1 (1 free)
Referee: Kevin Parke (St Enda’s)