Monday 18th of November 2019
Loch an Iúir Sheild Quarter Final
St Louis Ballymena (10-6) v Carndonagh Community School(6-7), @Owenbeg
Referee: Sean Curran (Derry).
When referee Sean Curran threw the ball in for this game, he and no one else present would have expected the goal fest that would occur over the next 50 minutes plus of football. Despite the knockout nature of the match, both team went all out in terms of attack, and with goal chances coming thick and fast, there was no such thing as a safe lead in terms of scores.
Cardonagh came into this game as slight favourites, only missing out on the cup competition by score difference. St Louis had shown glimpses of what they were capable of in the group stages and had always looked threatening in front of goal with Jay McKeown scoring five goal in his competitive debut earlier in the competition. The potent finisher amassed a total of 4-0 in this fixture leaving him top scorer.
The game started at a blistering pace, with St Louis winning the throw-in and heading straight for goal. The first attack failed to register a score however it was a signal of intent of what was to come. Carndonagh settled quickly and raced into a three point lead, Darragh Douglas with the pick of the scores for the Donegal men. St Louis responded through talisman Oisin McCamphill who responded with a goal. The full forward finished well inside his own box, after a well worked move that started with Carter Reid’s accurate kick out.
The Ballymena outfit took the lead with a point and looked set to coast to victory when they extended their lead to 2-3 to 0-3. The entire full forward line of Shea O’Brien, Oisin McCamphill and Jay McKeown getting their names on the score sheet before half time, with Ryan McKeever working hard to support his teammates with a number of assists.
The students from Inishowen wouldn’t lie down and soon cut this lead to two points. Darragh Douglas was causing problems and provided a constant threat in front of goal. Cormac McLaughlin and Ciaran O’Kane were also very influential for Carndonagh and worked tirelessly throughout.
St Louis wrestled the momentum back and never let the entirety of their lead slip. Turn overs from Conor Bresnahan, Hugh O’Donnnell and Harry Connon all led to scores for St Louis. A Darrach Bradley goal restored a five point lead before half time. Bradley was more than deserving of this goal, having worked relentlessly through the opening 25 minutes, winning kick outs and offering himself as an option on a number of occasions.
The second half started in a similar fashion with Pearse Martin and Ryan laverty combing to win the throw up and create the opening chance. Unfortunately the skill and effort was in vain as St. Louis failed to capitalise. Cardonagh showed composure however and soon raised another green flag to cut the St Louis lead again.
The Antrim lads soon tightened up their defence and would restrict their opponent to three scores for the remainder of the half. Fintan Brady took up a less familiar man marking role. The Ballymena man shown great versatility to adjust and really steadied his team. Corner backs Conn Fyfe and Corey Mckillop both put in a serious shift with very disciplined performances.
Jack McCloskey drove the St Louis men forward from defence and made a number of score stopping tackles in the second half. The young Loughgiel man also won a number of frees as he carried the ball out of defence.
With ten minutes to go the St Louis team pushed on and it finally looked like they had got the better of their counterparts. Daniel Doherty scored a beauty of a point with his first touch of the game and set up a goal scoring opportunity with his second.
Darrach Bradley scores a carbon copy of his first goal, following a high shot into the box, rising highest towards the ball, pumping it up into the top corner of the net.
Despite Carndonaghs best efforts to claw themselves back into the game, St Louis held out with Noah Freil coping well with continued pressure, making a number of interventions after the Donegal team reverted to the high ball into the full forward line tactic.
With the score at 10-6 to 6-7, Sean Curran blew the final whistle and the lads from Ballymena could head back down the Glenshane pass with a smile and a sigh of relief. Carndonagh, although disappointed, will take great hope from a number of individual performances. Despite the high number of goals, Daniel McDaid made a number of great saves and the talented Darragh Douglas is one to watch out for. Carter Reid offered a great platform for St Louis from his kick-out and also made impressive stops in the second half to dampen any hopes of a late comeback.
Ballymena now face St Paul’s Bessbroke in the semi-final and will hope to bring the same attacking threat. Management will no doubt want to work on reducing the number of goals they concede, and will aim to continue providing their dangerous full forward line with quality ball. If they do so, they will stand a chance of making a final, a first for this young team.
Teams:
Carndonagh: Daniel McDaid, Mac McLaughlin, Owen Kelly, Euan McFeely, Brendan O’Carroll, Davin McLaughlin, Altan McDermott, Danny Diver, Ciaran O’Kane, John O’Callaghan, Cormac McLaughlin, Cian Doherty, Darragh Douglas, Jamie McDevitt, Jake O’Donnell
St. Louis: Carter Reid, Corey McKillop, Hugh O’Donnell, Conn Fyfe, Harry Connon, Conor Bresnahan, Jack McCloskey, Pearse Martin, Ryan Laverty, Ryan McKeever, Fintan Brady (1-0), Darrach Bradley (2-0), Shea O’Brion (1-2), Oisin McCamphill (2-3), Jay McKeown (4-0)
Substitutes: Noah Freil for Corey McKillop, Joey McNeill for Darrach Bradley, Oliver Doherty for Shea O’Brion, Daniel Doherty (0-1) for Ryan McKeever, Patrick O’Neill for Conn Fyfe, Thomas Hassan for Jack McCloskey