Northern Switchgear Senior Football Championship
Quarter-Final
Roger Casements 0-21 St Galls 0-21 (aet)
Casements win 5-3 on penalties
Tuesday September 1
Brendan McTaggart reports from Dunsilly
Darkness had fallen, bodies were broken. Hands were on heads and the crowd began to whistle. Paddy Kelly stood 40 plus yards out on the angle. He has to have known it was the last kick of the game. Portglenone and St Galls slogged it out in a quite brilliant game of championship football and it all boiled down to that one moment three minutes into injury time at the end of extra time.
Kelly was calmness personified and time stood still. As soon as he made the connection with his cultured right foot, he knew. The crowd behind him knew and Kelly celebrated before the ball went over the St Galls bar.
The most dramatic of endings and Portglenone had salvaged a draw to force more drama. Penalties. Where heroes are made and folklore is written. Kieron McKenna the man who hit the winning spot kick in almost total darkness to seal Casement’s place in the last four.
To call this game epic would be doing it a disservice. It’s a cliché but it will never be more fitting, neither side deserved to lose and both sides threw everything they had at each other, including the proverbial kitchen sink.
The sides were tied on 12 occasions throughout the 80 regulation minutes. The lead exchanged hands six times and the biggest lead either side had was four points – St Galls after a period of dominance in the second half. The Casement’s held a two point lead when at the death of normal time but St Galls showed their animalistic instincts of never saying die and always finding a way.
The St Galls men weren’t happy at the final whistle. They felt they had to work that bit harder for their frees during the game. Looking at the facts, just four of their 21 accumulated points came from placed ball, Portglenone had over twice that. Looking at the positives, one of, if not thee best player on the pitch wore the famous blue shirt. Kevin Niblock. 33 years young and playing with the verve of youth and the experience all those years plying his trade on the forward line in the Azzuri Blue or Saffron of Antrim. If they ever legally allow cloning, Niblock should be put to the top of the queue. How he’s missed in an Antrim shirt. He walked off the pitch a broken man both physically and mentally, but he was magnificent. Four points beside his name, an epic battle with Portglenone full back Shane Delargy, Niblock gave an exhibition. His running off the ball creates space in the tightest of defences, his physicality creates chances for his teammates while his artistry comes from two wonderful feet.
The Casements were rocked with key players having to come off injured. Niall McKeever, a midfield colossus and clearly frustrated his body had failed him. Dermot McAleese, a creative inspiration with his ingenuity from deep. Piercing runs, dancing feet but he had to go just shy of half time. It just added to the drama.
St Galls dominated midfield. Aodhan Gallagher, lording it. The west Belfast side were on top in the second half and turning the screw. Four points in as many minutes gave them the lead of the same margin after a draw at half time.
Portglenone reacted by bringing Paddy Kelly into the fray and how the Casement’s man had an impact. Michael ‘Scotchy’ Hagan gave St Galls all they wanted and more with his pace, trickery and movement. Conall Delargy top scored with six points and while five of those were from placed ball, he brought much more to the dance floor.
At the death of normal time, the Casement’s looked like they had scored the games decisive score when Hagan volleyed over. It was a chance for goal after a rare slip in the St Galls defence but his instinctive shot gave them a two point lead.
The Milltown men hit back. First Niall O’Neill halved the deficit and St Galls laid siege on the Portglenone defence in search for the moment, the yard, the score. They had a chance for goal, Gallagher’s lay off to Niblock but Ryan O’Neill saved Portglenone’s championship bacon.
Brendan Bradley scored the equalising point for St Galls deep in injury time but his side looked out on their feet in comparison to Portglenone. The Casements had the pace in attack but the experience, the knowhow and the brilliance of the St Galls defence were keeping them in check. What else would you expect from a unit led by Sean Kelly?
Portglenone held a two point lead at half time of extra time, scores from Conall Delargy and Paddy Kelly edging them ahead after John McCaffrey’s black card. St Galls found another gear. The reintroduction of Michael Pollock looked to be a masterstroke as they turned the one point deficit into a one point lead in injury time.
We were at the mercy of referee Eamon McAuley. St Galls had a chance to double their lead and surely put their name in the semi’s, Bradley stood over a free and his effort came back off the upright from 30 yards. A pivotal moment in the game. The clock ticked further into injury time and Casement’s sensed they had one last chance. St Galls did what they could, slow the game and any momentum Portglenone could gather. It felt like we were watching a game of rugby, Portglenone going through phases, edging closer with each systematic foul. Then it came. Wide on the left, just inside the ’45 and Paddy Kelly’s moment to shine. He won’t have struck a sweeter free in his career.
The full time whistle came with no time for the kick out. Penalties! The drama wasn’t finished as St Galls replaced Louis McCormick with Niall O’Neill in goals for the spot kicks. Portglenone were 3-2 ahead when Pollock stepped up but his effort was saved by Ryan O’Neill and Portglenone had the advantage. Ruairi Hagan and Brendan Bradley made no mistake with their spot kicks and it was left for Kieron McKenna to inscribe his name in history. An emphatic finish and how both he and his side celebrated in the darkness at Dunsilly.
Portglenone sealed their historic win on the birthday of Roger Casement. Maybe it was always going to be their day. They have a date with Creggan in the semi’s and their championship continues.
TEAMS
Portglenone: Ryan O’Neill; Johnny Convery, Shane Delargy, Ruairi Hagan; Ronan Delargy, Niall Delargy, Caolan Tierney; Niall McKeever, Michael Donnelly; Conall Delargy, Kieron McKenna, Oisin Doherty; Ryan Convery, Dermot McAleese, Michael Hagan
Subs: Fergal O’Kane for N McKeever (24); Ronan Kelly for D McAleese (30); Paddy Kelly for K McKenna (38); Gerard McAleese for O Doherty (ET – HT)
Scorers: Conall Delargy 0-6 (5f); Michael Hagan 0-5 (2f); Paddy Kelly 0-3 (2f); Niall Delargy 0-2; Oisin Doherty 0-2 (1f); Ronan Kelly 0-1; Gerard McAleese 0-1; Kieron McKenna 0-1
St Galls: Louis McCormick; John McCaffrey, Conaill Murray, Shane O’Hagan; Conor Stinton, Sean Kelly, Mark Kelly; Sean Burke, Aodhan Gallagher; Eoghan McCabe, Thomas Bunting, Kevin Niblock; Michael Pollock, Brendan Bradley, Terry O’Neill
Subs: Colin Brady for C Murray (45); Niall Burns for S Burke (45); Jackson McGreevy for M Pollock (51); Niall O’Neill for M Kelly (51); Conn Doherty for T O’Neill (60); Michael Pollock for T Bunting (ET 5); Ryan Irvine for N Burns (ET5); Niall McCurdy for S Kelly (ET 17)
Scorers: Brendan Bradley 0-7 (4f); Kevin Niblock 0-4; Michael Pollock 0-3; Eoghan McCabe 0-2; Sean Burke 0-1; Aodhan Gallagher 0-1; Terry O’Neill 0-1; Niall O’Neill 0-1; Thomas Bunting 0-1
Referee: Eamon McAuley (Erins Own, Cargin)
