Northern Switchgear Antrim Senior Football Championship, Group One
St John’s 0-12 O’Donovan Rossa 0-9
There were shades of last Sunday’s Cork v Kilkenny All Ireland semi-final in this opening round robin game at Corrigan Park. Maybe not in the tempo of the game but last Sunday Cork manager Kieran Kingston introduced his son Shane as a sub and the young Kinston helped turn the game in Cork’s favour. On Wednesday evening at Corrigan, when things were not looking too promising for St John’s, team manager Paddy Nugent brought on his son Domhnall and the big man shook things up for the Corrigan Park side and helped turn a two point deficit into a three point win and two vital points.
The manager’s other son was in the headlines too as Patrick Nugent, the Johnnies goalkeeper, received a straight red card during the first half after referee Kevin Parke consulted with his umpires. Things did not look promising for the home side at this stage, and with Rossa playing really well it appeared to be an uphill struggle for the Johnnies. However Rossa’s inability to finish a host of good chances when they held the upper hand was to cost them and after the change of ends the pendulum started to swing in their favour as they drew level by the second water break.
With Domnhall Nugent causing a lot of problems for the visitors around the edge of the square the scores started to come, and with Matt Fitzpatrick and Patrick McBride in fine form, they hit four late points to win the game by three.
The opening quarter was cagey in the extreme and when Kevin Parke blew his whistle to signal the short break the scoreboard read 0-1 to 0-1, the Rossa point coming just seconds earlier from Dominic McEnhill, while McBride got the Johnnies point from a free.
Following the sending off the tension rose a notch and the hard hits came thick and fast. Rossa were continuing to boss possession, but their poor finishing was costing them dearly and despite points from Thomas Morgan, Michael Armstrong, Cormac McGettigan and McEnhill they only led by a point at the break, the home sides scores coming from frees by Patrick McBride.
A Thomas Morgan point early in the second half put Rossa two clear but McBride soon found a reply and the gap was back to a single point again. However Domhnall Nugent’s presence was starting to pay dividends up from and after he set up centre forward Conor Johnston for a point, he hit a real beauty himself from distance, a score that lifted his team and the Johnnies followers on the terraces.
Patrick McBride swung one over from play to put the home side ahead but Morgan popped one over at the other end for the visitors to go into the second water break at 0-8 apiece.
It was clear Rossa were tiring and when they lost Gerard Walsh to a black card their problems were compounded. There was a spring in the step of the Johnnies players as they sensed the win was on and they finished strongly with a couple of excellent points from midfielder Conall Bohill and one from Nugent, after claiming a mark, to seal a win that had looked unlikely for a good part of the game.
ST JOHN’S: P Nugent; C Garland, P Donnelly, J Bohill; C McEvoy, S Tierney, R Hannigan; S McDonagh, C Bohill (0-2); P McBride (0-6, 5 frees), C Johnston (0-1), A McGowan; D Bellew, M Fitzpatrick, C Quinn (0-1).
Subs: A Oliver for R Hannigan (24), D Nugent (0-2,) for D Bellew (HT), C Kelly for A McGowan (52).
ROSSA: M Byrne; P Moyes, C McGuinness, C Orchin; R Gowdy, M Armstrong (0-1), M Mallon; C McGettigan (0-1), G Walsh (0-1); T Morgan (0-3), SP Donnelly, C Fleming; E McMenamin (0-1), D McEnhill (0-2), S Beatty.
Subs: J Cooley for P Moyes (HT), S Shannon for C McGettigan (head injury 42), R Currie for C Fleming (56), D Grego for E McMenamin (56), R Murray for T Morgan (60), L Carr for C Orchin (60+2).
REFEREE: Kevin Parke (Naomh Éanna)
