Intermediate Football Championship – Group 1 – Round 3
Saturday 31st August
Report by Niall Kelly
St Teresa’s 2-10 St Paul’s 3-07
St Teresa’s and St Paul’s both qualified for the semi-finals of the Intermediate Championship after they ended level in Sunday’s penultimate round-robin game at the Glen Road. Naomh Teresa were thirty seconds away from avenging their defeat in the Division Two league decider between the sides, when the sides met a few weeks ago. However Naomh Pól sharpshooter, Lorcan Phillips, had other ideas and he converted a close range free on the stroke of full time to give both teams a share of the spoils, a result which sees both ot them through to the knock-out stages.
In what was a manic first half, St Teresa’s looked potentially down and out after shipping three goals in a five minute period in the opening quarter. However, spearheaded by chief marksman, Jay Mallon, the Glen Road side clawed away at the deficit as both outfits went hammer and tongs to claim top spot of the group, and both will now go through as first and second in the group.
Trailing by three at half time, the hosts then manufactured four unanswered scores in the closing eight minutes to gain the lead for the first time since the fifth minute. All seemed as though the stars had aligned and the two points looked destined to stay at Pairc ÚiDhoctairtigh. Nonetheless, it was not to be as the concession of a close range free gave the visitors the perfect opportunity to half the verdict.
Today was perhaps August’s last gasp in producing any sort of summer weather. In what were hot, humid and indeed energy sapping conditions, it was Jay Mallon who drew first blood with a well taken free on the fourth minute. All seemed well for the hosts in the opening exchanges as they had the lion’s share of possession and looked bright going forward but failed to capitalise further on the early momentum.
What followed can only be described as five minutes of madness. St Paul’s ability on the counterattack would be devastating as they notched up three goals all stemming from relentless direct runs forward. Niall McStravick was the first to get the green flag waving as his slaloming run left three men in his wake before unleashing an unstoppable bullet across Phil Maguire’s net and into the top left corner.
Moments later, it was midfielder Mark Munce’s turn to get in on the act. The Naomh Pól number eight took flight from the middle third and just couldn’t be stopped as he evaded tackles left and right, driving into the open space in his path before slotting home in a near mirror image to his teammate McStravick.
St Teresa’s were shell-shocked and matters were exacerbated further when Lorcan Philips was the fox in the box blasting home from close range after netminder Maguire had pulled off an excellent save to deny Munce for a second.
Trailing by 0-01 to 3-00 the hosts were in dire need of a score to settle them which came in the form of another Mallon free. They then began to turn the screw themselves, bombing forward to cut into the sizable deficit. Their bravery garnered its reward as they managed to grab their first major on the fifteenth minute as Anton Taylor fired home on the rebound after Luke Cassin’s effort was well stopped by Jack McCaufield.
Buoyed by their change in fortunes, St Teresa’s continued their advances and when Paul McGoldrick’s marauding surge forward was brought to an abrupt halt in the box, Darren McKeown had no other option but to signal for a spot kick. Mallon was calmness personified in his execution, sending the keeper the wrong way. Game on.
As the game ticked closer to the short whistle, it was now St Paul’s who needed a score to gain them a reprieve. Thankfully for them, Lorcan Phillips was on hand to demonstrate his prowess from the placed ball to leave the score 2-02 to 3-02 in favour of the visitors at the half.
The second period might’ve lacked the same goals as the first, but it wasn’t short in entertainment as the pendulum of momentum swung this way and that. With thirty-six minutes on the clock, the gap had been narrowed to the minimum thanks to two more well despatched frees from the host’s number ten. The ever-dangerous Francis Duggan was unlucky to see his shot kiss the wrong side of the post a few minutes later as the hosts seemingly had their tails up. Stephen Rooney and Mallon traded scores before St Paul’s hit their stride midway through the second half with Philips coming to the fore to bolster his tally by two.
With ten minutes remaining, the game was on a knife edge as both sides battled to gain the ascendancy. Both sets of fans held their breath as once more the teams traded points with Mallon eagle eyed from the placed ball yet again and Conall Duffy adding the gloss to a flowing Naomh Pól attack.
It seemed now that the Shaws Road men had just about done enough but the script was to be flipped on its head as a rampant St Teresa’s fired over four consecutive points. Darren McCann split the posts from range before Francis Duggan flighted his effort perfectly.
One point down with one minute to go, St Teresa’s were inspired and levelled through the trusty right foot of full forward Anton Taylor before talisman Paul McGoldrick fisted over from close range to trigger an almighty roar from the Super T’s supporters in time added on.
It was a backs to the wall job then as the hosts tried to stem the flow of their counterpart’s attacks. The men in red and white came forward in their droves and in the end the pressure took its toll as they were awarded a close range free for their efforts. Lorcan Phillips, who top scored along with Jay Mallon, added to his tally of 1-04 to deadlock the score just before the whistle sounded.
A thoroughly entertaining and intriguing affair where both will feel they could and should’ve gained the verdict. In the end, a share of points was probably the fairest outcome. They now both sit level on 5 points atop the group with only score difference separating them. St Paul’s will hope to finish off with victory at home to winless Ardoyne whilst St Teresa’s will seek maximum points away to Lisburn in what could be a potential banana skin. Nevertheless, it’s clear that both of these sides harbour realistic Championship ambitions and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them in mix in the semis.
Teams:
St Teresa’s:
P Maguire; A Dougan, P Johnston, R Mallon; E Connolly, C O’Rawe, C Mallon; L Cassin, D McCann (0-01;) J Mallon (1-05,) N McCann, P O’Rawe; F Dugan (0-02,) A Taylor (1-01,) P McGoldrick (0-01)
St Paul’s:
J McCaufield; A Kavanagh, S Rooney (0-01,) D O’Sullivan; M Duffy, J Farrell, P Magee; M Munce (1-00,) C McAlea; C Duffy, N McStravick (1-00,) R Hamill; L Phillips (1-05,) L McLarnon, C Duffy (0-01)
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