Antrim Junior Football Championship semi-final

St Comgall’s 2-07 Pearses 0-05

Pics by Bert Trowlen

A dominant first half which saw them build a 2-05 to 0-02 lead by half time, saw St Comgall secure their place in the final of Junior Football Championship at the expense of 2022 champions Pearses at Dunsilly on Friday evening. It took them ten minutes to settle but once they got going Barry Burn’s men put on a show for the remainder of the opening half, building up a nine point lead by the time referee Ray Matthews blew the half time whistle. When man of the match Tom Patchett increased the St Comgall’s lead to ten two minutes after the restart it looked like it would be all one way in the second period also, but things got scrappy as the game went on and they just added one more point in the 28 minutes which remained while Pearses clawed their way back with five of their own, though they never really got close enough to trouble the winners.

Both teams missed early chances but St Comgall’s were cleary the better side and when corner forward Patchett got their first score on ten minutes, things began to happen. A bad kick-out following that score saw Patchett win the ball again and he dispatched it to the back of the net and less than a minute later he added another point to put his team five clear. The Antrim men were moving the ball really well on fifteen minutes they increased their lead again when full forward Miles Devine split the posts again.

Pearses just couldn’t get the ball and St Comgall’s struck again midfielder Louis Higgins cut in along the endline and found Aaron McGraw who rattled a shot off the underside of the crossbar and into the net and run continued when Patchett added another point from play. It was begging to look like Pearses wouldn’t score at all but five minute before half time Fionn Grew got their first score of the game and a minute before the break Stephen Fitziomons added a second to go in at the break with a 2-05 to 0-2 lead.

Patchett would stretch that lead to ten before Pearses began to close the gap and two points from Stephen Fitzsimons. A red and a couple of yellow cards were shown during the next fifteen minutes as the game stuttered towards it end, but St Comgall’s were home and dry and now await the outcome of tomorrow’s second semi-final between St Malachy’s and Pearses.

to see more of Bert Trowlen’s pics from this game just click on the lin below

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