OB Construction Intermediate Football Championship – Group 1 – Round 4
Saturday 13th September
Report by Niall Kelly from Kirkwoods Park
Naomh Padraig 0-03 Pádraig Sáirseil 0-10
Old habits seem to die hard as Sarsfields once again ensured their Intermediate Football campaign continues into the knockout stages thanks to a seven-point victory over Lisburn. With scores at a premium throughout the contest, neither side would mind me saying that this one won’t live too long in the memory. Greasy conditions coupled with the fact that both teams perhaps lacked their usual cutting edge offensively made for a rather attritional affair. However, for the Paddies that will matter little. With the Division Two title already under their belt, their double aspirations still burn bright as either St Teresa’s or Glenavy await them in the final four. In truth, had Lisburn possessed a little more composure and efficiency in front of the posts, the Stewartstown Road side could’ve had a real problem on their hands. In the end though, it was their key forwards who fired them to victory with Daniel Smyth and Garry Lennon contributing seven points to their final total.
The visitor’s towering midfielder, Cormac Murray, got the scoring underway on the sixth minute thanks to a fine effort which he caressed off the outside of his boot to edge his side ahead. This was followed some sixty seconds later by a soaring two-pointer from talisman Daniel Smyth, demonstrating his prowess on the periphery of the arc.
Despite holding the advantage, Sarsfields were made to defend in numbers as Lisburn’s industry coming forward from defence began to open up space. However, they lacked the same potency in front of the uprights as their opponents and their final ball wouldn’t seem to stick. Indeed, both sides were guilty of some uncharacteristically wayward shooting.
The oily Lisburn surface was beginning to fuel unforced errors as well with both battling to gain authority. However, Sarsfields then sought to ramp up the pressure as they went in search of a green flag and Lisburn shotstopper Peter O’Neill was put through his paces. An intricate move involving Smyth and Caolan McDonnell opened the door for the rapid Christopher Loughran to bear down on goal. O’Neill saved superbly though getting down low to block with his legs. O’Neill was on hand again moments later as Daniel Smyth’s high ball in ricocheted off Garry Lennon’s arm and looked bound for the net. Thankfully for Lisburn, the ball nestled between the legs of their number one as the gap remained at three.
The visitors finished the half in the ascendancy though as they further extended their lead thanks to a fine score from centre back Liam Mitchell. Garry Lennon was then on hand as he sent over two close range frees with Seamus Shannon’s whistle for the break imminent. Naomh Padraig, desperate to notch at least one score before the break, had Jude Rafferty to thank as the bustling number thirteen converted a well-taken forty five to see the sides retreat with Sarsfields 0-06 to 0-01 to the good.
The men in black and green then summoned their ace, Brian Healy, at half time and the talented forward put his imprint immediately on proceedings at the beginning of the second period, pointing after forty seconds.
However, in a similar vein to the opening thirty, scores were hard to come by. Lisburn again enjoyed a concerted period of possession in the third quarter but struggled to make it count on the scoreboard. They did manage to take one of their opportunities with Colm Burns curling over off his left boot on the forty second minute. Had his namesake Thomas’ soccer-style effort found the back of the net, then a proper contest would’ve been ignited but the Lisburn fullback had to watch on as the size five trickled agonisingly wide of the post.
Sarsfields again would finish the half the stronger though as Garry Lennon popped up with his third of the evening before Daniel Smyth repeated his feat from the first period with another superbly executed two pointer with three minutes remaining on the clock.
The hosts had emptied their bench by this stage as they sought to blood a few players, and it was one of their substitutes, Francis McMeel, who rounded off the evening’s action with a point from range.
Job done for Sarsfields as they now look forward to the drama of knockout football. Glenavy seem their most likely opponents as many will fancy Moneyglass to retake top spot in the group with victory over Rasharkin. They will certainly look to inject a bit more of their usual pace into their next outing and recapture their usual composure between the posts. For Lisburn, this was somewhat of a dead rubber for them. They have enjoyed a good year in the league and put in some impressive performances in the Championship which can be their foundation for next year.
Teams:
Naomh Padraig:
P O’Neill; J Broderick, T Burns, C Doran; J McMullan, B McMullan, R Kennedy; A Patterson, B McGarr; J McMullan, O Gorman, C Burns (0-01;) J Rafferty (0-01,) S Burns, R Smyth
Substitute Scorer:
F McMeel (0-01)
Pádraig Sáirseil
B McCaul; M McPolin, P Murray, C McDonnell; P McPeake, L Mitchell (0-01,) C Loughran; C Murray (0-01,) C McKernan; T Skillen, D Smyth (0-04 – 2 t.p) J Maguire; N McAlea, C Glenholmes, G Lennon (0-03)
Substitute Scorer:
B Healy (0-01)