Under 21 Football Championship quarter final
Creggan 3-09 Dunloy 0-13
Creggan pulled off a shock when they recovered from a bad start to beat Dunloy by 3-09 to 0-13 in the quarter final of the Under 21 Football Championship in Creggan on Monday night. Trailing after 12 minutes, despite playing with a strong wind behind them, Creggan suddenly sprung to life with two goals before half time to open a 2-03 to 0-06 lead at the change of ends. Despite having a three point lead most pundits would have had their money on Dunloy as the second half got underway, and when they closed to within a point two minutes after the restart they were back on course. However Creggan dug deep and a seven minutes spell which saw them hit a goal and three points, gave them a seven point lead. Dunloy came back strongly near the end but the Kichams held on to secure a semi-final meeting with St Gall’s next weekend.
Tom (2) and Luke McFerran put Dunloy three in front after six minutes before Conor Johnston got Creggan on the scoreboard in the eighth. Dunloy were dominating possession and when Barra McCloskey pointed to put them 0-04 to 0-01 up the Cuchullains appeared to be in command. Creggan started to find a bit of flow in their play though and a Conor Johnston point was followed by the opening goal of the game
by corner forward Shea McCann. Jack Martin-McShane pulled a point back but Fintan Kelly grabbed his team’s second goal to stretch their half time lead to 2-03 to 0-06 at the interval.
Two Donach Laverty points at the start of the second half appeared to have put Dunloy in a strong position but three on the trot from Shea McCann, Conor Johnston and Fintan Close were followed by a Shea McCann goal which put his team seven clear.
Dunloy were rocked but they started to claw their way back as Aodhan McGarry and Charlie Cunning fired over. Shea McCann pushed the gap out to six again and Dunloy were unlucky when an Oisin McCamphill ‘rocket’ rebounded off the crossbar. With just three minutes left of normal time the gap was still at six but three points in as many minutes from Oisin McCamphill and Tom McFerran (2) left just three between them.
Creggan’s backs were against the wall but they showed great character and when Shea McCann struck a great point into the wind from forty metres the victory was secure.
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