ACFL Division 1
Kickhams Creggan 0-18 — 0-05 St Paul’s
Champions in waiting, Kickhams GAC Creggan, were officially crowned Antrim ACFL Division 1 League Champions on Wednesday night following a comprehensive victory over St Paul’s at their Staffordstown Road ground.
While Creggan had technically secured the league title two weeks prior after an away win against All Saints, this final fixture served as the perfect homecoming celebration. Even a defeat wouldn’t have denied Creggan of the Eddie Fitzsimons Memorial Trophy, as they held a crucial head-to-head advantage over their nearest chasing rivals, St Gall’s. Instead, the newly minted champions signed off on their league campaign in clinical fashion.
The opening period was a cagey, tactical affair, characterized by long periods of patient possession. Creggan broke the deadlock ten minutes in when Conor Small converted a well-taken free. St Paul’s responded immediately with a brilliant point from play courtesy of Shea Burns in the 12th minute, followed shortly after by a PearseMagee free to edge the visitors ahead by 0-02 to 0-01.
Creggan quickly found their form and Kealan McCann hit a point after a slow, methodical passing move in the 20th minute to level the game, before Liam Quinn split the posts to put Creggan 0-03 to 0-02 ahead and ConorSmall struck his second free of the evening to push the lead to two points.
St Paul’s continued to battle tenaciously. Cormac Trainor grabbed a vital point in the 25th minute, only for Liam Quinn to cancel it out moments later by fist-pointing over the bar. Trainor remained central to the St Paul’s resistance, striking his second point in the 29th minute to keep the visitors within touching distance. However, a late double-salvo from Creggan’s playmaker Conor Johnston sent the hosts into the dressing room with a hard-earned three-point lead.
- Half-Time Score: Kickhams Creggan 0-07 — 0-04 St Paul’s
Creggan immediately signalled their intent within thirty seconds of the restart when a thunderous shot from Liam Quinn rattled the St Paul’s crossbar. Despite the near miss, St Paul’s briefly threatened a comeback when Shea Burns scored a fantastic point to narrow the gap to 0-07 to 0-05. Remarkably, this would prove to be St Paul’s only score of the entire second half.
From that moment on, Creggan took absolute control of the pitch. Dominic McAteer initiated the scoring onslaught with a quickfire brace of points, widening the margin to five. Liam Quinn followed up with another excellent score, followed in rapid succession by points from play by Fintan Close, Conor Johnston, and back-to-back points from Conor Small.
As St Paul’s ran completely out of steam under relentless pressure, Creggan ruthlessly kept the scoreboard ticking. Fintan Close registered a fisted point, before Conor Johnston, Joe McAteer, and substitute Teddy McKeown all added their names to the score sheet. Creggan’s suffocating defensive press completely shut down the away side, sealing an emphatic 13-point victory.
While St Paul’s fell away in the second half, they showed enough first-half grit to suggest they will be a completely different animal come the summer. Both sides will get to know each other intimately over the coming months; they have been drawn together in a highly competitive Senior Club Championship group that also includes All Saints and St John’s.
After the game CCC Chairman, Joe Edwards presented the Eddie Fitzsimmons Memorial Cup to Creggan captain, Ethan Carey-Small
Scorers:
| Kickhams GAC Creggan | Points | St Paul’s GAC | Points |
| Conor Small (3f) | 4 | Cormac Trainor | 2 |
| Conor Johnston | 4 | Shea Burns | 2 |
| Liam Quinn | 3 | Pearse Magee (1f) | 1 |
| Dominic McAteer | 2 | ||
| Fintan Close (1fist) | 2 | ||
| Kealan McCann | 1 | ||
| Joe McAteer | 1 | ||
| Teddy McKeown | 1 | ||