Ardoyne withstand Eire Og fightback to seal semi-final spot

Antrim Junior Football Championship – at the Cricky

Ardoyne 2-12 Eire Og 2-13

Ardoyne GAC secured a 2-12 to 0-13 victory over a resolute Éire Óg side in the Junior Football Championship at The Cricky, Belfast on Saturday evening. Fortune swung one way then the other as both teams enoyed periods of dominance in a thoroughly entertaining game.

The game opened with Conall Smyth landing an excellent point for Éire Óg, quickly answered by Cormac Mullan for Ardoyne. Conor Dixon, whose point taking was a feature of the game, pointed a free for Éire Óg and it could have been better for the men in red and white a minute later, had Ardoyne goalkeeper Tiernan Hughes not made a fantastic save, though Luca Mulholland did tap the breaking ball over the bar. Dixon then struck two well-taken frees for Éire Óg, before Ardoyne responded when Caolan Hardy set up Brendan Hamilton for a point. After an Ardoyne point from a high ball, Joseph Gibson soloed down the left wing in the 27th minute and crossed to Aidan McNeill who emphatically volleys it into the net. Ardoyne’s dominance continued as number they added a point and McNeill buried a second goal just before the halftime whistle sounded, leaving Ardoyne ahead at 2-06 to 0-05.

**Conor Dixon sends over an Eire Og point.**

It looked like the Eire Og challenge was gone and when Ardoyne extended their lead early on before Smyth swung over a left-footed reply for Éire Óg. Suddenly Éire Óg were back in contention and they rallied as Dixon landed two points and corner forward Smyth hit a brilliant score to narrow the gap. Ardoyne checked the momentum when McNeill combined with Mullan, while down the other end of the field, Ronan McKeown claimed a clean catch from the kick-out to set up Mark O’Hanlon for a point.

Eire Og had the gap back to a single point at one stage but following an injury stoppage, Brendan Hamilton and Mullan added further points for Ardoyne to ease the pressure. Although the excellent Dixon converted another free for Éire Óg, to keep them in contention Cormac Mullan dictated the closing stages by swinging over a 25-meter point. McNeill added another from play and Mullan struck a final point off the ground to seal the hard fought 2-12 to 0-13 victory and secure a semi-final place