Graham Tarmac Antrim Junior Football Championship
O’Donnell’s 2-15 Pearses 0-10
The Antrim Junior Football Championship Quarter-Final clash between Cardinal O’Donnells (O’Dees) and Na Piarsaigh (Pearses) at Macrory Park delivered an action-packed contest, with O’Dees pulling away in the final quarter to seal a vital victory.
The match was already a tightly contested affair by the 15-minute mark, with O’Dees holding a narrow 4-2 lead. Pearses began to find their rhythm shortly after, narrowing the gap in the 20th minute when Fionn Grew slotted over a point from a free. Five minutes later, Orán Sweeney added another for Pearses, pointing nicely from just inside the D. However, O’Dees responded in the 27th minute when Sean Pat Donnelly registered a point to halt Pearses’ momentum. Benefiting from a strong tailwind, O’Dees went into the half-time break leading 6 to 3.
The second half opened at a frantic pace. Just one minute in, Fionn Grew struck again for Pearses with a well-taken point. O’Dees quickly answered back in the 3rd minute as Sean Pat Donnelly added his second point of the match.
A pivotal moment arrived moments later following a botched short kick-out by Pearses. Padraig McKissock intercepted the errant pass and delivered a beautiful ball to Richard McAvoy, who expertly chipped the goalkeeper to find the back of the net for O’Dees. Despite the setback, Pearses kept fighting. After Sean Pat Donnelly fired over another point for O’Dees in the 5th minute, Fionn Grew responded with a point for Pearses just a minute later. In the 8th minute, Paul Moore kept the scoreboard ticking for O’Dees with a point from a free. Pearses then surged back into the game, culminating in a 12th-minute point from Phil Murray that sensationally leveled the scores.
With the game in the balance, O’Dees found another gear. In the 14th minute, Fionnbarr McKernan fired them back into the lead. The momentum firmly shifted in the 18th minute when Sean Pat Donnelly registered another crucial score, this time a two-pointer. Immediately from the resulting kick-out, Cailean Walsh secured possession and drove over a definitive two-pointer for O’Dees in the 19th minute.
Pearses pushed hard for a lifeline and generated a solid goal-scoring opportunity in the 21st minute, but the O’Dees defence stood tall, cleared their lines, and transitioned the ball swiftly up the pitch where Fionnbarr McKernan swung over a spectacular point from the wing. Sean Pat Donnelly then took complete control of the game’s closing stages. He notched another point in the 22nd minute and, after O’Dees won the subsequent kick-out, he immediately soloed through the Pearses defence to pop another effort over the bar in the 23rd minute.
Pearses managed to pull a consolation point back in the 24th minute through a Sean Moreland free. However, it was Richard McAvoy who had the final say, capping off his impressive performance with a 29th-minute point from play to officially seal the win for Cardinal O’Donnells
Cardinal O’Donnells: 1 Conor Murphy, 2 Sean Lavery, 3 Stephen Seawright, 4 Kevin Kennedy, 5 Jonathan McKenna, 6 Scott Thompson, 7 Patrick Meenan, 8 Gearoid McKernan, 9 Fergal McNerney, 10 Paul Moore, 11 Sean Pat Donnelly, 12 Richard McAvoy, 13 Padraig McKissock, 14 Fionnbarr McKernan, 15 Cailean Walsh,
17 Conor Walsh, 18 Conor Walsh, 19 Patrick Golden, 20 Ciaran McKissock, 21 Joe Rafferty, 22 Barra Corr, 23 Darragh Walsh, 24 Joseph Wilson, 25 Liam McCaffrey, 26 Sean Smylie.
Na Piarsaigh: 1 Eamonn McKenna, 2 Darren O’Neill, 3 Peter Johnston, 4 Jay Collins, 5 Cormac Gillespie, 6 Aidan Bannon, 7 Orán Sweeney, 8 Luca Gianetto, 9 Oisin Grew, 10 Fionn Grew, 11 Cormac O’Neill, 12 Sean Moreland, 13 Liam Deegan, 14 Phil Murray, 15 Dylan McAlorum,
16 Piaras Toolan, 17 Joseph Kelly, 18 Lorcan Grew, 19 James Smyth, 20 Thomas McGuigan, 21 Barry Harper, 22 Piaras Donaghy, 23 Aodhan McCavana, 24 Conall Hughes, 25 Vincent Lismore, 26 Aogan Nugent, 26 Kevin Breen, 27 Conor Murray, 28 Tom McFarlane, 29 Pól Stanton
Referee – Sean Elliott
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