Danske Bank Leonard Cup
Cross & Passion College 1-17 St Pat’s Maghera 1-12
Cross and Passion College, Ballycastle, once again found the answers to overcome a spirited St Pat’s Maghera side in a hard-fought Danske Bank Leonard Cup semi-final at Ahoghill. While CPC ultimately secured a five-point victory to advance, the 1-17 to 1-12 scoreline somewhat flattered the Antrim school. Had Maghera been more accurate from placed balls and open play, particularly during a dominant spell in the first half, this tie could easily have tilted the other way.
Familiarity bred a fiercely competitive contest. These two sets of players have locked horns in the corresponding fixture for the past three years, including two finals, with CPC coming out on top both times. Once again, there was little to choose between them in general play, but CPC’s superior conversion rate proved to be the decisive factor in the end.
St Pat’s opened the scoring in the very first minute through Harry McCloskey, taking immediate advantage of a strong wind at their backs. However, CPC settled quickly, with the ever-reliable Tom Richmond leveling from a free. The first twenty minutes unfolded as a pure shootout. Maghera’s talisman Patrick O’Loughlin was in scintillating form, trading frees and spectacular points from play with Richmond and CPC’s John Og Darragh. When O’Loughlin won the ball in the corner, circled his man, and fired over in the 17th minute, the sides were deadlocked at 0-4 apiece.
The turning point of the opening half came shortly after. While Richmond and Darragh kept the scoreboard ticking over for Ballycastle, St Pat’s began to squander their possession. Two crucial missed frees in the 21st minute prevented Maghera from capitalising on the elements. A towering 60-yard free from Darragh and another Richmond effort punished those misses, giving CPC a 0-7 to 0-5 advantage at the break.
The second half began at a frantic pace, with Darragh immediately stretching CPC’s lead. Maghera refused to lie down, responding through a Harry McCloskey free and a fantastic surging point from Ryan Murray. However, Ballycastle began to find another gear. Darragh had a really good spell in the middle third, tapping over points, while Killian Cassidy added his name to the scoresheet after Darragh found him with a neat pass. When the CPC goalkeeper Cillian Bellew launched a mammoth free over the bar from his own half, followed instantly by a point from Iarla Gillan, daylight finally appeared between the teams.
Trailing heavily and needing a lifeline, St Pat’s found a lifeline on 47 minutes, and following a handling error in defence O’Loughlin pounced, working his way inside to bury the ball in the back of the net to slash the deficit.
Yet, true to the championship pedigree they have shown against Maghera in recent years, CPC absorbed the blow and struck back almost immediately. After a pointed free was brought forward for dissent, a goalmouth scramble at the other end broke kindly for Darragh and the big Armoy man made no mistake with the rebound, hammering home CPC’s only goal of the game.
Maghera dominated the final ten minutes, trapping CPC in their own half and points from O’Loughlin, Harry McCloskey, and Daithi McGarrity closed the gap to four, but their earlier profligacy haunted them. They simply could not find the second goal they desperately needed. Fittingly, it was Tom Richmond who had the final say, drawing a foul and converting the resulting free in injury time to seal a 1-17 to 1-12 victory.
CPC march on to another final, relying on their clinical edge, while St Pat’s are left to rue what might have been had they brought their ‘shooting boots’ to Ahoghill.
Cross and Passion College, Ballycastle: Cillian Bellew, Ben Linton, Gerard Gillan, Caleb McCaughan, Pearse McMullan, Malachy McSparran, Killian Cassidy, Rory McCloskey, Iarfhlaith O’Kane, John Og Darragh, Toirdhealbhach MacGiolladhiun, Iarla Gillan, Tom Richmond, Daire Kearney.
St Patrick’s College Maghera: Fergal Convery, Patrick O’Loughlin, Mark Og McGrath, Aodhan Kerr, Micheal Farran, Raghnall Abbott, Senan Heron, Liam Devlin, Daniel Mc Kaigue, Harry Mc Closkey, Dara Mc Closkey, Quentin Farren, Tiarnan Mc Kenna, Dominic O’Kane, Matthew Friel
Subs Oscar O’Kane, Ryan Murray, Dillon Mc Erlean, Micheal O Duibhin, Daniel Boyle, Fionn Kerr, Daithi McGarrity, Daithi Kearney, Cahir Ruddy, Fintan Mullan, Davin Gallagher, Cathal Mc Nicholl, Fiontan Kealey.
Referee – Brendan Totten
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