Author / thesaffrongael

Posts by thesaffrongael

Photographer and GAA writer who has been covering hurling, football and camogie for almost forty years
by thesaffrongael

St. Gall’s stay on course with Dominant Win over St. Paul’s

ACFL Division 1

Naomh Gall 0-17 — 0-08 St. Paul’s

Naomh Gall maintained their unbeaten run and kept the pressure on league leaders Creggan with a professional nine-point victory over St. Paul’s at Milltown on Wednesday night. Despite missing several key regulars, the Milltown men showed the depth of their panel to pull away in the second half of this ACFL Division 1 encounter.

Clinical Quinn Leads the Way
The standout performer for the hosts was Daniel Quinn, who was in scintillating form. Quinn finished with a personal haul of 0-07, including four dead-eyes from frees, punishing any St. Paul’s indiscretion in the scoring zone. He was ably supported in the full-forward line by Bara McCaffery and Cece Walsh, who notched two points apiece to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Midfield Control
The engine room battle was won by the pairing of Manus McCrossan and Conal Murray, providing a solid platform for the St. Gall’s attack. In a defensive effort that restricted St. Paul’s to just eight points,John McCaffery not only anchored the backline alongside David Ball but also pushed forward to register a fine point of his own.

Impact from the Bench
The strength of the St. Gall’s bench was evident in the closing stages. Cormac Austin made a significant impact upon his introduction, contributing two points—including a well-taken effort—to kill off any hope of a St. Paul’s fightback. Marty Murray and Ethan Walsh also found the range to ensure a comfortable finish for the home side.

Looking Ahead

With this result, St. Gall’s remain neck-and-neck with Creggan at the summit of the table. Their ability to secure a result of this magnitude while missing several starters will be a major plus for the management as the business end of the season approaches.

Naomh Gall: Chris Kerr; Christopher Hale, Aodhan McDonagh, Garrick Adams; John McCaffery (0-1), David Ball, Gerard O’Neill; Manus McCrossan, Conal Murray; Ethan Walsh (0-1), Daniel Quinn (0-7, 4f), Martin Murray (0-2); Bara McCaffery (0-2), Cece Walsh (0-2), Aaron Mackel.
Subs used: Cormac Austin (0-2).

by thesaffrongael

St Patrick’s Masterclass Secures All-Derry Final despite Spirited CPC Effort

Cross and Passion College (CPC) faced an incredibly formidable opponent in Friday’s Clare Cup Camogie semi-final at Slemish Park, Ballymena, ultimately bowing out to a truly outstanding St Patrick’s Maghera side.

St Patrick’s produced an absolute master-class in the opening half, playing a brand of camogie that would be difficult for any team to contain. Operating with supreme efficiency across every blade of grass, they built a commanding 4-14 to 0-1 lead by the interval. Rachel McElhinney led the early charge with two clinical goals, supported by further strikes from Holly McErlean and Annie Kelly. Despite the relentless pressure from the Maghera girls, CPC kept their work rate high, with Elena McQuillan getting them on the scoreboard with a hard-earned point before the break.

Showing tremendous character and refusing to let their heads drop, CPC came out fighting in the early stages of the second half. Their persistence paid off when Kayleigh McFerran raised a green flag with a well-taken goal, and McQuillan confidently struck her second point of the afternoon to give the Ballycastle side a much-deserved lift.

However, they were simply up against a St Patrick’s team operating at the very peak of their powers. Moving seamlessly into another gear, Maghera showcased exactly why they are championship contenders. McElhinney completed a phenomenal personal performance by doubling her goal tally, while substitute Niamh Tumelty proved the depth of the squad by rattling the net with her very first possession. The undisputed highlight of the second half, though, was an awe-inspiring display of scoring from Catherine McCloskey, who fired home an incredible 2-9 to cap off a flawless team performance.

 The result confirms a mouth-watering All-Derry final between two great rivals, as St Patrick’s Maghera will now face off against St Mary’s Magherafelt in an eagerly anticipated showdown in two weeks’ time.

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by thesaffrongael

Heartbreak in Ballymena as St Killian’s Fall Short of St Clare Cup Final

St Killian’s Garron Tower 2-3 | St Mary’s Magherafelt 4-8

It wasn’t to be for the Tower girls in Ballymena yesterday, as a clinical St Mary’s Magherafelt side ended their St Clare Cup journey at the semi-final stage. Despite a spirited performance and a refusal to back down under pressure, the Derry side’s second-half scoring blitz proved the difference in a tough encounter.

First Half: Tower Dig Deep

The game opened with St Mary’s finding their range early, slotting over three quick points. However, St Killian’s showed great character to weather the initial storm. Aoife Molloy got the Tower off the mark with a well-taken point, followed closely by a composed free from Georgie Twigg to bring us right into the contest.

The momentum seemed to be swinging toward the Coast when Ellie McGarrell found the back of the net, narrowing the deficit to just a single point as half-time approached. Unfortunately, a late sucker-punch goal from Magherafelt’s Aimee McErlean just before the whistle left the Tower trailing 1-6 to 1-2 at the interval.

Second Half: A Mountain to Climb

The restart proved difficult for the Garron Tower defense. A quick-fire trio of goals from Magherafelt effectively settled the tie early in the second period. Despite the scoreboard getting away from them, the pride of the Tower jersey was on full display.

Midfield general Georgie Twigg continued to lead from the front, driving the team forward and refusing to let heads drop. Emma Lynn added a point to the tally, while Ellie McGarrell and Heidi McKinley were rewarded for their persistence with late goals. While these scores provided some consolation, the gap established by the Derry girls proved too wide to bridge.

St Killian’s Scorers:

  • Ellie McGarrell: 1-0
  • Heidi McKinley: 1-0
  • Georgie Twigg: 0-1 (f)
  • Aoife Molloy: 0-1
  • Emma Lynn: 0-1

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by thesaffrongael

Cardinal O’Donnells venture into the north and capture two points

Report and Photographs: Brian McKee

ACFL Division 3

Ardoyne 1-10 O’Donnell’s 2-13

On a glorious sunny evening, the men from the Whiterock travelled across to North Belfast and brought home two well-deserved points.

The opening 15 minutes of the game did not augur well for O’Donnells. Ardoyne’s Oisin Maskey caught a ball on the edge of the O’Donnells square, passed it to Cahal Keown, who rifled it into the back of the O’D’s net. Cormac Mullan followed up with a lovely score off a free for his first of 9 points on the evening. O’D’s lacked cohesion and were running up against a strong Ardoyne defence.

The tide turned in the middle of the opening half and O’D’s eventually found their rhythm and the home side struggled to keep a fast moving O’D’s attack at bay. Fionnbar McKernan opened the scoring for the visitors with a pointed free. This was followed by seven different players getting their names on the scoreboard for the Whiterock side, including a Rory Beggan impersonation for goalkeeper, Conor Murphy, as he sent over the first of two 60s for scores.

Ardoyne struggled to respond with their only further point in the first half coming from a beautiful two pointer from Cormac Mullan.

Half-Time: Ardoyne 1-03 Cardinal O’Donnells 1-08

As in the opening half, Ardoyne opened the second half scoring with a point from Oisin Maskey. While the scoring was more evenly matched in the second half, O’Ds were very much in control of the pace of the game. Cormac Mullan produced a great display of free taking but Ardoyne were increasingly frustrated at the inability to thwart the O’Donnell’s game plan and claw back their lead.

The visitors kept their composure and slowed the game down, but with 10 minutes remaining, they raced through the Ardoyne defence. Hughes produced a save taken from his top drawer, only to see Paul Moore put the ball in the back of the net from the rebound. At this stage of the game, Ardoyne were finding it difficult to break out of their own half and the O’Ds left with the spoils. O’Donnerll’s will be particularly happy with 9 different players getting scores, while Ardoyne will be frustrated at not being able to adapt to the visitor’s game plan.

Ciceam Ard Eoin: 1. Tiernan Hughes 2. Cormac Curran 3. Micheál McGreevy 4. Conor Magee 5. Joe Gibson, 6. Pearse Marley 7. James Og McAuley 8. Gary McKernan 9. Oisin Maskey (0-01) 10. Odhran McKee 11. Daniel Moore 12. Cormac Mullan(0-09, 3f) 13. Oisin Copeland 14. Cahal Keown (1-0) 15. Eoghan Craig, Padraig McGreevy, Odhran Mullan, Aidan McConnell, Eoin Fennell, Fiontain Lagan, Ciarán Lopes, Ruairi Teague, Caolan Hardy

CLG Uí Dhonaill: 1. Conor Murphy (0-02) 2. Sean Lavery(0-01) 3. Sean Smylie 4. Jonathan McKenna (0-02) 5. Kevin Kennedy 7. Scott Thompson 8. John Rafferty 9. Paddy Matthews (0-01)10. Joseph Wilson (0-01) 12. Paul Moore (2-01) 13. Ciaran McKissock(0-01) 15. Fionnbar McKernan0-03, 3f) 34. Cailean Walsh (0-01) 35. Fergal McNerney 36. Connor Walsh

Referee: Eamonn Hamill

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by thesaffrongael

Rasharkin take the points in local derby

ACFL Division 3

St. Brigid’s Cloughmills 0-5 St. Marys Rasharkin 3-13

St Brigid’s Cloughmills welcomed St Mary’s Rasharkin to Fr Leonard Park on Wednesday evening for the first time for a Senior Football League game with the Dreen men taking the two points and following up on their win against league leaders Eire Og last time out.

The away side started fast with Fearghal Kennedy pointing after winning the break ball from the throw in and missed a couple of opportunities before two quick goals from Colm Kennedy and Andrew Hasson put them in control.

Points from Killian O’Boyle and Caolan McGarrell kept up the great start for Rasharkin before Aidan McNeill pointed a free and then a 2-point free for the home side.

The away team wasted several good opportunities against some fine defensive effort by Cloughmills before Andrew Hasson pointed from play to leave the score 2-05 to 0-03 at half time.

The second half started with a Killian O’Boyle point followed by an Oran McMullan goal to keep the pressure on for Rasharkin before Eoin Dobbin fired over the bar in reply.

Points from Conor Higgins, Andrew Hasson (Free) and Cormac McMullan put the Dreen men further in front and they really should have had more but some great shot stopping kept them at bay.

Points from substitute James Higgins, Cormac McMullan, Ruairi O’Boyle and an excellent 2-pointer from Killian O’Boyle rounded up the scoring for St Mary’s with Reece Watt replying for the Biddies to end the game 3-14 to 0-5 in favour of the visitors.

 A strong performance from Rasharkin but they will know there is plenty to improve on and St Brigid’s have a lot to build on for the rest of the league.