Ulster Junior Club Football Championship quarter-final

Newtownbutler First Fermanagh’s 3-18 Pearse’s 1-6

Pearses first foray into Ulster provided a chastening lesson for the North Belfast men as it has for the many Antrim clubs who have contested the Junior Football championship in recent years but when the pain of a heavy defeat passes it can prove to be a useful lesson.

Two years ago Pearses lost a division 4 league final and a JFC semi-final to Rasharkin but came back strongly this year to claim a first Antrim Junior Championship for over 50 years.

Sunday’s step into the unknown proved a bridge too far as they came up against a strong and very experienced Newtownbutler First Fermanagh’s who were sharper, stronger in the tackle and their combination play and accuracy saw them in a commanding position by half time.

Na Piarsaigh started the game well enough and appeared to be holding their own for a time but Newtownbutler stepped it up a gear in the second quarter with a scoring burst that the Belfast men just couldn’t cope with.

Ryan Carson led the way for the Fermanagh Firsts with the veteran attacker firing home two goals and it could have been a lot worse had it not been for the heroics of Na Piarsaigh keeper, Niall Largey who pulled off a series of excellent saves to deny the Fermanagh men.

Newtownbutler started this one on the front foot and opened the scoring after 15 seconds through O’Keefe with Diarmaid King and Ryan Carson following with points as the home side raced into an early 0-3 to 0-0 lead.

The Antrim champions were badly in need of a score to settle them and Stephen Fitzsimmons provided it when he collect a Liam Deegan delivery from a free to split the posts and when Fionn Grew followed with another in the 11^th minute it was looking good for the visitors.

It could have got even better in their next attack when Sean Moreland found himself through on goal but shot over when a goal looked on.

The Fermanagh champions recovered from this period of Na Piarsaigh pressure and when a goal opportunity fell their way O’Keefe finished clinically to the Pearses net after being set up by Daniel McDaid to restore the Newtownbutler lead.

Fitzsimmons replied with a point at the other end immediately but the Fermanagh champions were growing into the contest, and after Ryan Carson shot over he would get the first of his two goals in the space of three minutes.

A flowing move saw Ryan Rooney play a one-two with Jason Flanagan before feeding inside for Carson to palm home and he followed with a point before being set up by Diarmaid King for his side’s third goal and suddenly this game had slipped away from the North Belfast side.

It could have got worse as Newtownbutler had the ball in the net for a fourth time but play had already been called back for a penalty but Niall Largey got his fingertips to Conor Courtney’s spot kick to push the ball onto the post and it was cleared to safety.

There would be not let-off for the Antrim champions however as Ger O’Keefe kicked back-to-back scores and Diarmaid King added another to leave them 3-8 to 0-4 up at the break.

The rain that poured down from the Enniskillen skies proved no deterrent to the Fermanagh Firsts as Diarmaid King extended their lead on the restart but Na Piarsaigh were unfortunate not to find a response when a free broke to Fionn Grew but his shot was deflected out for a ‘45’.

A quick move through the hands at the other end resulted in a point for Connor Courtney while the day went from bad to worse for the North Belfast men as they lost a man to a Red card as a bit of frustration crept into their play.

Piaras Donaghy ended a scoreless 30 minutes for Pearse’s from a free, while James Begley got on the board from play but it was goals they needed at this stage but chances came and went with James Smyth shooting straight as Gary Mullaney with his first touch when introduced.

To their credit Na Piarsaigh fought to the bitter end and they were eventually rewarded for their efforts when Liam Deegan pulled his pass back from the end line for Smyth who palm home from close range.

It was Newtownbutler who finished on the front foot however as they added six points in the closing stages including one from substitute Frank Mulligan that drew a huge roar from the home support, while Pearse’s misery was completed as they lost a another player to a second yellow car.

A tough baptism for the Antrim champions but it is one they can learn from as they head into Intermediate championship in Antrim next season but I’m sure promotion from division 3 will be their first goal and from what I have seen from them this season, it is one they are capable of achieving.

Newtownbutler Firsts Fermanagh: G Mulley; J McCaffrey, P O’Brien, R O’Keefe; R Rooney, J Jackman, D McDaid; S Conlon, J Flanagan (0-1); C Courtney (0-1), J Connolly (0-1), G O’Keefe (1-4); C McBride, R Carson (2-4, 0-1f), D King (0-5, 3f)

Subs: P Mullaney (0-1) for D McDaid (HT), D Martin for C Courtney (47), F Mulligan (0-1) for G O’Keefe (53), S Carson for J Jackman (56), L Martin for D King (58)

Na Piarsaigh: N Largey; D O’Neill, C O’Neill, N Gorman; A Bannon, A McCavana, T McFarlane; R Bannon, P Donaghy (0-1f); S Moreland (0-1), S Fitzsimmons (0-2), P Murray; F Grew (0-1f), L Deegan, N O’Cuilin

Subs: J Begley (0-1) for S Moreland (25), P Johnston for A McCavana (25), J Smyth (1-0) for N O’Cuilin (48)

Referee: Richie Donoghue (Derry)

Ulster JFC Quarter-final

Brewster Park – Sunday 1.00pm

Antrim Junior Football Champions, Na Piarsaigh of Belfast dip their toes into the Ulster waters for the first time this Sunday when they face Newtownbutler First Fermanaghs in the first round of the Ulster Junior club championship.

It’s a step into the unknown for the North Belfast side but it is one they will surely relish as it comes on the back of serious progress for the club over the past two seasons. Two years ago they lost to Rasharkin in the Antrim JFC semi-final after losing out to the same side in the division 3 league final.

Both those defeats at the hands of a very experienced Rasharkin side were by the narrowest of margins and Na Piarsaigh have learned from those defeats and set out this year to collect their first Junior title since 1971.

The improvement this season from the Newlodge side has been remarkable and after finishing second to O’Donnell’s in group 1 of the qualifiers they went on to defeat St. Malachy’s in the semi-final before avenging their only loss to O’D’s in the Antrim final at Dunsilly on Friday 7^th October.

Cardinal O’Donnells 0-07   Na Piarsaigh 1-15

A goal on the rebound from the predatory Naoise O’Cuilin seven minutes from the final whistle added the extra gloss on a composed performance from Pearses to put the game beyond the reach of O’Donnell’s. The North Belfast natives reversed an early one-point deficit after five minutes and refused to relinquish their advantage for the remainder.

In truth, with the exception of the opening ten minutes of the second half, the men in green and yellow seemed to constantly exert a measure of control over proceedings and were ruthlessly efficient in front of the posts. Piaras Donaghy was certainly the conductor of their symphony. The number 22 starred on the evening and was the fulcrum of nearly every Pearses’ attack. His ability to dictate and link play was pivotal in their success and the proficiency of their full forward line, assisted well by top scorer Stephen Fitzsimmons, proved to be too much firepower for the O’D’s rear-guard to handle.

O’Donnell’s looked like staging a comeback during the second half but Pearses had other ideas and yet again Donaghy was at the forefront. His driving run from the engine room presented Fionn Grew to make some amends for an earlier miss from the penalty spot, and he duly obliged. Grew was on target yet again on the fiftieth minute following some excellent work from corner back, Aidan Bannon.

The death knell for O’Donnell’s was to sound five minutes later though as O’Cuilin blasted home emphatically from close range on the rebound despite Murphy’s heroics to deny Liam Campbell from the initial effort.

What of Newtownbutler?

Six years since their last appearance in the Ulster Club Championship, the First Fermanagh’s take on Antrim Champions Na Piarsaigh on Sunday. Their last campaign in 2016 started with a quarter-final win over Down side Drumgath, before losing the semi-final by just 2 points to eventual winners Rock, Tyrone.

One man on the pitch that day was experienced defender Jarlath Jackman and he’s relishing another crack at the Ulster Club.

Jarlath made his senior debut way back in 2009 and despite a serious injury early this year, where he broke his leg in 3 places, he is back flying fit and ready for action on Sunday.

Newtownbutler eased past Coa before going on to beat Aghadrumsee in the final at Brewster Park. The First Fermanagh’s have some talented young players making their way in the senior side in the likes of Diarmaid King, Sean Conlon and Gerr O’Keefe while Ryan Carson, James Connolly and James Maguire provide experience so they have a nice mix.

The character shown by his side in the final was the most pleasing thing of the performance insists Newtown Manager Darren Chapman after his side edged out Aghadrumsee to land the Junior title.

When the sides met at the semi-final stage a few weeks ago, the First Fermanagh’s were second best in the hunger stakes as they fell to defeat. But they showed no shortage of desire to turn that result around in the final.

Chapman felt it was some of the side’s younger stars that played lead roles in seeing them to victory.

“I thought a lot of the younger fellas really stood up in the last 15 minutes. Sean Conlon was immense in midfield – he kept us on the front foot whenever we were under pressure.

“Diarmaid King was superb inside and we probably didn’t get enough ball into him, and then the old hands in the last five or ten minutes; James Connolly sat back and was mopping up a few balls, Paul O’Brien cleared one off the line,” he added.

Manager Chapman expects a tough test from the Antrim champions and Na Piarsaigh are capable of providing it if they can produce their A game at Brewster Park. They have put the disappointment of last year’s double defeat to Rasharkin behind them and have been in sparkling form in 2022.

“If we are looking back at history, this would be very much bonus territory,” said Pearse’s joint-manager Marcus Kelly when looking ahead to Sunday.

“I don’t think many teams target a run in Ulster during the season, but given the fact we’re still operating so late in the year, we’ll not be there to make up the numbers.

“Looking back at the results over the past 10 years, it would appear the Junior champions from Antrim don’t get past the first round in the provincial stage. That’s something we’ll look to change although Newtownbutler are a good side and we’ll be up against it.

“Thankfully, with the advances in technology, we were able to view their final a couple of weeks ago.

“They played a really open style of football, no sweeper or packed defence. Similar to us, they have very good attacking forwards and they are very strong around midfield.

“That was a really open game of football. They managed to edge it by two points, but is was free-flowing and a good game to watch. I don’t anticipate they will change their style too much when we come up against them this week.”

Na Piarsaigh are a strong mobile unit with Piaras Donaghy at mid-field their go-to man and if Donaghy clicks then Na Piarasaigh are in with a fighting chance. He is only one of a very talented and focused Pearses team however and the North Belfast side will be relishing Sunday’s challenge.

Niall Largey in goals, the O’Neill’s, centre half and captain, Aodhan McCavana and Liam Campbell, Stephen Fitzsimmons, Naoise O’Cuilin and Fionn Grew in attack are all potential match winners.

Campbell hit an impressive 0-7 against O’Donnell’s in the Antrim final while Grew weighed in with 0-4, Campbell with 0-3 and O’Cuilin 1-1 and if they can produce that proficiency in attack at Brewster Park on Sunday they can advance to the next round.

Pearses v O’Donnell’s: N Largey; D O’Neill, C O’Neill, A Bannon; T McFarlane, A McCavana, N Gorman; R Bannon, P Donaghy; P Murray, S Fitzsimmons, S Moreland; F Grew, L Campbell, N O’Cuilin

Graham Tarmac Junior Football Championship Final

Friday 7^th October

Report by Niall Kelly 

Cardinal O’Donnells 0-07   Na Piarsaigh 1-15

A goal on the rebound from the predatory Naoise O’Cuilin seven minutes from the final whistle added the extra gloss on a composed performance from Pearses to put the game beyond the reach of a despondent O’Donnells side. The North Belfast natives reversed an early one-point deficit after five minutes and refused to relinquish their advantage for the remainder.

In truth, with the exception of the opening ten minutes of the second half, the men in green and yellow seemed to constantly exert a measure of control over proceedings and were ruthlessly efficient in front of the posts. Piaras Donaghy was certainly the conductor of their symphony. The number twenty-two starred on the evening and was the fulcrum of nearly every Pearses’ attack. His ability to dictate and link play was pivotal in their success and the prolificity of their full forward line, assisted well by top scorer Stephen Fitzsimmons, proved to be too much firepower for the O’D’s rear-guard to thwart.

To their credit, O’Donnell’s wouldn’t go down without a fight and battled tooth and nail for each other right till the end. Trailing by five at the interval, the Whiterock side emerged a resurgent outfit and reduced the margin to three. Slick, fluent offensive play was causing problems for Pearses but they failed to capitalise further on the scoresheet which ultimately led to their demise. Their squandering of chances proved to be their Achille’s heel and they were made to pay as their Belfast counterparts seemed to ruthlessly despatch each chance that fell in their favour.

It was O’D’s who drew first blood with a mere forty seconds played as Ciaran Ferran’s caressed effort off the outside of the boot found its mark. Pearses responded well though and O’D’s shot-stopper sprung into early action as he denied Liam Campbell from close range. Campbell slotted the resulting forty-five over effortlessly before another trio of scores from Fionn Grew, Stephen Fitzsimmons and Campbell again.

Pearses were now well in the ascendancy and were asking all the questions. Despite a McKissock reply to reduce the gap, they bolstered their lead further with Piaras Donaghy instrumental, dominating in midfield.  The MacRory park side’s goal was living a charmed life as again Pearses threatened to raise the green flag. Johnny O’Donnell was forced into an outstanding block to deny Pearses before Fionn Grew rattled the cross bar from close range. Naoise O’Cuillin was alert to pop over the rebound before Stephen Fitzsimmons steered over two well-taken efforts to leave the score 0-02 to 0-07 in favour of the men in green and yellow at the break.

The interval seemed to have a galvanising effect on the O’s as their play was brimming with intensity and vigour in the early exchanges of the second period. Despite Campbell increasing the lead to six, O’Donnell’s seemed to have more purpose and flair to their play. Padraig McKissock slotted over from a close range free and it seemed things were beginning to click.

All their promising play though threatened to be undone when Pearses were awarded a penalty on the thirty fifth minute on the counter. However, Murphy telegraphed Grew’s effort expertly to parry away and it seemed momentum was firmly in favour of the O’Donnells camp. The men in maroon and yellow seemed to have more swagger about them and composed two scintillating passages of play with Géaroid McKernan and Richard McAvoy adding the finishing touches.

With a kick of the ball in it now, it was game on and when James Begley had the black card brandished in his direction, O’Donnells could go for the jugular. However, their inability to make their efforts stick on the scoreboard proved a frustrating theme for their raucous travelling support and they were limited to two points from McKissock and McAvoy, yet still they stormed forward in their droves looking to capitalise on their numerical advantage.

Pearses though had other ideas and yet again Donaghy was at the forefront. His driving run from the engine room presented Fionn Grew to make some amends for his earlier miss from the spot, which he duly obliged. Grew was on target yet again on the fiftieth minute following some excellent work from corner back, Aidan Bannon.

The death knell for O’Donnells was to sound five minutes later though as O’Cuilin blasted home emphatically from close range on the rebound despite Murphy’s heroics to deny Liam Campbell from the initial effort.

A seven-point lead with minutes remaining would prove insurmountable for the West Belfast side and despite battling valiantly, Pearses would continue to punish them on the scoresheet. Grew increased his ever-growing tally with a monster effort from range before Stephen Fitzsimmons expertly despatched three frees as the game approached its climax before Danny O’Neill’s final whistle sparked emotional and jubilant scenes for the North Belfast travelling faithful.

O’Donnells can certainly hold their heads high. The score line doesn’t perhaps fully reflect their efforts. The game slipped away in the closing ten minutes, but they were in contention for the majority. Their inability to convert promising play and scorable frees into points was certainly their downfall but it just seemed to be one of those nights. Nevertheless, they will be a stronger team in the future with the talent at their disposal and can use this as a learning curve to strengthen going forward.

A huge win for Pearses who have been knocking on the Junior Championship door for years. This will be a vindication and redemption for their efforts over recent years as they finally got over the line under the lights at Dunsilly. They produced a polished performance when it mattered most and were unfazed by the occasion. There were fitting Champions on the night and congratulations to their players and coaches alike. Enjoy the celebrations and we wish them every success in their upcoming Ulster campaign. 

Teams

O’Donnells:

C Murphy; C Doherty, J O’Donnell, J McKenna; G McKernan (0-01,) S Seawright, K Kennedy; S Thompson, C Walsh,  PJ Meenan, F McNerney, J Rafferty; P McKissock (0-03,) C Ferran (0-01,) K Loughran

Substitute scorers: R McAvoy (0-02)

Pearses

N Largey; D O’Neill, C O’Neill, A Bannon; T McFarlane, A McCavana, N Gorman; R Bannon, P Donaghy; P Murray, S Fitzsimmons (0-07,) S Moreland; F Grew (0-04,) L Campbell (0-03,) N O’Cuilin (1-01)

Graham Tarmac Junior Football Championship

Preview by Niall Kelly

In an all Belfast affair, Cardinal O’Donnells and Pearses will renew acquaintances for the fourth time this year to decide the fate of the Junior Football Crown at 7.30pm on Friday under the lights at Dunsilly.

With both teams boasting an array of attacking talent amidst their ranks and riding the crest of a wave, it would take a brave soul to take a punt on the final outcome particularly when you cast your mind back on previous meetings this season.

The league encounters belonged to the North Belfast men as Na Piarsaigh took the spoils in both fixtures at the ‘Cricky’ and MacRory Park. However, when the two locked horns in the group stages of the Championship, it was O’Donnell’s who reversed their fortunes, cantering over the line with seven points to spare.

Many in attendance that August evening predicted that they were spectating a dress-rehearsal for the eventual final and thus here we are. Despite wearing the favourites tags for the majority of their group and knockout games, it didn’t seem to weigh too heavy as each negotiated their way through surviving a few scares along the way.

O’Donnells will certainly seek to plug gaps in their defensive ranks. Pearses are famed for their love of the green flag and with players like Liam Deegan and the two Grews roving around the forward line, they will need to be on their guard. The Whiterock Road men boast a wide selection of offensive artillery too. Richard McAvoy and Padraig McKissock have had scintillating campaigns and have been a constant source of scores. Buoyed also by the return of PJ Meenan to the starting fifteen, O’Ds will be confident their forwards can have the final say.

Another intriguing battle will involve both captains. Piaras Donaghy and John Rafferty are the midfield generals of their respective teams and will look to dictate play with their domineering presences in the engine room.

One thing is for sure, this one will swing this way and that. I can’t imagine that the eventual victors will do so with much of a comfort margin. There can be little doubt it will be a captivating encounter.