Graham Tarmac Junior Football Championship Quarter-Final

Pearse’s 4-8 St Agnes’ 2-8

Paul McIntyre reports from Páric Éanna.

Pearse’s set up a semi-final meeting with St Malachy’s following a six-point win over St Agnes’ at Páric Éanna on Saturday afternoon.

It was a result that half-way through the second half was all but assured for the North Belfast side, but the Aggies refused to go down without a fight and it took a Liam Campbell goal with the very last kick of the game to confirm their passage to the last four.

The win was largely down to having greater fire power up front, which in the first half particularly, the Aggies struggled to contain.

The non-stop running of the Grew’s, Fionn and Oisin, the workrate of Sean Moreland and the energy of midfielder Piaras Donaghy were pivotal in seeing Declan Crummy’s side take control during the opening half.

Donaghy with Ruairi Bannon at his side in the middle of the park dominated the early exchanges and they continually supplied the Pearse’s forward unit of quality ball in the first half.

St Agnes’ over reliance on full forward Ronan Carroll proved to be their achilles heel. Playing with James Grieve was a tactic that didn’t work and when they introduced Peter Laverty nine minutes into the second half in a more advanced position, only then did they start to carve out more scoring opportunities.   

At the end of the first quarter, Pearse’s were full value for their 0-3 to 0-1 lead and maybe could have been further ahead with the possession that they had.

Declan McLarnon then cut the gap to one from a free on 17 minutes, but straight from the re-start Pearse’s claimed their first major of the day.

Oisin Grew linked up with Moreland who put Nathan Gorman in the clear. His initial shot was saved by Colum Carroll in the Aggies goal with the rebound then hitting the post of Gorman’s leg.

Fortunately, the ball fell inviting for the Pearse’s man and at the third attempt the half-back dispatched the ball into the net.

Ronan Carroll almost nicked a goal for the Aggies but a combination of Eamon McKenna and Cormac O’Neill denied the Aggies target man a deserving three-pointer.

A Patrick Mulgrew point kept St Agnes’ in touch but with four minutes to the break Pearse’s further tightened their grip on the contest.

Donaghy won a kick-out at midfield and quickly moved the ball to Moreland who’s first time pass put Oisin Grew through on goal and the corner forward finished high to the net for a six-point lead.

Gorman added a point as the Pearse’s finished the half strongly and at they break they held a healthy seven-point lead, 2-4 to 0-3.

St Agnes’ needed to start the second half the stronger, and they wasted no time in eating into their arrears with Ronan Carroll converting a free after 45 seconds.

But, with the Aggies pushing more bodies into the attack, Pearse’s were happy to absorb the pressure and hit the opposition on the break.

Points from Donaghy and Oisin Grew pushed their lead out to eight before a third goal looked to have put the game to bed.

A strong run from Donaghy from midfield sucked in the Aggies defence and his off-load found Fitzsimmons who beat Colum Carroll with a smart finish for a nine-point advantage.

St Agnes’ were given a lifeline back into the contest with ten minutes remaining.

Conall Turley’s run was brought abruptly to an end by Tom McFarlane, and from the resulting penalty, Ronan Carroll confidently dispatched the ball to McKenna’s right-hand corner.

Campbell seemed to confirm the result with a point for Pearse’s in the second minute of stoppage time, but a quickly taken free from Paul McClenaghan caused chaos in the Pearse’s goalmouth and Ronan Carroll took full advantage to claim his second goal of the game from close range.

It set up a grandstand finish but as the Aggies threw their lot into attack, Pearse’s hit them on the break again and Campbell took full advantage to dispatch a well-placed shot past Colum Carroll to wrap up a deserving six-point win for the New Lodge men.

Team & Scorers:

Pearse’s: Eamon McKenna, Darren O’Neill, Cormac O’Neill, Ciaran McCavanna, Aidan Bannon, Aodhan McCavanna, Nathan Gorman, (1-1), Ruairi Bannon, Piaras Donaghy (0-1), Phil Murray, Stephen Fitzsimmons (1-1), Sean Moreland, Fionn Grew (0-1f), Liam Campbell (1-2), Oisin Grew (1-2).

Replacements: Tom McFarlane for A Bannon (39), Barry Harper for A McCavanna (46), James Smyth for R Bannon (50), Andrew Goodall for McFarlane (57).

St Agnes’: Colum Carroll, Patrick Carroll, Ryan Reilly, Killian McCormick, Brendan McLarnon, Mark Caldwell, Dylan Cunningham, Kealan McAllister (0-1), Patrick Mulgrew (0-1), Conall Turley (0-1), Declan McLarnon (0-2f), Matthew Corr, James Grieve, Ronan Carroll (2-3, 1-0 pen, 1f), Cormac McBride.

Replacements: Peter Laverty for Grieve (39), Shane Moran for Corr (43), Paul McClenaghan for McBride (47), Conor McLean for McAllister (52), James Halleron for Caldwell (52).

Referee: Mr Darren McKeown (St Galls).

Graham Tarmac Junior Football Championship Group 2

St Agnes 4-16 Ballycastle 0-9

Four goals from Ronan Carroll booked St Agnes’ a place in this year’s junior championship quarter-finals.

After coming out on the wrong end of two close games encounters with St Malachy’s and Laochra Loch Lao respectively, the Aggies easy saw of the challenge of the McQuillan’s to keep their season alive.

St Agnes’ were on top all over the field but Carroll’s four goal blast will grab most of the headlines. In fact, with a little bit more composure in front of goal, Carroll could easily have had another 1-3.

He will no doubt have nightmares about a chance that went abegging in the 13^th minute.

With the tie delicately poised at 0-3 to 0-2 in his sides favour, Carroll found himself bearing down on goal with only Ballycastle netminder Eamon Butler to beat. But instead of picking his spot, Carroll went for the chip and his effort bounced the wrong side of the post and out.

But by half-time Carroll was well on his way to making up for that miss as his 22^nd minute goal opened up a seven-point lead. His first time shot to the roof of the net giving Butler no chance whatsoever.

Ballycastle to their credit battled gamely over the hour, but with a playing squad of just sixteen, and a lack of competitive football this year, this was always going to be a tough ask.

St Agnes’ tactic of isolating Carroll in the full forward line was working a treat.

Constant long ball from the middle sector was giving the visitors defence headaches from the opening minutes, with Dylan Cunningham, Conall Turley and Neill Gillespie wasting no time in getting the ball into their target man.

Gillespie was impressive over the hour for the Aggies while Mark Caldwell and Paul McClenaghan also put in great shifts over the hour.

Eoin Magee converted two early frees to keep Ballycastle in the tie but once Ronan Carroll gave St Agnes’ the lead for the third time in the 12^th minute there was no looking back.

His second point came courtesy of a sublime ball from Gillespie, and this was quickly followed by a fine individual score from Turley.

McClenaghan then assisted Carroll for his first major as the home side began to turn the screw and at the break the Aggies lead 1-7 to 0-3.

Ballycastle started the second half with a bit more purpose and after winning the throw-in Brian McLernon set up Magee for his third point of the game.

Feargal McKiernan then saw a goal bound shot turned away by Aggies custodian Callum Carroll as Ballycastle went all out to claw their way back into the contest.

But there was to be no second-half fight-back from the visitors as St Agnes’ rattled off the next three points before Carroll finished to the net for a second time in the 46^th minute for a 2-10 to 0-5 lead.

Replacement Ciaran Flannery kicked the first of his three points almost immediately before Carroll completed his hattrick in the 52^nd minute finishing emphatically past Butler.

Efforts from Shane Farrelly, Magee and Ciaran McAuley helped bring a little bit of respectability to the Ballycastle tally, but the last word was had by Carroll who coolly fished to the net in the final minute from Turley’s pass.

Teams:

St Agnes: Callum Carroll (0-1), Patrick Carroll, Ryan Reilly (0-1), Killian McCormack, Brendan McLarnon, Mark Caldwell, Dylan Cunningham, Kealan McAllister (0-1), Euairí Howarth, Conall Turley (0-2 1f), Declan McLarnon (0-1), Neill Gillespie, Paul McClenaghan (0-1), Ronan Carroll (4-2), Cormac McBride (0-3).

Replacements: Ciaran Flannery (0-3) for McAllister (38), Paul Kennedy for B McLarnon (48), James Halleron for Gillespie (48), Paddy Toner (0-1) for D McLarnon (52), Peter McCullough for McCormick (52).

Ballycastle: Eamon Butler, Niall McDermott (0-1), Conor Donnelly, Eoin Boylan, Ciaran McAuley (0-1), Shane Farrelly (0-1), Oisin Donnelly, Eoin Magee (0-4 3f), Lorcan Donnelly, Tadgh Donnelly, Feargal McKiernan, Stephen McGill, Callum Campbell (0-1), Brian McLernon, Frank McCaughan.

Replacement: Eddie McGuigan (0-1) for McDermott (44).

Referee: Martin Quinn (Naomh Éanna)

Graham Tarmac Junior Football Championship – Group 1

Saturday 27^th August

Report by Niall Kelly 

Cardinal O’Donnells 3-06   Na Piarsaigh 2-02

The men from MacRory Park solidified their position in this year’s Junior Football Championship with seven points to spare against a crestfallen Pearses side on Saturday. O’Donnells were simply more efficient and economical in the business end of the pitch as they despatched the majority of chances that fell in their favour. The visitors will rue a wasteful evening in front of the sticks though as promising build up play was rarely capitalised on with wayward shooting a recurring theme throughout the sixty minutes.

The first half was somewhat abrasive as the Belfast natives were trying to figure each other out. Both teams searched for penetrative avenues of attack but the killer pass or finishing touches were lacking in the opening exchanges. Kevin Kennedy eventually raised the first white flag of the afternoon in style as he latched on to Stevie Seawright’s pass before caressing a superb effort between the posts from an acute angle.

Pearses were carving opportunities but failing to capitalise. After a spate of frees missed their mark, midfield dynamo Piaras Donaghy was put on placed ball duty and duly obliged chipping over from range on the fourteenth minute to level proceeding.

O’Donnell’s recaptured the lead a mere minute later thanks to the capable Padraig McKissock and the hosts would refuse to relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game. On the twenty second minute, the men in maroon and yellow dealt a hammer blow to their opponents when John Rafferty’s long range pass somehow found its way into the back of the despairing Niall Largey’s net as the defence seemed to lose the flight of the ball on its path to goal.

The visitors responded well though and Cormac O’Neill pointed beautifully after a surging forty yard run to leave the scores 1-02 to 0-02 at Danny O’Neill’s short whistle.

Pearses started the half brightly and seemed galvanised by the interval. They constructed some crisp passing moves off the shoulder but again were found wanting with the finishing. Half-time substitute PJ Meenan made them pay emphatically though as he timed his jump perfectly to fist home to the net from Padraig McKissocks lofted pass. Pearses though replied with vigour and raised a green flag of their own in response as Fionn Grew palmed to the net after industrious work from Liam Deegan on the sideline.

The hosts sought to respond and again Meenan was on hand utilising his blistering pace as he finished a flowing move with a well taken point before Ciaran Ferran stroked a succulent effort off the outside of his boot between the posts. The visitors responded positively though and grabbed their second major of the game on the fiftieth minute. Another fortuitous goal if truth be told and a near mirror version of Rafferty’s first half effort as Liam Deegan’s long range free somehow nestled in the top corner of Conor Murphy’s net.

With the deficit now down to two points, O’Donnells dug deep to withstand the barrage of Pearses’ charges surging forward and launched a few of their own counter attacks. Scott Thompson sent over a superb effort from range which was followed quickly by another McKissock score.

Subsitute Darragh Walsh though hammered the final nail in the coffin of the North Belfast outfit as another high ball in caused havoc in the Pearses rearguard. Walsh was alert and anticipated the drop of the ball before poking in courageously to send the home faithful into rapturous applause.

A job well done from the hosts. They will await the winners of Laochra and Éire Óg with anticipation in their semi-final showdown. Pearses will no doubt be somewhat despondant with this defeat but will be buoyed by the fact that they created an array of chances. If they can find their shooting boots in the next one, they are more than capable of joining the O’s in the semis but will face a stiff test from Naomh Úna who will also fancy their chances.

Teams

O’Donnells:

C Murphy; C Doherty, J O’Donnell, J McKenna; G McKernan, S Seawright, K Kennedy (0-01;) S Thompson (0-01,) C Walsh, J Rafferty (1-00,)  C Walsh, C McKissock; K Loughran, P McKissock (0-02,) M Close

Substitute scorers: PJ Meenan (1-01,) D Walsh (1-00,)  C Ferran (0-01)

Pearses

N Largey; D O’Neill, A Goodall, C McCavana; C O’Neill (0-01,)  A Bannon, N Gorman; R Bannon, P Donaghy (0-01;) C Hughes, P Murray, S Moreland; F Grew (1-00,) L Deegan (1-00,) O Grew

Graham Tarmac Antrim JFC Group 1 

Eire Og 2-13-0-10 Wolfetones, Greencastle 

Kevin Herron reports from Woodlands 

Eire Og claimed a quarter-final place in the Graham Tarmac Antrim Junior Football Championship with a 2-13-0-10 win over Wolfetones, Greencastle at Woodlands on Friday evening.

Defeats to O’Donnells and Pearses respectively had meant that the duo went into the clash without a point and knowing that a win would extend their season for another two-weeks and defeat would mean the clash would be their last hour of football in 2022.

Eire Og were first off the mark a few minutes in when Niall Ward dropped a high ball into the edge of the square where Brendan Shannon gathered, unable to get the shot away himself- Shannon offloaded to Kevin Clarke to swing over the opener. 

Ward floated over his sides second shortly after and things got much better when Greencastle goalkeeper Danny McIvor was stripped off the ball as he advanced outfield by P James Toal- who in turn quickly picked out Ronan Donnelly to fire into the empty net and give the hosts a 1-02-0-00 lead. 

Greencastle responded with a fine point through Cillian Cumiskey, but back-to-back frees from Toal and a point from goal-scorer Donnelly had Eire Og further clear. 

Successive points from Eoin McKee and Gerard McDonnell closed the deficit slightly for the visitors and the half concluded with both sides trading points from frees with Brendan Shannon and McDonnell on-hand to convert respectively as Eire Og held a 1-06-0-04 advantage at the midway point. 

The hosts extended their lead upon the resumption, Conor McKenna was impeded as he tried to burst forward- though he was able to steer a pass off to Niall Ward to drop a shot over the bar. 

Gerard McDonnell kicked his third point of the evening from a 45’ in response and would land a second in-between a Ronan Donnelly point as the sides cancelled each-other out in the opening exchanges.

Midway through the second half Greencastle had a lifeline when referee Darren McKeown signalled for a penalty. 

McDonnell seized responsibility but his low effort was parried by the foot of Joseph George, the corner-forward advanced to the rebound but could only scoop his effort over the bar rather than into the net. 

A converted McDonnell free had a goal separating the sides with little over ten minutes remaining, but Eire Og sprung back into gear. 

Conor Ellis dropped a shot between the posts and played the providers role in Ronan Donnelly firing over his third point of the evening. 

Greencastle briefly put a stop to the hosts momentum through an angled point from Eoin McKee, though the next two scores of the game would put the tie beyond doubt. 

Niall Ward swung over a nice point before déjà vu struck as P James Toal profited from Danny McIvor losing the ball and he fired into the empty Greencastle net to give his side a 2-11-0-09. 

Talisman Gerard McDonnell replied from a free and it would prove to be his sides last of the evening as Eire Og finished the game out with back-to-back scores. 

This was despite the hosts being reduced to 14-men when scorer of the second goal- P James Toal was black-carded. 

Conor McKenna floated a shot over for the 14-men and soon Greencastle’s numerical advantage was wiped out when Eoin McKee received a similar punishment to Toal for a deliberate pull-back. 

Niall Ward would finish the evenings scoring as Eire Og ended claimed the elusive win and quarter-final spot that went with it

Eire Og: J George, D Murray, K Ryan, J Devlin, C Rice, R Donnelly (1-03), C Ellis (0-01), A McKnight, T Malone, C McKenna (0-01), P James Toal (1-02, 0-02f), S Erskine, K Clarke (0-01), B Shannon (0-01f), N Ward (0-04). Subs: M Duffy for D Murray (42), D Campbell for B Shannon (49). 

Wolfetones, Greencastle: D McIvor, F McQuillan, D Moloney, D McGovern, N Brannigan, C Burrows, K Moloney, S McKee, E McKee (0-02), M Connor, C Cumiskey (0-01), J Parke, K McCallion, D O’Neill, G McDonnell (0-07, 0-03f, 0-02 45’). Subs: O Hassan for M Connor (40), M McCann for K McCallion (52),T Austin for K Moloney (60). 

Referee: Darren McKeown (St Galls)