Graham Tarmac Junior Football Championship – Group 2

Friday 26^th August

Report by Niall Kelly 

St Malachy’s 1-07    Laochra Loch Lao 1-06

A potent and inspired second half performance from talismanic forward Aidan Connor proved to be just enough to drag St Malachy’s over the finishing line and in doing so secured top spot and a plain sail straight to the semi-finals. The number fifteen burst into life in the second period notching up a personal tally of 1-05. Connor was the sole scorer for his side in the second half which perfectly illustrated just how crucial he was in earning this hard fought victory over a dogged and resilient Laochra side.

The first half was somewhat a war of attrition and scores were at a premium. The hosts endured a frustrating thirty minutes as they couldn’t make their superiority in attacking positions count and amassed a sizable wide count. The men in black and yellow started brightest and moved the ball around well with midfielder Ciaran Vernon so often the fulcrum of their attacks. Creating chances was no problem for St Mal’s but despatching them proved to be an unwanted theme of the first period. Laochra made them pay for their lack of composure in front of the posts and took the lead on the fifth minute with Caoimhin Ó Daimhín popping over to finish a flowing counter-attacking move. Padraig O’Prey doubled the lead four minutes later when he nonchalantly chipped over a long range free off the deck.

St Malachy’s eventually got their bearings right when Anthony Dobbin pointed spectacularly after industrious work from Jack McGivern. Three minutes later Paul Carlisle got on the end of a Ciaran Vernon pass from a quick free to split the posts and level matters. There was a somewhat tempestuous atmosphere for the remainder of the half with a few off the ball altercations as both teams battled hard to gain the ascendancy only for the wide count to continue to increase.

Just before Martin Quinn’s short whistle, the visitors dealt a significant blow to their South Belfast counterparts. The ever-dangerous Caoimhin Ó Daimhín finished off a fine, flowing attacking move to the net, fisting in a cross-field pass from Padraig O’Prey to leave the scores 0-02 to 1-02 at half-time.

St Malachy’s emerged a more potent and composed side in the second thirty though and were spearheaded by the cultured right foot of Aidan Connor. Barely two minutes into the half and Connor stamped his authority on the game unleashing a thunderous effort into the top left corner of the despairing Seán Ó Heachaín’s net to deadlock the scores once again. Connor’s ingenuity in front of the posts were on show three minutes later as his curling effort saw his side take the lead for the first-time in the game. 

The Gaeilgeoirs responded well though and instantly replied through a fine score from Conchúr Mag Eacháin as he fired over from range before Padraig’ O’Prey doubled his tally on the fortieth minute from another placed ball and their lead was restored.

With only the bare minimum separating the sides, nerves were on edge and the game was becoming increasingly cagey. The perfect cue for Connor to seize the initiative yet again as he pointed two placed balls with great composure before adding another from a tight angle to give his side a two-point lead heading down the final straight. With little time remaining, Laochra’s charges were bombing forward desperately in search of scores and Conchúr Mag Eacháin found his range perfectly but on the sixtieth minute the two point lead was restored as Connor replied yet again to a roar of adulation from the home faithful.

Martin Quinn’s whistle couldn’t come soon enough though for the hosts though as Laochra ensured a nerve-wracking injury time period. Jack MacIomhair’s pointed with seconds remaining before Caoimhin Ó Daimhín was bundled over in the scoring zone and a free was awarded. St Mal’s waited with baited breath but the resultant kick veered wide agonisingly for the visitors and it proved to be the last action as the final whistle sounded to trigger scenes of euphoria for the home faithful.

St Malachy’s can now focus on training and preparation with their semis slot secured. This hard-fought victory will only serve them well in future. Laochra, although no doubt despondent about the manner of their defeat, will get back to the drawing board and prepare for their showdown against Éire Óg for the right to earn their own semi-final berth.

Teams:

St Malachy’s:

S Turley; C Corr, S Carson, P Hanna; D Quinn, C Connolly, D Casey; A Dobbn (0-01,) C Vernon; J McGivern, P Devine, R Maneely; P Carlisle (0-01,) K McCavana, A Connor (1-05)

Laochra Loch Lao:

S O Heacháin; M MacEachaidh, C MacGafraidh, D MacThom; E Ó Coinn, C Ó Coinn, É Ó Ceallaigh; C Ó Ceallaigh, J MacIomhair (0-01;) C MagEacháin (0-02,) A Ó Straitheain, T Ó Tuthalain; P Ó Tiarnaigh, P O’Prey (0-02,) C Ó Daimhín (1-01)

Graham Tarmac JFC

NA Piarsaigh 2-13 Eire Og 2-7

Photographs: Bert Trowlen

Na Piarsaigh join O’Donnell’s on 4 points from 2 starts in Group 1 of the Graham Tarmac Junior Football Championship with this six point win over Eire Og at Fennell Park on Friday night. The North Belfast side were forced to come from behind however with Eire Og flying into a 1-1 to 0-0 lead after 7 minutes.

Pearses settled however and came back strongly to lead 1-6 to 1-3 at half time before pushing home their advantage in the second half and their final game against the O’D‘s in a fortnight’s time will decide the winner of the group.

Kevin Clarke pointed Eire Og ahead in the third minute and when Niall Ward followed up to direct the ball to the net after a fine save by Pearses keeper Niall Largey they looked in a strong position.

Na Piarsaigh began to settle however and replied with points from Sean Moreland and 2 from Stephen Fitzsimmons before Ronan Donnerlly stretched the Eire Og lead to two once more.

Oisin Grew replied for Pearses before their keeper brought off a good save and they finished the half strongly as Stephen Fitzsimmons brought his contribution for the first half to 0-4 and when the same player hammered home a 26^th minute goal they looked in control.

Fionn Grew and Fitzsimmons extended the Na Piarsaigh lead on the restart and Liam Campbell from a long range free and Grew added two more by the second water break with Eire Og failing to score during the third quarter. The Pearses dominance continued on the restart as Campbell fisted over and added a point with his trusty boot and when Nathan Gorman got in for their second goal it was all over.

To their credit Eire Og came back with points from James Toal and Murray and an excellent goal from Ciaran Rice but they could not sustain their challenge and it was Na Piarsaigh who had the final say with a point from Sean Moreland.

Na Piarsaigh: 1 Niall Largey, 2 Cormac Gillespie, 3 Andrew Goodall, 4 Ciaran McCavanna, 5 Cormac O’Neill, 6 Aodhan McCavanna, 7 Nathan Gorman, 8 Ruairi Bannon, 9 Piaras Donaghy, 10 Philip Murray, 11 Stephen Fitzsimmons, 12 Sean Moreland, 13 Fionn Grew, 14 Liam Campbell, 15 Oisin Grew,

Eire Og: 14 Brendan Shannon, 2 Paddy Loughran, 4 Jarlath Devlin, 5 Ciaran Rice, 6 Ronan Donnelly, 7 Conor Ellis, 9 Tomas Malone, 11 P James Toal, 12 Stephen Erskine, 13 Kevin Clarke, 15 Niall Ward, 17 Dermot Murray, 23 Damian Edgar, 27 Alex McKnight, 29 Mark Hamill

Referee: Paul Burns (Naomh Comhghall)

Graham Tarmac Junior Football Championship – Group 1

Ballycastle 0-5 St Malachy’s 1-11

It took them a while to get going, but once they did, St Malachy’s had too much know-how for Ballycastle when the sides met at Pairc MacUilin on Friday evening in the Junior Football Championship.

When Marty Jamison pointed a free for the home side on twenty minutes to level the scores at 0-2 apiece, it looked like this was going to be close affair, but St Malachy’s hit back with a bang and added seven points in a row to lead by 0-9 to 0-2 at the interval. Jamison added a point from a ‘Mark’ six minutes into the second half to give the home team some hope, but when St Malachy’s Ronan Maneely finished superbly to the Ballycastle net seven minutes later it was clear there was no way back for the ‘Town’.

Eoin Magee put Ballycastle ahead from a pointed free early in the game, but man of the match Ciaran Vernon soon had St Marlachy’s level, and the midfielder put them ahead on twelve minutes. On twenty minutes Marty Jamison brought the ‘Town’ level from a free but when Jack MGivern put St Malachy’s back in front two minutes later, something seemed to click for the Belfast men. Paul Divine, Karl McCavana and Ronan Maneely sent over three points in as many minutes to put then in charge and flow continued as Ciaran Vernon, Colm Connolly and Vernon again all pointed from play to open up a seven point half time lead. (0-9 to 0-2)

Six minutes into the second half Jamison gave the home team a bit of hope when he finished well after calling a ‘Mark’, but he scores were proving hard to come by for both teams. It was thirteen minutes before St Malachy’s got their first score of the second half, but it was worth waiting for as a flowing move out of defence sent Maneely clear on the left and the right half forward soloed through to curl his shot to the top corner of the Ballycastle net.

Eoin Magee (2) and Conor Kelly pointed frees for Ballycastle, but they were never going to catch the Mals , who came back with points from Maneely and Vernon to wrap up the win and book a semi-final spot.

BALLYCASTLE

Eamon Butler, Conal Magee, Conor Donnelly, Oisin Donnelly, Ciaran McAuley, Shane Farley, Eoin Boylan, Eoin Magee, Caolan O’Connor, Darren McKillion, Darren Campbell, Stephen Magill, Conor Kelly, Martin Jamison, Tiernan Heggarty.

Subs – Leon Bailey, Tadg Donnelly, Brian McLarnon, Niall McDermot

ST MALACHY’S

Fintan McBride, Colin Connoly, Stephen Carson, Caoimin Corr, Daniel Quinn, Mark Connolly, Pearse Hanna, Anthony Dobbin, Ciaran Vernon, Ronan Maneely, Aidan Connor, Jack McGivern, Paul Millar, Kark McCavana, Paul Carlisle

Subs Paul Divine.

REFREE – Ryan O’Reilly (Con Magees)

Graham Tarmac Junior Football Championship – Group 1

Friday 12^th August

Report by Niall Kelly 

Cardinal O’Donnells 2-13  Wolfe Tones 1-03

Two emphatic finishes to the net from Richard McAvoy and Mark Close in the first half paved the way for a comfortable victory for O’Donnells. Despite battling well and displaying resiliency throughout the sixty minutes, Wolfetones were powerless to stop the prolificity of the home side’s potent full-forward line. Richard McAvoy and Padraig McKissock were too hot to handle on the night and accounted for 13 points of the 19 scored by the hosts. The damage was well and truly done in the first half and O’Donnell’s eleven-point lead at the interval would prove to be unassailable for their North Belfast counterparts.

Both teams spurned a number of early chances before the ever-reliant Padraig McKissock drew first blood for the men in maroon and yellow as he fired over a close range free to settle his side into the game on the seventh minute. O’Donnells began to dovetail nicely in offense and John Rafferty’s domineering performance in midfield often provided the platform for many of the attacks with Jonny McKenna’s powering runs from defence a constant outlet. The pressure was to come to fruition as McKissock soon added another as he delicately angled a beautifully flighted effort between the posts before Richard McAvoy notched his first of the evening with a similar curling effort of his own.

McAvoy’s blistering pace, which was a constant thorn in the side of Wolfe Tones, was to come to the fore again when he coolly despatched his side’s first major of the evening on the 20^th minute. A threaded pass from Fergal McNerney split the visitor’s defence open giving the OD’s full-forward the opportunity to drive into the space and finish nonchalantly into the bottom right of Danny McIvor’s goal, stroking the ball home soccer style.

Wolfe Tones were desperately trying to get out of their own half with Cillian Cumiskey and Stephen McKee often the springboard for their counter attacks but they couldn’t make it count on the scoreboard. McAvoy’s scintillating form in front of the sticks continued when he slotted over two superb individual efforts from range before McKissock once again displayed his pinpoint range from the dead ball.

With the half drawing to a close, corner forward Mark Close dealt a killer blow to the visitors. The number fifteen latched on to an incisive pass from McAvoy before unleashing an absolute thunderbolt into the roof of the net triggering an almighty roar from the jubilant home support. McKissock notched another to his ever-growing personal tally before Wolfe Tones finally got themselves on the score board when Kieran Moloney’s searching pass was finished off with an accomplished finish from Martin Conroy to leave the score 2-06 to 0-01 in favour of the hosts.

The visitors emerged from the break with a newly ignited fire in their bellies and were causing a few problems in the early stages of the second thirty. Matt McCann’s early driven effort looked destined to ripple the net but Jonny McKenna’s instinctive defensive awareness denied him with a goal-saving block on the line. More goal mouth action ensued as OD’s shot-stopper Conor Murphy was called to action, producing a point blank save from Declan O’Neill’s drilled close range effort.

Conor Burrows and Kevin McCallion managed to make the pressure count though as they raised white flags for the men in green and white and it seemed perhaps the makings of a monumental come-back could be on the cards. These were soon extinguished though as O’Donnells took to the ascendancy again with McKissock spearheading the attacks, slotting over two of his own before turning provider for his brother Ciaran who sent over a sumptuously caressed effort from a tight angle.

The visitors continued to push forward and were desperately trying to probe through the O’Donnells defence but to no avail. Johnny O’Donnell, whose performance epitomised the passion and determination of the hosts, marshalled his troops at the back with composure as they stood resolute.

Wolfe Tone’s commitment to gunning forward meant that gaps were appearing in their defence which were exploited by the hosts. Fergal McNerney linked up well with Keely Loughran on more than one occasion before sending over two excellent efforts from the outside of the boot.  The visitors to their credit refused to throw in the towel and their efforts were rewarded on the stroke of full-time when Cillian Cumiskey expertly despatched to the net to ensure a consolation goal.

Wolfe Tones will look back at their maiden Championship campaign and know that there were positives to take. They have a solid nucleus to build on and performed admirably in a difficult group. Despite being eliminated, they will look to their game with Éire Óg as a chance to register their first Championship points and build on for next year. O’Donnells on the other hand, will have their sights firmly set on their crunch fixture with fellow table-toppers Pearses. Their clash could have quite a telling impact on this year’s Junior grade with both teams tipped as two of the favourites to be potentially basking in glory come September.

O’Donnells:

C Murphy; C Doherty, J O’Donnell, J McKenna; G McKernan, S Thompson, K Kennedy; J Rafferty, S Seawright; C McKissock (0-01,) C Walsh, F McNerney (0-02;) P McKissock (0-07,) R McAvoy (1-04,) M Close (1-00)

Wolfe Tones:

D McIvor; F McQuillan, D Moloney, J Carmichael; N Brannigan, C Burrows (0-01,) K Moloney; S McKee, E McKee; M Connor (0-01,) C Cumiskey (1-00,) J Parke; T Austin, M McCann, G McDonnell.  Subs: K McCallion (0-01

Graham Tarmac JFC Group 2

St. Agnes 1-11 Laochra Loch Lao 2-10

Laochra Loch Lao made it two from two with this two point win over a battling St. Agnes at Woodlands on Friday evening. Early in both halves the ‘Aggies’ looked like they were taking control but Laochra Loch Lao came back strongly in the second and final quarters to edge the contest.

Goals from Padraig O’Prey in the 5^th minute of the opening half and Kevin Devine in the 16^th minute of the second proved the vital scores in the end with both coming at a time when the home side were threatening to take control.

It was St. Agnes who were first on target with points from Kaelan McAllister and Cormac McBride as they opened brightly on an excellent Pairc Naomh Una splendidly marked out by the robotic line marker of Niall McCallin of St. John’s, the first time this piece of equipment has been used in Belfast.

O’Prey got in for the visitor’s opening goal direct from the kick-out but points from Matthew Corr and another from Kaelan McAllister had the home side back in front after 8 minutes and McAllister’s palmed effort might well have been a goal.

Both sides had agreed to a water break prior to the game and in the almost tropical conditions it came as welcome respite but when the action got under way again it was the Irish language side who began to get on top with Conor McGucken and Aaron Strain pointing them into a 20^th minute lead.

Declan McLarnon saw his fisted effort come back of a post for St. Agnes with Strain and Tarlach Barclaigh adding point for the visitors and St. Agnes keeper, Colum Carroll drifting up-field for a St. Agnes point to leave the half time score 1-6 to 0-5 in favour of Laochra Loch Lao.

As in the first half it was Roy McLarnon’s side who made the better start to the second half with the excellent Conall Turley and Declan McLarnon on target to close the gap to one with only two minutes of the second half gone.

Conhur MacStacais raced through the heart of the ‘Aggies’ defence for a point and might have had a goal but was denied by a splendid save by Colum Carrol and when Matthew Corr got in for a goal in the 12^th minute the sides were level at 1-7 to 1-7 and the momentum looked to have swung in favour of the home side.

A couple more from the impressive Turley saw the Aggies move two in front going into the second water break but it was Laochra Loch Lao who struck with a vengeance on the restart. The visitors went on the attack and Padraig O’Prey, who had been a thorn in the St. Agnes defence laid the ball off to Kevin Devine and he finished to the net from close range.

O’Prey pointed a 19^th minute free to edge the visitors two in front with Declan McLarnon closing the gap back to one again as he pointed a free at the other end but that was as close as St. Agnes got as promising attacking moves failed to produce the necessary scores.

Two late pointed frees from their talisman forward Padraig O’Prey edged the visitors three in front with Cormac McBride replying with a consolation point for the ‘Aggies’ but the goal they needed never looked like materialising as Loch Lao stood strong in defence

Laochra Loch Lao now sit joint top of Group 2 with St. Malachy’s who defeated McQuillan’s Ballycastle in the other Group 2 game tonight and these two will meet in the final game of the group stages on Friday 27^th of August with the winners topping the group.

St. Agnes: 1 Colum Carroll, 2 Patrick Carroll, 3 Ryan Reilly, 4 Killian McCormick, 5 Conor Compston, 6 Mark Caldwell, 7 Dylan Cunniongham, 8 Kaelan McAllister, 9 Patrick Mulgrew, 10 Conall Turley, 11 Declan McLarnon, 12 Matthew Corr, 13 Paul McClenaghan, 14 Conor McLean, 15 Cormac McBride. Subs: 21 James Halleron, 20 Briandan McLarnon, 17 Paul Kennedy

Laochra Loch Lao: 1 Sean O’Heachain, 3 Conor McCaffery, 4 Sean O’Hainbhheith, 5 Eamon O’Coinn, 6 Connla O’Coinn, 7 Tarlach Barclaigh, 8 Cathal O’Ceallaigh, 9 Aaron Strain, 10 Conor McGucken, 12 Tomas Tolan, 13 Padi O’Tiarnaigh, 14 Padraig O’Prey, 15 Kevin Devine. Subs: Caoilte MacGiolla Fhiondain, Niall O’hAdha, Eanna O’Ceallaigh

Referee: Martin Quinn (St. Enda’s)