St. Paul’s fonaCAB Final

Wednesday-1-00pm Shaw’s Road

Four Masters Donegal v Rossa Magherafelt

Rossa of Magherafelt will go into Wednesday’s fonaCAB final at St. Paul’s keen to avenge a narrow quarter-final defeat to holders Four Masters in 2023 and confident that they can replace the Donegal side as Ulster Minor Club Champions.

Four Masters strike late to beat Magherafelt in 2023

  FonaCAB St Pauls Ulster Minor Football Tournament

Two goals in injury time saw Donegal champions Four Masters snatch victory from the jaws of defeat when Wednesday’s fonaCAB finalists met in the quarter final of the St Pauls Ulster Minor Football tournament at Colaiste Feirste back in 2023.

Four Masters of Donegal went on to defeat Cavan Gaels in the New Year’s Day decider while Rossa of Magerafelt were left to reflect on what might have been.

With the wind at their backs in the first half the Magherafelt boys were in total command and after twenty one minutes play they were 0-8 to 0-0 ahead, their brilliant midfielder Conall Higgins scoring six of the points.

It was twenty five minutes before the Donegal champions opened their account when Colhoon scored their first point and they added to it four minutes later, but Magherafelt came back with a J Beattie point in injury time to send them in with what appeared to be a comfortable seven point cushion.

When Four Masters got the first four points of the second half, three of them from brilliant corner forward McCahill, it was clear this game was far from over, but Man of the Match Conall Higgins appeared to have wrapped it all up when got two of the next three points to push the gap out to three again. When the Derry champions pushed the gap out to five going into injury time a place in the semi-final seemed assured, but the drama was only starting.

In a totally incredible finish Four Masters were awarded a penalty which centre forward Kevin Muldoon fired to the net, which cut the gap to two points. Magherafelt must have still thought the game was safe but in the fifth minute of injury time a long ball into the Maghera square was punched home by Tiernan McBride to put his team in front, and there was still time for corner forward Turlough Carr to add the insurance point.

With the age group changed from U17 to U18 both sides will line out with many of the same panel available with the Derry Champions eager to redress the balance.

Both sides have impressed on their way to Wednesday’s decider with Four Masters defeating Fr. Rocks of Cookstown in last week’s semi-final to go forward to their third fonaCAB final in succession.

They sealed their place in the FonaCAB Ulster Minor Football Tournament with a 1-12 to 0-08 win with Theo Colhoun netting the game’s only goal a minute from the end of normal time to wrap up the win.

Conor |Gallager-McCahill top scored for the Donegal Town side with 0-5 with Oisin Doherty and Turlough Carr weighing in with important scores.

They will face a Rossa of Magherafelt side who have impressed themselves this year and will be keen to put that late 2023 implosion behind them. A strong first half performance did the trick as Magherafelt held off Clann Éireann in their semi-final.

A gale force wind blowing across the pitch favoured the Rossa side in the first half. They bagged the game’s first goal. Cathir Spiers cut through the Lurgan defence before hammering to the net for a 1-2 to 0-0 lead with 10 minutes gone.

Kian Maynes and Lorcan Higgins kicked Magherafelt seven clear before Clann Éireann scored.

It got even better for Magherafelt when Conall Higgins was fouled for a late penalty. He took the kick himself to notch a third goal to give Rossa a 3-7 to 1-1 lead.

Clann Eireann rallied during the second half  but never really looked like overturning the Rossa lead with the Derry champions pushing on to win by seven in the end.

Holders, Four Masters will start Wednesday’s decider on the Shaw’s Road as favourites and have earned the favourites tag but they will face a strong opponent in a Rossa side who are in great physical condition and look capable of reversing last year’s quarter-final result

FonaCAB Ulster Minor Football Tournament , semi-final

Fr Rocks 0-08-1-12 Four Masters

Kevin Herron reports from Pairc Naomh Pol

Four Masters sealed their place in the FonaCAB Ulster Minor Football Tournament final for the third year in a row with a 1-12 to 0-08 win over Fr Rock’s, Cookstown in their semi-final clash on the Shaws Road this afternoon.

Theo Colhoun netted the games only goal a minute from the end of normal time to wrap up the win and ensure the holders will return to West Belfast in 6-days time hoping to defend the crown they won at the beginning of 2024.

They were fastest from the traps with Oisin Doherty swinging over from an acute angle and Thomas Lenehan intercepting Kevin Muldoon’s pass and popping it over.

Lorcan McMurray replied for Cookstown when Eoin Long’s mark looked to be tailing wide until he gathered, and despite his initial effort coming off the large post McMurray converted at the second time of asking and would tie up the scores two minutes later.

A foul on Jack McElhone allowed Eoin Long to nudge Fr Rocks ahead for the first time- though Conor Gallagher McCahill produced an outstanding score almost instantly and a converted Oisin Doherty free had the Champions back in the ascendancy.

McCahill doubled his account for the half with another fine attempt that sailed over but Four Masters would need to negotiate 10 minutes a man light when Kevin Muldoon was black carded for a pull-down in the middle of the field.

The numerical dis-advantage didn’t hinder his team however and by the time Muldoon returned to proceedings his side were an extra point ahead thanks to Callum McCrea’s point.

McCrea closed out the half with another score to ensure the holders were primed for their third final appearance on the spin, leading 0-07-0-03 at the midway point.

Fr Rocks started the second period on the front-foot with four of the first five scores to reduce the deficit to the bare minimum.

Eoin Long converted a free and Karol Wawrynkiewicz shot over between a Conor Gallagher McCahill point for Four Masters.

A close range Lorcan McMurray free was followed minutes later by a fine Michael Lennon point to make it 0-08-0-07.

Four Masters steadied things again thanks to a converted mark from Thomas Lenehan in his last act before departing and Tomas Carr clipped over an angled point at the near post midway through the second half.

Scores were traded as Yasin Baba’s point was cancelled out by Conor Gallagher McCahill’s converted free following a foul on Tiarnan McBride.

McCahill kicked his fifth of the afternoon to stretch his sides lead back to four and the insurance score arrived a minute from time.

Kevin Muldoon saw his shot parried by Sean Og Quinn, Theo Colhoun saw his follow-up blocked before poking to the net at the second time of asking to ensure his sides place in the New Year’s Day decider.

Things went from bad to worse for Fr Rocks when substitute Charlie Hawker was dismissed for an off the ball incident in added time. It would make little difference to the outcome however as Four Masters deservedly advanced to Wednesday’s final against Magherafelt.

Fr Rocks Cookstown: S Og Quinn, S Corrigan, D McHugh, S McElkearney, C Mulligan, K Wawrynkiewicz (0-1), M Lennon (0-1), L Neeson, Y Baba (0-1), J McElhone, L McMurray (0-3, 0-1f), C Sheehy, S Devlin, E Long (0-2f), C Ward. Subs: C Hawker for C Ward (29), C Ward for C McElkearney (59).

Four Masters: L McCaughan, T Lenehan (0-2, 0-1m), D McGinty, E O’Neill, C Gavigan, C McCrea (0-2), A Quinn, Tomas Carr (0-1), T Colhoun (1-0), P McGonagle, Turlough Carr, K Muldoon, C Gallagher McCahill (0-5, 0-1f), T McBride, O Doherty (0-2, 0-1f). Subs: D Griffin for T Lenehan (41), A McHugh for C Gavigan (53), T McGovern for P McGonagle (60+2).

Referee: Colm McDonald (Naomh Gall)

TO SEE MORE PICS FROM THE GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

https://myalbum.com/album/9vZoKCyHidif9S

Thursday 26th December 2024

Semi Final 2

1pm 

Shaw’s Road, St Pauls GAC

Four Masters (Donegal) v Fr. Rocks Cookstown (Tyrone)

Reigning Ulster fonaCAB holders, Four Masters will start as firm favourites when they take on Fr. Rocks, Cookstown in Thursday’s semi-final of the St. Paul’s tournament at Shaw’s Road. 

A win for the Donegal champions would set up a repeat of last year’s decider against Magherafelt but before that there is the considerable hurdle of the Derry champions to overcome.

It took extra time to separate the Tyrone champions and Mayobridge in the quarter-final as Fr. Rocks made their bow in the tournament against the Down representatives who had already negotiated a preliminary Round encounter.

The Tyrone champions showed great battling qualities with Mayobridge looking to have nicked it late, but the Cookstown club forced the additional time and there was no looking back from there as they built a wind-assisted lead to dominate the final 10 minutes.

Mayobridge played against the breeze in the opening half but they got off to the perfect start as a long ball from Patrick Woods saw Gary Clerkin turn his marker and place Daire O’Keefe to finish to the net.

With the wind behind them in extra time, the Tyrone champions would avail of the advantage with five points on the spin in the first period – two apiece from Karol Wawrynkiewicz and Long (one free) that sandwiched a McMurray score.

A Clerkin point reduced it to 0-18 to 1-11 at the turnaround, but despite the wind advantage for the final 10 minutes, Mayobridge couldn’t turn it around.

They will face a step up in class on Thursday as they face reigning champions, Four Masters. The Donegal Town side won the tournament last year when the age group was U17 and have returned to action with virtually the same side in this year’s tournament which has been changed back to U18.

2023 Ulster Minor holders Four Masters survived the first assault on their crown as they saw off Monaghan Champions Scotstown 3-07-3-06 in their quarter-final clash.

The Donegal kingpins settled into their stride when Callum McCrea broke out of defence and switched to Turlough Carr- he returned a pass to McCrea and in turn feed late replacement Thomas Lenehan to slam home inside of two minutes.

They certainly didn’t get it all their own way against a Scotstown side who pushed them right down to the wire despite leading 2-5 to 1-4 at the interval.

A grandstand finish was on the cards though as Scotstown battled back and hit their third goal in the 53rd minute.

Darragh Keenan bustled his way into a shooting position and sent a bullet of a shot to the net to reduce the deficit to the bare minimum again.

The holders hung on to book their place in the St Stephens Day semi-final against Fr. Rocks and look favourites to advance to their third final in three years but the Cookstown side can take a lot of encouragement from the Scotstown performance.

fonaCab Ulster Minor Fooball tournament at St Paul’s

Magherafelt O’Donovan Rossa 3-10 Clann Éireann Lurgan 2-6

Magherafelt’s Cathir Spiers cuts through the Clann Eireann defence to score his team’s opening goal

A strong first half performance did the trick as Magherafelt held off Clann Éireann off in Belfast on Sunday to book their spot in the Ulster minor final on New Year’s Day.

They’ll play the winners of the other semi-final between Four Masters and Coosktown who meet on St Stephen’s Day.

A gale force wind blowing across the pitch favoured the Rossa side in the first half. They bagged the game’s first goal. Cathir Spiers cut through the Lurgan defence before hammering to the net for a 1-2 to 0-0 lead with 10 minutes gone.

Kian Maynes and Lorcan Higgins kicked Magherafelt seven clear before Clann Éireann scored.

When it came, it was a much-needed goal. Daire Whitmarsh kept a Cohen Henderson cross in play before beating Campbell with a precise finish at the near post.

A three-minute burst put Magherafelt firmly back the driving seat. With Clann Éireann struggling to secure the ball from their kick-outs, Maynes and Beattie tagged on points.

When Cathair Kerr won a third kick-out, he played in Callum Leacock who blasted to the net.

It got even better for Magherafelt when Conall Higgins was fouled for a late penalty. He took the kick himself to notch a third goal to give Rossa a 3-7 to 1-1 lead.

A high ball into the Magherafelt defence forced a double save from Campbell in the opening minutes of the second-half before Henderson fired over the bar.

With seven minutes gone, Clann Éireann added their second goal after the game’s second penalty. Up stepped Henderson who was denied by Campbell before poking home the rebound.

With nine points between the sides, Clann Éireann went down to 14 men after Adam Furphy’s 41^st minute black card.

Magherafelt, beaten by eventual champions Four Masters last year, never looked in any trouble with Finn Campbell and Tiarnan McDonald tagging on late Clann Éireann points.

TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

https://myalbum.com/album/ExgGSkFZosaKWv

Magherafelt: Karl Campbell; Turlough Cartin, Zack Gavigan, Ronan Conway; Michael McKenna, Rory Small, Cathair Kerr; Jude Beattie (0-1), Cathir Spiers (1-0); Callum Leacock (1-0), Caolan Higgins (0-1), Lorcan Higgins (0-2), Kian Maynes (0-2), Conall Higgins (1-4, 1 -0 pen, 2f), Michael Higgins
Subs: Ronan Ferris for Caolan Higgins (INJ 44), Michael Lavery for Kerr (55), Ben McCormack for Spiers (59), Cillian McCabe for Conway (63)

Clann Éireann: Conan McCafferty; Lennan McCavigan, Finbar Mallon, Daire Whitmarsh (1-0); James Moriarty (0-1), Daire Young, Tiarnan McDonald (0-1); Sean Geoghegan, Cathal Dorrian; Finn Campbell (0-1), James McCooe (0-1), Adam Furphy; Cohen Henderson (1-2, 1f); Euan McAreavey; Cailean Lavery

Subs: Conor Beattie for McCavigan (44), Joe Beatty for Lavery (55)

Referee: Sean Hurson (Tyrone)

Sunday 22nd December 2024

Semi Final 1  – 1pm 

Shaws Road, St Pauls GAC

Magherafelt (Derry) v Clann Eireann (Armagh)

The first of the fonaCAB-St. Paul’s Ulster Minor football semi-finals is down for decision this Sunday at Shaw’s Road and it throws together two strong opponents, both who will have their eyes set on a place in the final.

A strong second half showing by Armagh champions Clann Éireann saw the Lurgan side book their place in the semi-final of the fonaCAB at the expense of St Molaise of Irvinstown in their quarter final at Sportlann, Colaiste Feirste.

There was little between the two teams in the opening half, Clann Éireann turning around with a two point lead, but the really got going early in the second and added three more goals to their half time total of 2-2 to open a massive gap. However the Irvinstown boys kept battling away and three goals in the last ten minutes brought them back to within seven at the end.

With the stiff breeze at the backs in the second half Clann Éireann were soon ahead with early scores from Cohen Henderson and Euan McAreavey. Barry Goodwin levelled matters again with a point for Irvinstown but the next ten minutes was all one way traffic as the Armagh boys began to hit their stride. Five in a row from goalkeeper Liam Carroll, Cohen Henderson, Euan McAreavey (2) and James McCooe saw them pull well clear and it was clear at this stage they would advance.

In their quarter final Magherafelt were forced to withstand a late rally from Antrim champions, St. Brigid’s before progressing to Sunday’s semi-final.

Magherafelt held on to earn a spot against the Armagh champions on Shaw’s Road on Sunday and this first semi-final is likely to attract a bumper crowd to West Belfast.

Finbar Mallon and captain, Dire Young are the mainstays of a strong Clann Eireann defence with Sean Geoghegan and Conan McCafferty forming a strong mid-field partnership for the Lurgan side.

Euan McAreavey spearheads a potent Clann Eireann attack where Cohen Henderson and James McCooey have been amongst the scorers.

Derry sides have figured prominently in this competition over the years and while Magherafelt did just enough to get past St. Brigid’s there is a feeling that there could be more to come.

Rossa held the upper hand from the start and with their pace causing St Brigid’s problems at the back and Cathir Spiers opened their account with a point inside four minutes. Things got worse for St Brigid’s when the Derry champions grabbed the opening goal of the game through Kian Maynes, but St Brigid’s hit back right away and top scorer JJ Higgins swung a ball across the Rossa goalmouth for Joseph Mellon to palm to the net.

The Derry boys led by five at the break and increased that lead to eight at a stage in the second half. It began to look like this would be a real runaway for the Derry side, but to their credit St Brigid’s kept on battling and closed to within three by the time Down referee Gavin Finnegan sounded the final whistle.

Both sides will have concerns about the manner in which they let substantial leads slip in their semi-finals and this one could go either way but on the evidence of their respective semi-final performances Clann Eireann are given a tentative nod but it could well come down to which sides hits their best form on the day.