Senior Football Championship – Quarter Final
Saturday 14th September
Report by Niall Kelly from Dunsilly
Roger Casement’s Portglenone 2-10 Naomh Éoin 1-12
Portglenone survived an almighty scare in a titanic tussle against St John’s on Saturday evening. With seven minutes to go in this one, all seemed a foregone conclusion. Oisin Doherty had just angled his effort to perfection over the bar to increase the margin to seven and it appeared for all the world that the Bannsiders would simply coast to victory. Naomh Éoin, however, had other ideas as they refused to go out with a whimper. A goal from Conal Quinn with a minute of normal time to go set up a grandstand finish and got pulses racing as the Johnnies had cut the gap to the minimum. St John’s desperately sought to snatch that all elusive equaliser, but time was not on their side. All eyes were on referee Darren McKeown with the St John’s travelling faithful tantalised at the prospect of extra time and the Casement’s band of supporters baying for the final whistle. It was the latter who had their wishes granted as the Whiterock Road side succumbed to the sea of black and yellow defenders in their offensive pursuits as Portglenone just held out to claim the spoils.
The game burst into life as Portglenone rattled the net within the first minute. Dermot McAleese’s pointed effort dropped invitingly for his namesake, Aidan who swivelled perfectly before guiding his effort into the bottom left hand corner of Lambert’s net. St John’s though responded positively through the trusty left foot of Conor Adams who converted a close range free. Despite the setback, it was the men in blue and white who were doing the majority of the probing forward but with scintillating pace in their attacking arsenal, Portglenone were an ominous threat on the counter. Full back Ruairi Hagan epitomised this as he put the finishing touches on a move that was forged in the Casement’s engine room as Niall McKeever and Stephen Kelly combined well to pave the way for Hagan.
The Johnnies continued to push and manufactured a few scoring chances but couldn’t make it count on the scoreboard. This was certainly the difference between the two during the first half as the Ports were clinical going forward. Enda Lynn’s electric speed was causing problems and he fashioned an opening which Oisin Doherty finished with aplomb to increase their lead to four with twelve on the clock.
St John’s remained patient though and their calculated approach was rewarded when talisman Paddy McBride split the posts twice with two consecutive efforts to reduce arrears. However, Portglenone’s clinical prowess in front of the posts became more prominent a theme in the final ten minutes of the half. The men in yellow and black hit a purple patch as the short whistle neared with Ronan Kelly, Michael Hagan and Niall McKeever all opening their accounts. But for Eoghan Rua Lambert in goals, matters could’ve been exacerbated further for the Johnnies. Enda Lynn had come storming in on goal after the ball was turned over in midfield and it looked certain the net would rattle but the Naomh Eoin number one managed to deny the former Derry man with a fantastic save.
Six points adrift, St John’s badly needed a score before the short whistle to give them a foothold again. Their number three, Enda McGurk, took the responsibility on his shoulders as he bombed forward to find his bearings to leave the score 1-06 to 0-04 in favour of Portglenone at the interval.
The South-West side began the second period in a similar fashion to the first as they bagged another major in the opening exchanges. Enda Lynn’s audacious point off the outside of his left boot was followed up by an Oisin Doherty goal on the thirty fifth minute. Daniel McNicholl’s incisive pass threaded a route through for the Portglenone number thirteen who rounded his man to finish ruthlessly, soccer style, from a tight angle.
Despite the gap increasing to eight, St John’s kept their composure and continued to plug away. The aerial route to Conall Bohill in full forward proved a real outlet for them as the big number fourteen rose highest to win his mark, before competently sending the ball between the uprights.
It was tit for tat between the two in the third quarter as both battled to gain the ascendancy, Ronan Kelly and Danaan McKeogh exchanged points before Ryan McNulty grabbed an excellent point for St John’s as they reduced the gap to five with ten minutes left to go. Two points in quick succession from the Ports though looked to have pave the path to victory wide open. Caolan Tierney finished off a seamless Portglenone counterattack before dangerman Oisin Doherty applied the final touch to another flowing move involving Niall McKeever and Conor McGhee.
With the clock against them, St John’s reverted to aerial bombardment once again with the imposing stature of Conor Hand now deployed in full forward. Ronan Quinn’s lofted ball forward was met by Hand who rose highest to fist over from close range with only five to play.
With the gap seemingly an insurmountable one given the limited time remaining, you could’ve understood St John’s giving up the ghost. However, they refused to lie down and when Conor Adams pointed from a close range free, the men in blue had their tails up. Portglenone desperately tried to evade the press of their opponents but to no avail as St John’s were now dominating the turnover.
With a minute of normal time remaining, Conal Quinn then grabbed the goal that the Whiterock side had yearned for to send the crowd into raptures. Quinn’s effort looked destined for another Johnnies attacker to latch onto but somehow bounced into the net as Kevin Mullan in goal was deceived by the ball’s trajectory,
A mouthwatering finish was now in proposition as the game entered time added on. With two points the margin, nerves were no doubt frayed in the home dugout. Paddy McBride then pointed from a close range free to close the gap to the minimum as those nerves were probably now holding on by a thread.
The West Belfast side continued to forage forward in the dying embers to grab the all-important leveller. However, they were met by a vast expanse of yellow and black jerseys who managed to stifle their efforts and, in the end, quelled the resistance of their opponents to seal a semi final spot.
Championship knockout games are there to be won. It doesn’t matter how. Getting over that line, by hook or by crook, is everything. That will be all that matters for Portglenone, no matter the dramatic fashion. Today, they showed glimpses of the glittering attacking options that they have at their disposal. They know that it will need to be on show more consistently in the next round as they still harbour genuine Championship hopes.
For St John’s, this one may sting a little. They battled valiantly throughout and remained unfazed by the uphill battle they faced for the majority. Although it’s been a bit of a tumultuous season for them, they’ve had the opportunity to blood a few of their promising youngsters who more than played their part today. They can certainly hold their heads high and be proud of their efforts.
Teams:
Portglenone:
K Mullan; R Delargy, R Hagan (0-01,) C McGhee; D McNicholl, D McAleese, C Tierney (0-01;) N McKeever (0-01,) S Kelly; A McAleese (1-00,) M Hagan (0-01,) N Delargy; O Doherty (1-02,) E Lynn (0-01,) R Kelly (0-03)
Naomh Éoin:
E Rua Lambert; R Quinn, E McGurk (0-01,) C McEvoy; L Pedan, A McGowan, R Donnelly; A Oliver, C Hand (0-01;) R McNulty (0-01,) P McBride (0-04,) S Tierney; C Adams (0-02,) C Bohill (0-01) C Quinn (1-00)
Substitute scorers
C McGlade (0-01)
D McKeogh (0-01)
FOR MORE PICS FROM THE GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
