The old saying, goals win games! rang clear at St. Mary’s Ahoghill on Sunday afternoon as Naomh Comhghall, Antrim defeated St. Mary’s Rasharkin in a highly entertaining U16C championship final.
Matthew McLornan hit 1-4 and his colleague, Thomas Doherty contributed 1-2 with the ‘Town’s’ other first half 2 pointer coming from Michael Sloan as they led St. Mary’s 2-8 to 0-7 at half time at a sun kissed Cloney.
Shea McFerran was Rasharkin’s leading marksman during the opening period and he contributed 0-5 during a first half where those two goals were the difference with Conor McGaughey and Paddy Carey adding points apiece.
Whatever the Rasharkin half time talk contained, it seemed to work with the Blue & Amber hoops rattling off three quick points on the restart through Conor McGaughey, Sean Casey and a Paul McMullan free to close the gap to four by the 4th minute.
Their good work was soon undone however when Naomh Comhghall were awarded a penalty in their first attack of the half and team captain Michael Sloan confidently stroked it home.
Shea McFerran from play and then with a converted free and another well struck point from Paul McMullan had it back to four again at the end of the third quarter and at this stage the momentum was very much with the boys from Dreen.
Naomh Comhghall then lost a player to a Black card as Shea McFerran added another St. Mary’s point and it was down to three and Naomh Comhghall were in need of a score to stem the tide.
Pearse Harrison provided one and then another from two converted frees before Shea McFerran replied again for the St. Mary’s side and another from Paul McMullan had it back to three again.
It still looked anybody’s game at this stage with Michael Sloan hitting a great point from distance for the Antrim town side and McMullan and Harrison exchanged further points as the clock counted down.
With three still the difference between the sides Naomh Comhghall won a ‘45’ and Michael Sloan’s well struck effort looked to have the legs for a point but it dipped at the last minute and deceived Patrick McFadden, who was facing the blinding sun, and ended in the net. A great game of football littered with some excellent scores but in the end it was goals that proved the difference and it was a proud Michael Sloan who received the U16C Cup from Rasharkin stalwart, Danny McLarnon
Danny McLarnon presents the U16C Football Championship trophy to Naomh Comhghall captain, Michael Sloan
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Na Piarsaigh overcame the challenge of a Laochra Loch Lao side, strongly fancied in some quarters, in this Junior Football Championship semi-final at Colaiste Feirste on Saturday to set up a place in the final against St. Agnes in two weeks-time.
Saturday’s opponents had met in the group stages a few weeks back at Pairc Naomh Una and on that occasion it was the Irish Language side who came out tops and by virtue of that win they would have went into Saturday’s semi-final strongly fancied.
Na Piarsaigh have shown marked improvement from that defeat however and their quarter-final win over Ardoyne suggested that they were running into form just at the right time and so it proved to be.
The Antrim Road side edged an easily forgettable opening half to lead by three at the interval with their defence sweeping up everything that Laochra could muster and pushed on to dominate the second half with goals from Fion Grew and Sean Moreland seeing them coast home.
Liam Deegan for Na Piarsaigh and Kevin Devine for the home side exchanged early points but further white flags raised by Philip Murray and a Sean Moreland free had the visitors two in front by the 13th minute of a low scoring opening half.
Cathal O’Ceallaigh raised Laochra Loch Lao’s second point of the half in the 20th minute but it would conclude their first half scoring as the Na Piarsaigh defence dealt with everything that came their way and it would be Murray and Moreland who would conclude the first half scoring with Pearse’s points.
Half Time 0-2 TO 0-5
Laochra Loch Lao got little change from a well organised Na Piarsaigh defence in the first half and it was imperative that they got off to a good start in the second if they were to swing this game in their favour but in truth it never looked like happening.
Instead it was Na Piarsaigh who stepped it up a notch on the resumption and Fion Grew followed up on a great save by the Laochra keeper to fire over after 20 seconds to extend their lead to four.
Daire McMenamin had it briefly back to three with a point in the 4th minute but Na Piarsaigh struck decisively with a goal from Fion Grew, two minutes later and even at that early stage, it looked like being an uphill struggle for the hosts.
It never looked like materialising as Daire McPilib’s point for the home side was quickly cancelled by a Liam Deegan pointed free at the other end and when Sean Moreland punished a poor kick-out, with his side’s second goal in the 11th minute it was as good as over.
The North Belfast side continued to turn the screw with James Smyth striking a fine point and at the other end Eamon McKenna brought off a good save as Laochra tried to respond.
The excellent Liam Deegan from a free and another great effort from play put the game well beyond the reach of the opposition with seven minutes of normal time remaining before Laochra’s best player, Cathal O’Cealliagh replied with a 2 pointer at the other end.
At this stage it was merely consolation as Liam Deegan for the men in Green and PJ O’Prey exchanged late points to conclude the scoring and confirm Na Piarsaigh’s place in the final in two-week’s time.
They will face league winners, Naomh Una in that decider and the Woodlands side will probably start that one as favourites but they will have to be at their best to beat this Na Piarsaigh side who have shown great improvement at the business end of the season and will fancy their chances.
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Moneyglass booked their place in this year’s Intermediate showpiece thanks to an absolutely scintillating second half showing where their main men really came to the fore. Hat-trick hero, Aidan McErlain, was in sublime form amassing a tally of 3-05 over the hour. The breakneck pace at which he and his teammates exploited any gaps within the St Teresa’s rearguard, ultimately led to the demise of the Glen Road side. When the Super T’s weren’t busy trying to thwart the Moneyglass centre-forward, they had to contend with the dynamic Tiernan McCormick, whose pace on the front-foot was just as devastating.
However, despite eventually cruising to a handsome thirteen point win, the South West side did not have it all their own way. For forty minutes, the pendulum of momentum swung this way and that as the game was firmly in the melting point. With the scores deadlocked at the interval, Naomh Treasa had actually nudged into a two point lead thanks to scores from Jay Mallon and Eoghan Hamill with thirty seven minutes on the clock. Just as it was appearing that the favourites tag was wearing heavy on the men from Lough Beg, McErlain unleashed the second of his three goals with an emphatic finish, and they never looked back. The dismissal of St Teresa’s rock at the back, Paul Johnston, moments later, compounded their woes as their opponents capitalised ruthlessly on the gaps that opened up.
Proceedings started brightly as each side looked menacing going forward. With ten minutes gone, the sides were locked at two a piece with Niall McCann and Phil Maguire on target for the Belfast side which were cancelled out by efforts from Sean Boyd and Colm Duffin. Both were battling to gain the ascendancy; Moneyglass were looking most dangerous when they moved the ball with pace and fluidity through the hands as St Teresa’s were utilising runners from deep and employing a more patient and probing approach. St Ergnat’s nudged ahead thanks to Duffin again but were pegged back minutes later thanks to John Mallon who found his bearings with a two-pointed free.
The game’s first major arrived on the eighteenth minute. An outrageous diagonal ball from Tiernan McCormick split the St Teresa’s defence wide open paving McErlain through on goal. Netminder, Mark Small, had raced from his box to narrow the angle but the talismanic number eleven squeezed it under him and despite Paul Johnston’s best efforts on the line, the umpires brandished their green flag.
McErlain was then inches from repeating his feat from the resulting kickout, as he discharged another goal-bound rocket only to see it kiss the wrong side of the crossbar and over for a point.
Naomh Treasa responded well though. A prominent figure in their Championship campaign to date, Niall McCann, hit back with a perfectly flighted two pointed free off the deck and another white flag minutes after for good measure to tie things up once more. It really was tit for tat now as the game approached the short whistle, brothers Seanchan and Colm Duffin combined well on the twenty sixth minute with the former arrowing over a superb effort from the left flank. Again though, this would only incite another response from the Belfast natives with Mallon and McCann extending their respective tallies. A monster effort from Colm ‘Smiley’ Duffin from just inside the arc would see the teams retreat at the break in stalemate as the scoreboard read 0-09 to 1-06.
Whatever words of wisdom were imparted in the Moneyglass changing room at the break certainly had the desired effect as the men in blue and navy would go on to run riot. Despite Jay Mallon and Eoghan Hamill opening the second half scoring, St Ergnat’s were men on a mission. Their first score of the second period would come from an all too familiar source as that man McErlain demonstrated his prowess from distance arcing his effort over from the placed ball for an orange flag. Sean Boyd then pounced from the resulting kick-out as they started transitioning through the gears.
The next three-minute period ultimately decided the fate of the game. With the half seven minutes old, McErlain would strike again and in style. A typically direct and surging dart forward opened up adequate space to pull the trigger as he thumped the size five high into the roof of the white curtain. St Teresa’s sought to launch a reply but were shortly after reduced to fourteen as two yellows spelt the end of Paul Johnston’s day.
With Moneyglass constantly looking to stretch their legs, they licked their lips at the proposition of more open grass to target. They dealt the Glen Road side another hammer blow on the forty fifth minute as McErlain blasted home yet again in a near carbon copy to his second. The death knell was then well and truly sounded five minutes later as Tiernan McCormick grabbed a fourth goal. A trademark slaloming run forward at pace opened up the required space to fire at goal. Small in goal saved well though with an outstretched hand but was powerless to stop the Moneyglass number five jumping among the melee to fist to the net.
With ten remaining, the result was a foregone conclusion and both teams had emptied their benches. Conor Boyd, Ronan Campbell and Ryan Boyd all announced their arrivals with well-taken scores. Tiernan McCormick, not satisfied with just a goal to his name, added a further two points to his tally curling in off the right flank.
Credit to St Teresa’s though, despite their numbers being further reduced due to a black card, they kept plugging away and Niall McCann, Eoghan Hamill and Eoin Connolly epitomised their resilience as they converted scores of their own before Cathal McDermott’s final whistle.
So, just as many would’ve predicted, Moneyglass will compete in yet another Intermediate final. With a potent arsenal of attacking weaponry at their disposal, they will surely go enter as favourites yet again. They will have a keen eye on tomorrow’s meeting between Sarsfields and Glenavy. Many are anticipating yet another fascinating duel with Sarsfields, however, the Chapel Hill side have caught the eye in recent weeks and an intriguing game is in prospect.
Teams:
St Teresa’s:
M Small; R Mallon, P Johnston, C O’Rawe; C McGoldrick, E Connolly (0-01,) C Mallon; D McCann, S Maguire; E Hamill (0-02,) P McGoldrick, N McCann (0-08 – 0-04 & 2tp;) J Mallon (0-03 – 0-01 &1tp,) P Maguire (0-01,) A Taylor
Moneyglass:
J McLaughlin; M Mullan, Z McCaughan, J McCormick; T McCormick (1-02,) P Duffin, C McCann; K McCann, S Duffin (0-01;) S Boyd (0-02,) A McErlain (3-05,) F Duffin; C O’Kane, C Duffin (0-03,) T Cassidy
Substitute Scorer:
C Boyd (0-01)
R Campbell (0-01)
R Boyd (0-02 – 1tp)
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Division 3 league winners, St. Agnes are just one game away from a famous double after defeating Eire Og in a competitive Junior Football Championship semi-final at Pairc Una on Saturday evening.
They didn’t get it all their own way against an Eire Og side who were still in contention late in the game when Mark Graham finished to the net from close range to close the gap to four.
As they had done throughout the game, the Aggies were always able to respond and the league winners finished strongly to win by seven in the end and book a place in the final against Na Piarsaigh.
The home side were competing for the first time in the knockout phase after an unbeaten run in the group stages which saw them clinch victory in all three games to earn top spot and automatically enter the semi-final stage.
Éire Óg overcame the challenge of O’Donnell’s just a fortnight ago at the quarter-final stage and squeezed through to take a place in Saturday’s semi-final and while they were competitive throughout, they were much too laboured in their build up play, especially in the opening half.
Eire Og goal scorer, Mark Graham gets his shot away as Defender Reilly attemprts to clock
It was the Derriaghy men who had a great early opportunity when a goal looked on when Lorcan McIlroy found space and drove past his marker but his weakly struck shot was easily dealt with by Colum Carrol in the St Agnes’ nets.
James Campbell got the first score of the game after he pointed for St. Agnes but Conall Smyth replied with two points for the Óg’s to swing the early momentum in their favour with the second a great effort that clipped the inside of the post.
St. Agnes made a positive response however as they replied with a goal from James Campbell in the 15th minute to take a lead they would never subsequently lose.
Aggies wing-back, Caomhin Floyd’s shot looked to be going over but came back of the upright and Campbell gathered the rebound before dispatching his effort low and into the bottom corner.
The same player followed up his major with a point to pile on the pressure as the Aggies began to take control and David McGaharan added another from out on the wing, much to the delight of the Aggies support.
James Connell pulled one back for Eire Of just before half time but it was St. Agnes who led by six at the break as both teams made the long trek to the dressing rooms..
The second half began with a number of personnel changes in the Eire Og lineout and the Derriaghy men made a positive start with their attacking play looking far more potent when Lorcan McIlroy struck just after the break to reduce the deficit to five.
McIlroy then converted two frees and a superb effort from the impressive Conor McKenna had the Eire Og bench on their toes in approval and at this stage a shock looked a distinct possibility.
They were awarded a free just moments after McKenna’s score and the same player had the opportunity to reduce the gap to two points but this time the Eire Og sharp shooter pulled his effort wide.
It proved a pivotal moment in the game as the ‘Aggies’ responded in style to take control with Conall Turley leading the way and the big full-forward would finish the game with 7 points to wrestle control from their opponents.
Turley extended his side’s lead to seven with just nine minutes remaining and it looked as good as over for the opposition but they kept fighting to the end.
Conor Turley who scored 0-7 for St. Agnes drops back to help out in defence
They were rewarded for their efforts when a long delivery fell favourably for Mark Graham and the former Casement’s man flicked the ball beyond Carroll in the Aggies goals to reduce the deficit to four.
Time was not on the side of the underdogs however and St. Agnes responded again when David McGaharan struck two points in quick succession to put the game firmly out of their opponents reach.
Turley sealed victory when he popped over another free for his seventh of the evening to put further daylight between the sides as the referee blew his whistle for the final time.
St. Agnes will now start favourites when they take on Pearses in the final in two weeks-time with the possibility of a league and championship double very much alive but they could face a stiff test from a Pearses side who have run into a bit of form just at the right time.
St Agnes’: C Carroll; C Flannery, K McCormick, P Carroll; R Gilligan 0-1, R Reilly, K Floyd 0-1; D Turley 0-1, P Mulgrew; C McBride 0-1, S Madden, J Campbell 1-2; D McGarahan 0-5, C Turley 0-7 (0-5f), C Clarke.
Subs: C Gregory, C McKee, P McClenagahn, O McKenna, D Quigley, C Kennedy, C Gilligan
Éire Óg: J King; B McDaid, B O’Malley, J Devlin 0-1; C Rice, C McKenna 0-1, K Clark; P McNeils B O’Malley; S Erskine, R Donnelly 0-1, G Donnelly; C Smyth 0-3, L McIlroy 0-4 (0-2f), M Graham 1-0
Subs: R Clarke, J Connell 0-1, K Vesall, E Sheehy, J George
Referee: Sean Elliott (Lamh Dhearg)
Roy McLarnon of St. Agnes presents a cheque for £500-00 to Paddy McIlwaine before the St. Agnes v Eire Og semi-final in Belfast on Saturday. Paddy was receiving it on behalf of the Saffron Gael
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Brídíní Óga Glenravel really got out of jail in this keenly-contested Doherty Woodshavings Antrim Intermediate semi-final in Ballycastle on Saturday afternoon.
With the game slipping into added time, they trailed by 0-8 to 2-4 and looked on the way out of the competition.
Then Molly Woulahan was fouled 25 metres out and free-taker Torie Edgar drove her shot off a defender’s stick into the roof of the net. A minute later the same combination created a second free that the Glenravel captain pointed. There wasn’t time for Cushendall to get a goal.
The Bridini Oga and Ruairi Og teams stand for a minutes silence in memory of John Dornan, whose son Chris, a Ruairi Og clubman, is the Bridini Oga team manager
While both defences were in control, the failure of Brídíní Óga initially to deliver scores at regular intervals and then Cushendall’s failure to add more than two points during the second half, kept a scrappy encounter in the boiling pot right until the very end.
Brídíní Óga started well enough and went 0-5 to 0-1 ahead after 11 minutes, the opening two points from Orlaith Gould and Shauna McDonnell and followed by three frees from Edgar.
Orlaith McCurry had opened Cushendall’s account and added a second point in the 12th minute.
However from then until the finish, the Dall defence was superb, well-organised with McCurry and the midfielders filtering back to assist. Torie Edgar point from play after 25 minutes was the only score for the eventual winners until she pointed a free in the 40th minute.
By then Cushendall were in the lead and looking comfortable despite the Glenravel team having the balance of the play.
Clíodhna Thompson goaled in the 24th minute and Niamh McNeill added a second three-pointer after good work from Orlaith McCurry to take a 2-2 to 0-6 lead at the break.
Kirsty Laverty’s long-range shot on the re-start went all the way to Cushendall net, but was ruled out for a player in the goal area obstructing Louise Mulholland. That let-off lifted the Cushendall team and Clíodhna Thompson made the gap three with a point from a free.
There were just two more scores over the next 20 minutes, both Edgar frees, until Thompson picked up the sliotar breaking from a long free from Ellen Leech and made it a two point game with two minutes plus added time left.
The Glenravel girls pulled a shot or two wide of the target but a great run out of defence by Erin Coulter started the move which led to the Molly Woulahan free which saw Edgar fire through a packed goalmouth to save the day and put them through to a first final at this level since they beat Portglenone in 2022.
Portglenone bowed out of this season’s competition in the other semi-final. They were beaten by Loughgiel IIs by 1-21 to 0-6.
Loughgiel therefore face Brídíní Óga Glenravel in the final on October 11th.
