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by thesaffrongael

St Joseph’s Dunloy win the Tony McGrath Cup

Tony McGrath Memorial Cup – Primary School Hurling

Saint Joseph’s Primary School Dunloy won the Tony McGrath Cup for the first time when they beat last year’s holders, Kilrea Primary School, in the final at the Dunloy Cuncullains Academy on Friday.

Eight teams took part in two groups of four with the top two in each groups qualifying for the semi-final. After watching the first semi-final between holders Kirea  and St Brigid’s Primary School, Mayogall the money would have been on one of the Derry schools to take the honours.

St Joseph’s Primary School, Dunloy captain Seamus McKeague receives the Tony McGrath Memorial Cup from Tony’s widow Sally and his mum Philomena

Dunloy had to work hard in their semi-final win over St Patrick’s Rasharkin and going into the final they would have been slight outsiders. However everything fell perfectly for the St Joseph’s boys in the final and they soon established a comfortable lead.

More goals followed after the change of ends and the pushed on to win convincingly in the end.

Afterwards Tony McGrath’s widow Sally and his mum Philomena presented the trophy to Seamus McKeague, captain of the St Joseph’s team.

Overall another great tournament and a fitting tribute to the great man it is named after.

St Patrick’s Rasharkin A team
St Anne’s PS Corkey
St Joseph’s PS B team
St Patrick’s & St Brigid’s PS, Ballycastle.
St Brigid’s Primary School, Mayogall who were beaten semi finalists.
St Patrick’s Rasharkin PS B team
Last year’s winners Kilrea PS, who reached this year’s final

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by thesaffrongael

Ahoghill edge out Glenavy in hard-fought Division 2 clash

Antrim Football League – Division 2

Glenavy 0-15 Ahoghill 1-14

St Mary’s Ahoghill secured a crucial victory on the road, edging out St Joseph’s Glenavy 1-15 to 0-15 in a fiercely contested Antrim Football League Division 2 encounter. The visitors ultimately took the points thanks to a decisive late goal from Colla McDonnell, but they owe a massive debt of gratitude to their goalkeeper, Ryan Martin, who produced several top-class saves at critical moments to keep the hosts at bay.

The game began as a tight, point-for-point affair. Leon Lavery opened the scoring for Glenavy with a good individual effort from play after five minutes, but Ahoghill responded quickly through Ronan Graham. Fiontan O’Boyle and Daniel O’Neill traded scores as both sides settled into the contest. Niall McCann finished off a well-worked move for the home side on twelve minutes, but Patrick Jr Graham immediately cancelled it out for Ahoghill. Christopher McGarry added another for Glenavy just after the quarter-hour mark, but the turning point of the half came moments later when Glenavy’s Darragh de Brun was shown a black card. Ahoghill capitalized on their numerical advantage perfectly. Donal Graham pointed the resulting free and proceeded to hit two more unanswered scores—one from a free and a great individual point from play—before Ronan Graham and Colla McDonnell added their names to the scoresheet. The black card period proved costly for Glenavy, leaving them trailing 0-8 to 0-5 at the interval.

Ahoghill started the second half brightly, with Alden Graham landing a massive long-range two-pointer just minutes after the restart. Michael Morgan got Glenavy off the mark for the second half, but Eamonn Brady responded with a well-taken point under severe pressure to maintain Ahoghill’s advantage. It was at this stage that Ryan Martin began his heroics in the Ahoghill net, pulling off a stunning point-blank save to deny Leon Lavery a certain goal. Glenavy’s own goalkeeper, Luke Devereux, came forward to slot over a 2pointer, sparking a brief revival for the hosts as Pearse O’Neill and the returning Darragh de Brun added points from play. Colla McDonnell kept the scoreboard ticking for the visitors before Martin was called into action once again. The Ahoghill stopper produced another brilliant point-blank save, this time from Michael Morgan, though Morgan had the presence of mind to send the rebound over the bar.

Heading into the final quarter, Ahoghill strung together some excellent team moves, resulting in fine points from Thomas McGlone and Ryan McPeake. Glenavy, refusing to throw in the towel, mounted a spirited comeback attempt. Jonathan Phillips found his range, followed by a quickfire double from Leon Lavery and another point from Pearse O’Neill to set up a tense finale. However, just as the game hung in the balance, Ahoghill struck the ultimate blow. On the thirty-minute mark, a sweeping team move was clinically finished to the net by Colla McDonnell for the game’s only goal. Christopher McGarry managed to land a two-pointer from play for Glenavy in the dying moments, but it was not enough to reel in the visitors, as Ahoghill held on for a 1-14 to 0-15 win.

Naomh Seosamh (Glenavy)

  1. Luke Devereux
  2. Patrick Fox
  3. Odhran Arthurs
  4. Oisín de Brún
  5. Cian Doherty
  6. Fiontán O’Boyle
  7. Jonathan Phillips
  8. Chris Grant
  9. Darragh de Brún
  10. James Monaghan
  11. Niall McCann
  12. Pearse O’Neill
  13. Leon Lavery
  14. Michael McCourt
  15. Christopher McGarry

Naomh Muire Achadh Eochaill (Ahoghill)

  1. Ryan Martin
  2. Shea Neeson
  3. James Magee
  4. Seamus McKeever
  5. Harry O’Donnell
  6. Ronan Graham
  7. Eamonn Brady
  8. Patrick Jr Graham
  9. Daniel O’Neill
  10. Thomas McGlone
  11. Donal Graham
  12. Patrick Dougan
  13. Conor Paul Crossey
  14. Alden Graham
  15. Colla McDonnell

Referee – Karol Doherty (Rasharkin)

TO SEE MORE OF BERT’S PICS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

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by thesaffrongael

St Brigid’s recover after a slow start

ACFL Division 1

St Brigid’s 1-22 St Mary’s, Aghagallon 2-10

Report and photos by Brian Hamill

St Mary’s, Aghagallon made an encouraging start in Belfast but were eventually overwhelmed by St Brigid’s attacking quality as the home side finished strongly to claim the Division 1 points.

Aghagallon settled quickly and stunned the hosts with an early goal from Adam Loughran before Luke Mulholland (goalkeeper) followed up with a pair of two-point frees to give the visitors real momentum. St Brigid’s initially struggled to contain Aghagallon’s direct running and found themselves chasing the game in the opening quarter.

Gradually, however, the home side began to assert control. Paul Bradley, (half-forward) became increasingly influential, knocking over a series of scores, while James Smith (full-forward) added a two-point effort and a succession of points as St Brigid’s turned the deficit into a lead. Scores from half-backs; Brian McGurk and Reuben Carlton and forward JJ Higgins ensured the hosts took command approaching the interval.

Aghagallon remained in touch for periods after the restart, but St Brigid’s continued to find scores from all angles. The hosts’ spread of attacking threats proved difficult to contain, with their leading scorers continuing to stretch the advantage.

Any hopes of a comeback were effectively ended midway through the second half when St Brigid’s midfielder Patrick Finnegan found the net from close range. Aghagallon responded almost immediately through a well-taken goal from their left corner-back Cormac Mulholland and a point from substitute Ben Dervan, but the damage had already been done.

With nine different players on the score board, St Brigid’s maintained their scoring rate to the finish. Despite the 2 goals, along with the accuracy from placed balls, Aghagallon were unable to cope with the home side’s attacking power as St Brigid’s ran out deserved winners, with a nine point advantage.

TO VIEW MORE OF BRIAN HAMILL’S PICS CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

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by thesaffrongael

Rossa beat their neighbours to erase relegation worries

Antrim Football League – Division 1

Sarsfields 1-11 Rossa 1-17 at the Bear Pit

Rossa secured a vital ACFL Division One victory over local rivals Sarsfields on Wednesday evening at the Bear Pit. Following a sluggish opening half from both sides, a blockbuster second-period performance and a decisive late goal from Thomas Morgan ensured the Jeremiah’s claimed a 1-17 to 1-11 win. The result gives Rossa much-needed security heading into their final two fixtures, while Sarsfields are left fighting for top-flight survival and must secure victories in their remaining games.

The visitors started brightly, surging into an early four-point lead inside the opening ten minutes. Goalkeeper Mick Byrne opened the scoring with a ’45’, which was quickly followed by points from Dominic McEnhill, Thomas Morgan, and Eoghan McMenamin. Sarsfields eventually found their rhythm when a driving run by Jay Maguire set up Liam Mitchell, who rifled a brilliant shot into the top corner of the net. Despite further Rossa points from Colm Fleming, Niall Crossan, and Peter Byrne, a late free by Conor Glenholmes cut the deficit to just two points at the break.

The intensity and quality stepped up significantly after the restart. Rossa pushed ahead with a string of points, but the home side responded fiercely. Cormac Murray landed a spectacular two-point effort with the outside of his boot, and substitute Daniel Smyth hit a quick-fire double to haul the Paddies right back into the contest. However, just as Sarsfields closed the gap, Morgan found space and fired into the roof of the net from a tight angle to give Rossa critical breathing room. Dominic McEnhill then took control in the closing stages, steadily keeping the scoreboard ticking to see out the six-point victory.

Sarsfields, B McCaul, J Ward, C Laverty, M McPoilin. P McPeake, L Mitchell (1-0), D Gorman, C Moley (0-1) and C Murray (0-2) C McKernan, J Maguire,F Jemfrey, T Scillen (0-1), N Ferris, and C Glenholmes (0-2) Substitutes used included J McNally (0-1), D Smyth (0-3), and C McDonnell (0-1).

For Rossa, M Byrne (0-1), M McKernan (0-1), G Walsh, F McDonald, P Byrne (0-1), S Beatty, N Crossan (0-1), M McEnhill, E McMenamin (0-1) , D McEnhill (0-6), E Fleming, D Rogan (0-1), C Fleming (0-2), T Morgan (1-3), D Rocks. Substitutes used included L McEnhill, D Morgan, and C Walsh.

Referee – Brendan Toland.

by thesaffrongael

O’Donnell’s pushed all the way by Eire Og, but they get over the line in the end

Antrim Football League – Division 3

Eire Og 0-17 O’Donnell’s 1-18

Report and pics by Philip Cooke

The battle for the Division 3 Football League title goes down to the last day with leaders Rasharkin and second placed O’Donnell’s locked on 19 points each, though Rasharkin have a superior scoring difference. While Rasharkin kept on track by travelling to Colaiste Feirste and beating Lochra Loch Lae, O’Dee’s travelled over to Woodlands and beat Eire Og in a closely contested contest.

On a hot and humid evening, the game burst into life almost immediately when Éire Óg goalkeeper King produced a remarkable goal-line save after just 19 seconds to keep his side level. Cardinal O’Donnells opened the scoring in the second minute through Fergal McNerney. The first half was a closely contested affair, with both sides trading scores in an end-to-end encounter. However, three unanswered points from Éire Óg allowed them to gain momentum and edge ahead.

Cardinal O’Donnells responded well, and with Éire Óg striking the post twice from frees in quick succession, the visitors capitalised to turn the game around. By the interval, O’Donnells held a narrow two-point advantage.

Éire Óg made the brighter start to the second half. Eoin Dixon converted a free before Luca Mulholland landed an excellent two-pointer. A further free from Conor Dixon pushed Éire Óg into the lead.

The advantage was short-lived, however, as Cardinal O’Donnells hit back through a free from Padraig McKissock and Richard McEvoy’s first score of the evening.

The contest remained finely balanced until a pivotal moment saw Éire Óg concede a penalty. Barry McDaid received his second yellow card of the match and was dismissed.

McKissock stepped up to take the penalty, but his effort was brilliantly saved by the Éire Óg goalkeeper. The rebound, however, fell kindly back into McKissock’s path, and he made no mistake at the second attempt, firing the ball to the net.

Further scores from McKissock, who added two frees, along with points from Richard McEvoy and Marc McKenna, ensured Cardinal O’Donnells finished strongly and secured the vital victory.
Scorers for Éire Óg:

Eoin Dixon 0-5 (0-4 from frees, including two two-point frees), Luca Mulholland 0-3 (1 two-point score), Conor Dixon 0-4 (0-2 frees), Conor McKenna 0-2, Patrick Maxwell 0-1, Ronan McKeown 0-1, Gavin Donnelly 0-1.

Scorers for Cardinal O’Donnells:

Padraig McKissock 1-6 (0-6 frees), Marc McKenna 0-4, Fionnbar McKernan 0-3, Jonathan McKenna 0-2, Richard McAvoy 0-2, Fergal McNerney 0-1,