Cross and Passion College (CPC) faced an incredibly formidable opponent in Friday’s Clare Cup Camogie semi-final at Slemish Park, Ballymena, ultimately bowing out to a truly outstanding St Patrick’s Maghera side.
St Patrick’s produced an absolute master-class in the opening half, playing a brand of camogie that would be difficult for any team to contain. Operating with supreme efficiency across every blade of grass, they built a commanding 4-14 to 0-1 lead by the interval. Rachel McElhinney led the early charge with two clinical goals, supported by further strikes from Holly McErlean and Annie Kelly. Despite the relentless pressure from the Maghera girls, CPC kept their work rate high, with Elena McQuillan getting them on the scoreboard with a hard-earned point before the break.
Showing tremendous character and refusing to let their heads drop, CPC came out fighting in the early stages of the second half. Their persistence paid off when Kayleigh McFerran raised a green flag with a well-taken goal, and McQuillan confidently struck her second point of the afternoon to give the Ballycastle side a much-deserved lift.
However, they were simply up against a St Patrick’s team operating at the very peak of their powers. Moving seamlessly into another gear, Maghera showcased exactly why they are championship contenders. McElhinney completed a phenomenal personal performance by doubling her goal tally, while substitute Niamh Tumelty proved the depth of the squad by rattling the net with her very first possession. The undisputed highlight of the second half, though, was an awe-inspiring display of scoring from Catherine McCloskey, who fired home an incredible 2-9 to cap off a flawless team performance.
The result confirms a mouth-watering All-Derry final between two great rivals, as St Patrick’s Maghera will now face off against St Mary’s Magherafelt in an eagerly anticipated showdown in two weeks’ time.
St Killian’s Garron Tower 2-3 | St Mary’s Magherafelt 4-8
It wasn’t to be for the Tower girls in Ballymena yesterday, as a clinical St Mary’s Magherafelt side ended their St Clare Cup journey at the semi-final stage. Despite a spirited performance and a refusal to back down under pressure, the Derry side’s second-half scoring blitz proved the difference in a tough encounter.
First Half: Tower Dig Deep
The game opened with St Mary’s finding their range early, slotting over three quick points. However, St Killian’s showed great character to weather the initial storm. Aoife Molloy got the Tower off the mark with a well-taken point, followed closely by a composed free from Georgie Twigg to bring us right into the contest.
The momentum seemed to be swinging toward the Coast when Ellie McGarrell found the back of the net, narrowing the deficit to just a single point as half-time approached. Unfortunately, a late sucker-punch goal from Magherafelt’s Aimee McErlean just before the whistle left the Tower trailing 1-6 to 1-2 at the interval.
Second Half: A Mountain to Climb
The restart proved difficult for the Garron Tower defense. A quick-fire trio of goals from Magherafelt effectively settled the tie early in the second period. Despite the scoreboard getting away from them, the pride of the Tower jersey was on full display.
Midfield general Georgie Twigg continued to lead from the front, driving the team forward and refusing to let heads drop. Emma Lynn added a point to the tally, while Ellie McGarrell and Heidi McKinley were rewarded for their persistence with late goals. While these scores provided some consolation, the gap established by the Derry girls proved too wide to bridge.
St Killian’s Scorers:
Ellie McGarrell: 1-0
Heidi McKinley: 1-0
Georgie Twigg: 0-1 (f)
Aoife Molloy: 0-1
Emma Lynn: 0-1
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Aquinas Grammar secured their place in the McLarnon Cup semi-finals following a strong second-half performance against St Louis’, Ballymena at Cherryvale. Despite trailing at the interval, the Belfast school overturned a deficit to run out winners by an eight-point margin.
St Louis’ Control Early Exchanges
St Louis’, coming off a preliminary round victory over Lecale Grammar, controlled the opening 20 minutes of the contest. They established an early 1-4 to 0-1 lead, aided significantly by the game’s opening goal from Domhnall McKay, who finished to the net following a defensive mix-up by Aquinas.
Aquinas responded in the final ten minutes of the half. A goal from Patrick O’Hare helped them draw level, nullifying St Louis’ early advantage. However, the mid-Antrim side had the final say of the half, with Jay McAlonan converting a two-point score to give St Louis’ a 1-6 to 1-4 lead at the break.
Momentum Shifts to Aquinas
The dynamic of the game changed immediately upon the restart. JJ Higgins scored from the throw-in to set the tempo for Aquinas. The Belfast side quickly established a five-point lead through points from O’Hare and Fintan McArdle, combined with a second goal for the team from Jacko Watson, who intercepted a short kick-out to finish.
St Louis’ brought themselves back into contention in the 50th minute. Following a passing move involving McAlonan and Cillian Scullion, Odhrán Duffin scored a goal to narrow the gap to two points (2-10 to 2-8).
As St Louis’ committed players forward in the final ten minutes to find an equalizer, Aquinas capitalized on the counter-attack. They added several points before Conn Huston secured the victory with his side’s third goal.
Aquinas will face the winner of the quarter-final between St Mary’s CBGS, Belfast and Dean Maguirc, Carrickmore in the semi-final.
Match Stats & Scorers
Aquinas Grammar Scorers
· J Watson: 1-3
· P O’Hare: 1-3
· C Huston: 1-0
· JJ Higgins: 0-2
· F McArdle: 0-2
· V Martilla: 0-2
· J McEvoy: 0-1
St Louis’, Ballymena Scorers
· O Duffin: 1-1
· D McKay: 1-1
· J McAlonan: 0-3
· F Bradley: 0-1
· C Scullion: 0-1
· T Convery: 0-1
ST LOUIS
Eddie Smyth (All Saints) 2. James McGarry (Dunloy Cuchullains) 3. Aaron Doherty (Dunloy Cuchullains) 4. Matthew Watt (All Saints) 5. Cillian Scullion (Clann na hÉireann, Carraigin) 6. Sean O’Brien (All Saints) 7. Caleb Smith (Tir Na Nog) 8. Odhran Duffin (Moneyglass) 9. Jay McAlonan (Dunloy Cuchullains) 10. Dylan McMullan (Glenraval) 11. Fiontann Bradley (All Saints) 12. Eanna McGuckian (Dunloy Cuchullains) 13. Tom Convery (Roger Casements) 14. Domhnall McKay (Creggan) 15. Luke McAllister (Kilrea)
AQUINAS GRAMMAR
1. Cormac McGarry (GK) 2. Oliver Quinn 3. Frank Heaney 4. Oscar O’Connor 5. Conall Vaugh 6. Conor Frazer 7. Darragh McQuaid 8. Padhraig O’Hare 9. James McEvoy 10. Valo Martilla 11. JJ Higgins 12. Rhys Bray 13. Fintan McArdle 14. Conn Huston 15. Jacko Watson
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St. Pat’s Maghera finished strongly in the second period of extra time to claim a spot in the Danske Bank Leonard Cup Final after defeating St. Mary’s CBGS 4-13-2-14 at the Dub on Friday afternoon.
Matthew O’Neill’s late goal looked to have seen St. Mary’s complete a superb second half comeback in normal time, but Aodhan McCloskey kept his cool at the other end and drew the teams level at 2-11-3-08 to force extra time.
Three scores in succession from Joseph Conway and Ronan O’Loughlin (2) had Maghera in the ascendancy during the second period of extra time but it wasn’t until O’Loughlin added his third goal of the afternoon that the game was put to bed as St. Mary’s were unable to lift themselves for the second time in a thrilling and energy zapping semi-final encounter.
St. Pat’s were quickest off the mark in the early stages and had established a two-point lead before St. Mary responded through free-taker Padraig Kelly.
Kelly tied things up with a fantastic point from play and then moved his side in front for the first time shortly after.
The games opening goal fell to Maghera when Ronan O’Loughlin took possession and fired low past Dylan Hand to give his side a 1-2-0-3 lead.
O’Loughlin added a point from play in the aftermath with Kelly replying from the placed ball. Playing against the wind St. Mary’s would have been hopeful of taking a four-point deficit at the interval, but Maghera tagged on further scores before the break.
O’Loughlin shot over a fantastic curling shot from play, Sionan McCormack added another and on the stroke of half time O’Loughlin flashed home his second goal of the half to ensure his side held a healthy 2-5-0-4 advantage at the midway point.
Maghera extended their advantage after the break with O’Loughlin clipping over a free, but St. Mary’s began to make inroads with Padraig Kelly sending over two points from play between a converted free.
Both sides free-takers traded further placed balls in the aftermath and another two Kelly frees in quick succession had St. Mary’s within three=points with 12 minutes remaining (2-7-0-10).
With little over seven minutes remaining St. Mary’s tied things up when Matthew O’Neill was placed to divert a shot low to the Maghera net and restore parity.
Talisman O’Loughlin edged Maghea back in front from a converted free- it was cancelled out less than two minutes later though when substitute Daire Gault flicked a shot over as things remained a knife-edge.
St. Mary’s looked to have stolen things a minute into added time when the ball was passed across goal and Matthew O’Neil steadied himself and rifled to the net to put his side 2-11-2-08 ahead.
There was to be one last twist however as Aodhan McCloskey ran clear of the St. Mary’s defence deep into added time and showed no signs of pressure as he powered a shot past Dylan Hand to make it 2-11-3-8 and ensure extra time would be required.
Extra time:
The first period of extra time was a cautious affair and yielded a score a piece from either side with Matthew O’Neill’s third minute score cancelled out by a Harry McCloskey shot that dropped over to ensure things were delicately poised with the second period to play.
Maghera stole an early march in the second period with Joseph Conway finding time and space and shoot his side ahead for the first time since the 55th minute.
Then Ronan O’Loughlin clipped over back-to-back scores in the space of 60-seconds to make a weary St. Mary’s task a little bit tougher.
Padraig Kelly reduced arrears with a converted free but the next score would prove the games winning in the 80th minute when Ronan O’Loughlin bore down on goal and his shot squeezed away from Dylan Hand- despite the keepers best effort and trickled over the line.
A point from Ryan Murphy in the aftermath put six between the sides with St. Mary’s late penalty was in vein in any instance- Padraig Kelly’s attempt rose over and the final whistle immediately sounded from referee Lorenzo McMullan as Maghera jubilantly celebrated after an outstanding afternoon of hurling.
They now met St Louis’ Ballymena in the decider with Maghera hoping to clinch their second Ulster Colleges honour at this year group – having tasted success in the Thompson Final back in Year 8.
St. Mary’s CBGS topped Group C of the Danske Bank McLarnon Cup with a hard fought 0-10-0-09 win over St Malachy’s in the final group game at the Dub on Friday afternoon,
Going into the last round of fixtures, all teams were deadlocked on two-points after St. Mary’s defeated Leacle Trinity and St. Malachy;s accounted for Our Lady and St Patrick’s College Knock on MatchDay 2.
Leacle and Knock met on Thursday evening with the Downpatrick side running out 1-15-1-07 winners to take top spot and pole position for a passage straight into the quarter-final unless St. Mary’s could defeat their Belfast neighbours and top the group on head-to-head.
The Glen Road side played with a strong breeze in the opening half and were ahead within five minutes as Sean Og McLaren shot over a two-pointed score to get his side up and running.
Odhran McAuley then kicked a free in the aftermath before Aaron Rafferty carried the ball forward and superbly guided an angled shot inside the near post to reduce arrears after 10-minutes (0-3-0-1).
Further scores were traded as Sean Og McLaren laid the ball off for Fintan McKinney to pop over and in response Cathair McKenna offloaded to Cormac Trainor to kick a fine point midway through the half.
Back-to-back converted frees extended St. Mary’s lead, the first a straight forward effort from in front of the posts from Matthew Murray, but two minutes later he himself was fouled on the edge of the arc and he notched his sides second two-pointed score of the half.
Their scoring for the half was complete by the 27th minute with another two scores arriving before the interval.
Odhran McAuley swivelled and kicked a magnificent angled point and then Cormac McCann added another a few minutes later as their side had hit four unanswered.
Just prior to the break Aaron Rafferty swung over a free to narrowly reduce the deficit at the break, as St. Mary’s held a 0-9-0-3 advantage at halfway.
St. Malachy;s made the perfect start to the second period with a two-pointed score. Thomas Mooney popped the ball out to Cormac Trainor to swing over a fine point from outside of the arc and reduce arrears by a third.
Aaron Rafferty was then in a great position to capitalise and take possession after a slip from a St. Mary’s player coming out of defence and Rafferty shot over to half the interval deficit.
St. Mary’s only second half score came after Fintan McKinney was fouled as he went to shoot and Matthew Murray clipped over the resulting free in the 37th minute.
Midway through the second period St. Malachy;s fightback gathered further pace when Michael Jennings dropped an angled shot over to make it 0-10-0-7.
In the final ten minutes Cathair McKenna kicked two close range frees that reduced the deficit to the bare minimum but St. Mary’s closed the game out, playing the possession game effectively to secure the win that saw them top the group and head straight for the Quarter-finals in the New Year.
St. Malachy’s will meanwhile occupy third spot in the Group and face a play-off tie with the team that finishes third in Group A for a place in the last eight.
