St John’s secured their place in Division 1 of the Antrim football league for next season when they beat St Paul’s in their final league game of the season at Corrigan Park on Wednesday evening. The victory lifts the Johnnies out of the bottom four and they can now look forward to the championship with that pressure lifted off their shoulders. St Paul’s are now in a play-off position but if they show the workrate and determination that they display in Wednesday’s game they can be confident of avoiding the drop.
After a slow start by both teams Lorcan Phillips opened the scoring for St Paul’s with a point before Ciaran Rodgers-Duffy put them two clear, Things were staring to get a little worrying for the home side when Rogers-Duffy added two more to put them four clear, but St John’s finally got on the scoresheet with a quick double from Ronan and Odhran Quinn but the respite was short lived as St Paul’s came roaring back with a goal from Conor Hughes and when Mark Munce added a point the Shaw’s Road men were six to the good.
With half time fast approaching things looked really good for the visitors but St John’s hit back with a Conal McGlade goal before Conchur Adams reduced the deficit to two at the half time break.
The second half continued at a hectic pace and after Ryan McNulty cut the gap to a single point club legend Paddy McBride put the Johnnies in front with a brilliant goal, but at what cost as the ace forward had to retire injured.
St Paul’s reacted well to the concession of the goal and Rodgers Duffy hit a 2pointer to bring his side back on terms. The same player edged the Shaw’s Road men in front but Conchur Adams tied things up once more when he sent over for the home side. Adams was playing a leading role for the Corrigan Park outfit and after putting them ahead with a 2pointer he added another to stretch the gap to three,
However the Johnnies faithful never really got a chance to rest on their laurels as St Paul’s chipped away at their lead as Lorcan Phillips and Rogers-Duffy found the target and just a single point separated them as the clock went past the hour mark. The tension was high in those final minutes of play but to the relief of the home fans the whistle sounded with them holding that slender one point lead.
St John’s: E R Lambert, R Hannigan, J Bohill, C McEvoy, A Oliver, R Quinn 0-1, E McGurk, P Nugent, C McGlade 1-1, P McBride 1-0, D McKeogh, C Adams 0-4 (0-2F), R McNulty 0-1, O Quinn 0-3 (1x2p).
Subs: O Carleton, D Bracknell, A McGowan, M Leydon, D King, J Wilson, J Robb
St Paul’s: J McAulfield, A Kavanagh, E McGreevy, D O’Sullivan, C Killyleagh, M Munce 0-1, L Phillips 0-2, C Hughes 1-0, P Magee, N McStravick 0-3, C Duffy 0-1, N Ward, S Burns, C Duffy, C Rogers-Duffy 0-5 (0-4F)
Subs: J Rodgers, L Murphy, R McCoy, C McAlea, B Burns, N Crawford
TO SEE MORE OF BERT’S PICS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
St. Gall’s completed their division 1 campaign with a convincing away win over St. Mary’s Ahoghill in Cloney on Wednesday night. Despite being out of contention for a top four spot the Milltown Row side appear to be in championship preparation as they turned on the style to condemn St. Mary’s to bottom spot in the tables.
It was all but over by half time as first half goals from Gerard O’Neill and a Niall Burns double propelled the visitors to a 3-10 to 0-6 lead as Mark O’Neill blew his half time whistle.
Burns was in sparkling form for St. Gall’s and added two points to his first half total with Ethan Walsh 0-4, Gerard O’Neill, Colm Walsh and Liam O’Loan all on target for the Milltown side.
St. Mary’s kept going but there was an inevitability about the result and much of their recent fight for survival appeared to be missing as Dan O’Neill, Donal Graham, James O’Connell 0-2 and Neil O’Connell 0-2 responding in kind to the St. Gall’s onslaught.
It didn’t get much better for the home side after the break and they would add only two second half points through Colla McDonnell and James O’Connell while the visitors continued to score freely throughout the second half.
Once again it was Antrim county man, Niall Burns who led the way and he would add a further 0-4 to his personal tally to bring his contribution for the evening to 2-6.
Ethan Walsh and Liam O’Loan added to their first half total while a couple of substitutes got in on the scoring act as St. Gall’s emptied their bench.
Ahoghill will have a last opportunity to secure their division 1 status in the bottom 4 play-offs but they are likely to have one eye on the Intermediate Hurling championship where quite a number of those on duty on Wednesday night will again be in action.
St. Gall’s put a run of poor results behind them with this excellent victory and they could be running into form just at the right time for the forthcoming championship and will fancy their chances of giving it a rattle.
Antrim Football League – Div One Tir na Nog 2-08 Cargin 2-24
Cargin top the table at the conclusion of the Division One league following a last round win gained over the hard grafting men from Whitehill before a good crown on a perfect sod on Wednesday evening in what was to be a proverbial ‘game of two halves’. The home side aware that only a win would possibly ensure a place in the top grade for another term without a ‘play off’, emerged from the start off in a positive mode, despite a smart getaway from their visitors. Cargin raised three white flags in the opening few minutes, but an early goal despatched by Emmett Murray plus points apiece from Manus Smith and Daniel Martin served notice that the Ogs were not to go down without a fight. Such early positivity within the ranks of the ‘Jackman’ led side was not as a momentary token gesture as the home side continued to ask questions of their visitors, and even after Tomas Mc Cann, not one to ever lurk in the shadows, found the net for the men in green, following assistance from the ever busy Sean O’ Neill found the net. The Toome men, having topped the league pile for quite a time, had poked their noses ahead following the three pointer and by the 20th minute.
They went on to open a healthy looking eight point gap when Michael Mc Cann, PJ Quinn, Brendan Laverty and Tomas Mc Cann, raised respective white flags, in answer to just one at the other end by Aaron Mc Neilly. The visitors did look to take charge in the latter stages but the hard grafting home side served well by Aaron Mc Neilly, Daniel Martin, and their net minder Aidan Toland were having none of that. The goalkeeper, who was to make several outstanding saves over the sixty minutes, had displayed his prowess in the opening period whilst white flags raised in sequence at the other end by Barry Mc Cormick and Oliver Mc Atamney and a fine Josh Higgins long range effort, reeled the visitors in and when Manus Smith found the net the Whitehill men were back on terms at the short whistle on 2-06 to 1-09.
The home fans must have taken great heart from their team’s second quarter comeback and were looking forward to the second half, but the county champions burst from the start traps when match official Darren Mc Keown’s got the second half underway and two minutes in, a PJ Quinn point put them back in front. The Whitehill men did look to provide answer to their visitors as the second period progressed but with the imperious Gerard Mc Cann and John Carron dominating in the central zone and the always hard grafting Sean O’ Neill working hard to serve the front men, white flags raised in sequence by Michael Mc Cann and Benen Kelly pushed them 1-13 to 2-06 ahead.
The home side led in rear guard action by Barry Mc Cormick, Ciaran O’ Neill and Josh Higgins did work hard to thwart the intentions of their visitors, but the Erin’s Own men were firmly in command they stretched their lead to 1-17 to 2-06 by the 50th minute. Tir na nÓg did work hard to repel their visitors but Cargin had the whiff of victory in their nostrils and Benen Kelly added a point with Tomas Mc Cann following with a ‘two pointer’ fetched from 60 metres and they stretched their lead to ten. (1-19 to 2-06) When Sean O’ Neill dashed forward to find the net following with a point a minute later, the only thing in question was the size of the winning margin.
Having been on the defensive for most of the second period the home side did look to provide a positive finish and indeed such was delivered with back to back white flags raised by Barry Mc Cormick and Darren 0’ Kane, but the last say on the scoreboard was provided by the excellent Sean O’ Neill to see Cargin complete on the winning trail at 2-24 to 2-08. Referee Darren Mc Keown Teams Tir na Nog
Aiden Trowland, Declan Mallon, Ciaran Mc Grellis, D Mc Larnon, Paul Mc Closkey, Ciaran 0’ Neill (0-01), Barry Mc Cormick (0-01), Josh Higgins (0-01), Oisin Mc Atamney (0-01), Aaron Mc Neilly (0-02), Daniel Martin, Emmett Murray, Calub Smith, Dara Feagan, Manus Smith (1-02) Subs Barry Magee (0-01) Darren O’ Kane Conor Hastings Ryan Crilly Brendan Devlin Cargin Shea Laverty, Niall Quinn, Charlie Mc Cann, Brendan Laverty (0-02), Benen Kelly(0-02), James Laverty (0-01), Jack O’ Neill, John Carron, Gerard Mc Cann, David Johnston (0-02), Sean O’ Neill (1-04), PJ Quinn (0-03), Marty Kane, Michael Mc Cann (0-03), Tomas Mc Cann (1-07 2#) Subs Callum Gribbin (0-01) Patrick O’ Neill Darren Mc Daid Oran Molloy Cian Scullion
Report by Tony McCollum – Photos by John Curly McIlwaine
In a game where both teams were short a few regulars because of holidays and injuries a strong second half saw Kickhams finish their league campaign with a convincing win over Aldergrove in Creggan.
Shea McCann scored a second half hat-trick to sink the Aldergrove challenge
Ruairi McCann started the scoring with his first point in the second minute followed by a Conor Small two pointer. Aldergrove came back strongly with three points of their own from Eoin Gough, Seamus McGarry and Declan Gough, but further points from Shea McCann, Mathew Rodger’s and Dominic McAteer again gave Kickhams the lead. However Aldergrove came back with well taken points by Conor Browning and full forward Ronan Hanna to stay very much in touch.
With both teams happy to play open attacking football Kickhams scored three more points from Mathew McCann, Conor Small and Jamie McCann and only one point reply from Seamus McGarry.
On the 24th minute the very influential Conor McCann burst through the middle to score Creggan’s first goal, while Aldergrove’s last score of the half came in the 29th minute, but Kickhams hit a late scoring burst which saw a well taken Anton Martin point and another Mathew Rodgers score to finish the half off with his third point to leave the score at halftime Kickhams 1-12 to Aldergrove 0-08.
The game as a contest was over inside the first 10 minutes of the second half as Jamie McCann hit a two pointer in the second minute and his younger brother Shea scoring two well taken goals in the 34th & 35th minutes. Conor Small got in on the act with his fourth point in the five minutes later but Shea McCann continued his scoring tally with two more points and Rodgers adding another one. Ronan Hanna of Aldergrove scored his team’s first point of the second half on 44 minutes but Shea McCann wasn’t finished yet and he completed his hat-trick with another top class finish, while Mathew Rodgers, who led the full forward line well throughout the game, kicked his fourth point on the 21st minute. In fairness to Aldergrove they kept battling away and got two more points from Oisin Graham and Declan Gough, but again it was Kickhams who finished the scoring with points apiece from Ruairi and Dominic McAteer to leave the final score.
TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
Brendan McTaggart reports from Fr McGinn Park, Glenravel
Dunloy finished off their league campaign with an eight point win over the Con Magees on Wednesday evening. Under the late evening sunshine and the midges, the Cuchullains laid the foundations for this victory in the opening quarter of the first half where they scored two goals in the space of five minutes. The visitors dominated and went into an eight point lead that Glenravel rarely looked like overcoming.
The statistics make for tidy reading for Dunloy by the end of the hour with 11 different scorers and just three points of their final tally coming from placed ball. They did reach double figures in wides but this was a contest that they controlled for long periods.
Sean McKay top scored for the home side with three frees in his tally of five points while Conleth O’Loan was always a threat on the inside forward line. He would finish with 1-2, his goal coming towards the end of the first half while Colla Ward and Niall Swann also caught the eye. While they attacked with precision, they couldn’t curtail the Dunloy attacking unit who could have added to their overall tally.
It was the Con Magees who opened the scoring with Eamon Ward pointing in the second minute. Dunloy were dictating the early proceedings but were being held out with some disciplined and well organised Glenravel defending.
Dunloy’s first score came in the eighth minute through Ryan McGarry. Seaan Elliott had the ball 40 yards from goal and waited on the run from McGarry coming through the middle. The Dunloy defender would burst through and finish superbly to give Shaun O’Boyle little chance of stopping his effort.
Points followed from the impressive Keelan Molloy and Eoin McFerran in quick succession. It could have been their second major before McFerran’s point but McGarry’s punched effort came back off the post.
The second Dunloy goal came in the 13th minute with Conor Kinsella showing the Glenravel defence a clean pair of heals before an expert finish put his side into an eight point lead.
The home side would hit back to back points through O’Loan and Conrad McIlhatton and began to warm to the task posed to them. Dunloy added scores from Molloy (2) and Seaan Elliott with a solitary free from McKay the response for the home side but the Con Magees would finish the half strongly.
Points from the marauding Colla Ward and McKay (free) brought Glenravel to within six points before they would find the back of the Dunloy net in the 26th minute. A long ball was sent in to the Dunloy defence and O’Loan judged the flight perfectly with the bounce wrong footing the Cuchullains defenders, the Glenravel man stole in behind and beat Peter McQuillan with a low finish with his right foot.
Dunloy and Karl Fitzpatrick rounded off the scoring with a free in the last minute of the half to leave the half time score 2-7 to 1-6 in the Cuchullains favour.
Half time probably came at the wrong time for the home side as they looked to have Dunloy on the back foot and the visitors made the most of the break. They outscored Glenravel three points to two in the opening five minutes of the second half with points coming from substitute Charlie Cunning, Kinsella and Molloy with McKay and O’Loan the Glenravel response.
The Cuchullains third goal came in the 38th minute and came at the end of a brilliant counter attack. Padraig McGilligan claimed a high ball in the middle of the park and recycled superbly despite under pressure. Elliott surged through the middle and had options either side, passing to McQuillan on his left. The Dunloy forward elected to pass to McGarry at the back post and he palmed the ball to the back of the net for his second major of the evening and put daylight between the sides once again.
Eamon Ward and Jack Martin swapped points as the sides went toe to toe. They shared four points equally, O’Neill and McKay (free) for the home side with Kevin McQuillan and Molloy for Dunloy before Glenravel scored three points in barely two minutes to cut the Dunloy lead to five with less than 10 minutes remaining. Scores coming from McKay and substute Daragh Donaghy and while O’Neill added his second of the night, he had half a chance for goal before blazing over the bar.
Substitute Callum Scullion and Molloy fired over either side of a Joe Martin point for Glenravel before the home side were reduced to 14 men. Ronan McCormick getting a black card for dragging Eoin McFerran as Dunloy looked to cut through the Glenravel defence once more.
The Cuchullains rounded off the scoring with points from Fitzpatrick (free) and Elliott in the time that remained to run out comfortable winners.
Both sides were missing plenty of regulars from the starting 15 and with both their status virtually secured before the ball was throw in, there wasn’t much to play for in this other than game time. Both sides now have a four week break before the championship starts in the first weekend of August.
TEAMS
DUNLOY: Peter McQuillan; Michael Trainor, Aaron Crawford, Cathair McCloskey; Conor Kinsella, James Scally, Ryan McGarry; Eoin McFerran, Padraig McGilligan; Jack Martin, Seaan Elliott, Chrissy McMahon; Keelan Molloy, Kevin McQuillan, Karl Fitzpatrick
Subs: Charlie Cunning for C McMahon (HT); Callum Scullion for J Martin (44); Sean Og Blaney for A Crawford (44)
Scorers: K Molloy 0-7 (1f); R McGarry (2-00); C Kinsella 1-1; S Elliott 0-2; K Fitzpatrick 0-2 (2fs); E McFerran 0-1; J Martin 0-1; K McQuillan 0-1; C Cunning 0-1; C Scullion 0-1
GLENRAVEL: Shaun O’Boyle; Conor Carey, Eoin McCusker, Conrad McIlhatton; Colla Ward, Niall Swann, Ronan McCormick; David Higgins, Rian Lennon; Joe Martin, Sean McKay, Eamon Ward; Conleth O’Loan, Aiden O’Donnell, Sean Og O’Neill
Subs: Daragh Donaghy for E McCusker (49); Joe Leech for C McIlhatton (59)
Scorers: S McKay 0-5 (3fs); C O’Loan 1-2; S Og O’Neill 0-2; E Ward 0-2; J Martin 0-1; C McIlhatton 0-1; C Ward 0-1; D Donaghy 0-1
Referee: Kevin Parke (Naomh Éanna)
TO SEE MORE PICS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
