Senior League A
Ballymacnab 2-9 Armagh Harps 2-18
Ballymacnab got off to a flyer in Friday night’s Round 9 league clash against Armagh Harps, with the home side driving into a commanding 1-3 to 0-1 lead after 10 minutes of play. Finnen Maguire got the Round Towers off the mark after two minutes while a pointed free from Kevin Kelly left the sides all square.
Oisin McGivern pointed a free for the hosts before a brilliantly worked move saw Gavin McParland smash the ball to the net after a great turnover in defence by Sean Lynch. Paul Meegan’s effort from way out on the left wing saw Ballymacnab continue their fine start as the Harps replied with two points of their own through Kelly and Karol Loughran to leave the goal the difference between the sides.
Kieran Hughes and Mark McCoy swapped scores before a long range Jack Grugan free made four the margin once again. The Harps rattled off three points in a row, Conn Stephenson kicking two while Caolan McQuaid also got in on the action. Gavin McParland converted two excellent free kicks from near the sideline but Armagh Harps replied with James McCoy and Loughran chipping in with scores, leaving Ballymacnab ahead at the interval 1-7 to 0-9.
Ballymacnab started the quickest once more after the throw in with a Gavin McParland free and Jemmy Gray goal sandwiching a Mark McCoy minor. It was all Harps from here on in however as they hit a whopping 2-8 to a single Ballymacnab score in the final 25 minutes of the match.
Conn Stevenson got a hand to a Kevin Kelly shot which dropped short, the ball finishing in the back of the net, leaving one now the difference. Conor Murphy levelled before the Harps stormed ahead for the first time in the game, Conn Stevenson again raising a white flag for the men in blue and white.
Tom O’Kane built on the momentum for the town side while Gavin McParland chipped over an easy free to cut the margin to three. Kevin Kelly struck a free but Ballymacnab had the perfect chance to bring themselves back into it with a penalty for an off the ball incident, unfortunately the Nab couldn’t seize the opportunity as the ball was kicked wide of the post.
Harps pushed further ahead with their next attack, Caolan McQuaid’s point putting five between the sides as the Harps continued to pile the pressure on Ballymacnab. Points from Kelly, Conor Murphy (2) and Declan McKenna saw Armagh Harps finish nine points ahead of their opponents, with the scoreboard reading Ballymacnab 2-9 Armagh Harps 2-18.
Friday night also saw Dromintee and Killeavy play out a game of two halves, with Killeavy, the visitors, in front 0-7 to 0-4 at the half way point before a dominant second half showing allowed Dromintee to pull away, 2-10 to 0-9 the score at the final whistle. Silverbridge produced a brilliant display to get over St Patrick’s, finishing 3-12 to 2-7 on Saturday evening.
Senior League B
Madden 5-14 Sarsfields 3-16
Sarsfields led by five points heading into the additional 8 minutes the referee had added on at the end of the game, happy with the evening’s hard work, having wrapped up a further two points. But Madden had other ideas, and an astonishing finale saw Madden spark a revival, strike 2-4 and steal victory from the grasp of Sarsfields hands.
Both sides had chances at the beginning of the half, the story of the first quarter being Madden converted their chances through Conor Grimley, Ciaran Rafferty and Ryan Grimley while Sarsfields struck 9 wides during this period. Sarsfields opened their account in the 19th minute and levelled the game with a well taken goal before drifting into a three point lead, raising three white flags in a row.
Aron McKenna traded scores with the Sarsfields attack before Ryan Loughran bombed forward from his wing half back position to find the net for Madden. McKenna again swapped points to level the game 1-5 apiece at the half time break.
Good work from Liam Grimley allowed Niall Smith to attack and strike for goal to give Madden a three point advantage but Sarsfields soon found themselves ahead with four points in quick succession. Both teams rattled the others net, Conor Grimley walking the ball into the goal having rounded the keeper, before Aron McKenna levelled the game with less than 20 minutes remaining.
Sarsfields raced ahead in a dominant 10 minute period where they rattled off 1-3 before Ciaran Rafferty’s point was cancelled with another white flag raised for Sarsfields. Madden battled back with three points from Liam Grimley (2) and Conor Grimley but two more Sarsfields efforts saw the score 3-15 to 3-10 with 60 minutes on the clock.
Then came the comeback. Niall Smith ventured forward once again to split the posts before super sub Christopher McParland (just 17 years old) came on to pull the game out of the fire with a brilliant goal. Aron McKenna levelled the match, Madden seemingly happy to settle for the draw. Sarsfields went on the attack and went one in front with time almost up.
There was time for more heroics, this time from Conor Grimley, who struck 1-1 in the dying minutes to give Madden an unbelievable victory which sees them sit 4th in the table, just one point behind St Peter’s and four points off the top.
St Peter’s 0-9 Granemore 1-11
Granemore earned a hard fought but deserved victory away to St Peter’s on Saturday evening, Lewis Hughes’ goal the main difference between the sides. Shea Geraghty got the game up and running in the second minute with a pointed free while Jason O’Neill scored for his side two minutes later.
The hosts went two ahead when Caolan O’Neill and Geraghty both split the posts although the sides were soon tied with O’Neill and Pete Carr knocking over Granemore’s second and third points. Niall McConville and the accurate Geraghty’s points were cancelled out by Jason O’Neill with his scores again drawing the game.
The two main scorers for each team, Geraghty and O’Neill traded points while great, direct running from Pete Carr along with assistance from O’Neill saw Lewis Hughes put through for the easiest of finishes, the goal the difference between the sides. Liam Doyle’s free gave Granemore some breathing space at the end of the half, heading in at the break 1-7 to 0-6.
Paddy McGibbon brought St Peter’s back to within three before Granemore wing half back Cathal O’Hare made four the deficit once again. Liam Doyle converted a point following a great turnover in defence while McGibbon was once again on target for the Lurgan men. Jason O’Neill swapped points with Danny McNally before Liam Doyle’s point ended the contest with Granemore running out deserved winners, 1-11 to 0-9.
Clann Eireann continued their rich vein of form with a seven point victory over hosts Culloville, 1-16 to 1-9 the final score while elsewhere Pearse Ogs put Annaghmore to the sword, the city side winning 0-15 to 0-11 with the teams tied at the interval 0-8 each.
Intermediate League A
Whitecross 1-8 Wolfe Tones 3-5
Whitecross welcomed Derrymacash side Wolfe Tones to Páirc Naomh Cillian on a sunny Saturday evening. The visitors got the game underway and pointed from a free kick after just two minutes of action. Whitecross got their first point from play off the left boot of Michael McGrory on the 7th minute and rallied a further three points inside a five minute spell with Cathal McSherry, Ryan McSherry and Aidan Finnegan all hitting the target.
Wolfe Tones scored two points from play on the 15th and 17th minute and just before the break Whitecross attacked at pace, with Cathal McSherry sending the ball to the back of the Wolfe Tones net to put Whitecross four points up. However Wolfe Tones reacted swiftly as they ran at the Whitecross defence and blasted the ball past the ‘Cross keeper Ryan McGuigan to leave the minimum the margin at the interval, Whitecross 1-4 Wolfe Tones 1-3.
The visitors got going at the outset and levelled with a point in the opening minute of the second period. Three points separated the sides after Cathal McSherry secured three points, two from play and one from the dead ball. Wolfe Tones tested the Whitecross defence and slotted back-to-back goals to put them three in front with ten minutes to go.
Whitecross missed several opportunities but registered their final point of the half from another Cathal McSherry free after twenty-one minutes. Wolfe Tones furiously guarded their two point lead and sealed the victory with a pointed free kick, seeing out a 3-5 to 1-8 win.
Clan na Gael and Mullaghbawn played out an exciting 60 minutes on Friday evening, with neither side able to pull away. The score Clan na Gael 2-8 Mullaghbawn 0-14 when the referee called for the ball. St Paul’s won their second game in a row with a 1-11 to 0-10 win over Tir na nOg, who now sit third from bottom.
Intermediate League B
Keady 0-10 Ballyhegan 3-11
Two Ballyhegan goals near the end of the first half saw them overpower hosts Keady on Thursday night, taking them to within a point of Keady in a hotly contested league table. Eugene McDonnell and Mel Courtney opened each team’s accounts while Conall McKeever chipped over a point to give Ballyhegan the lead.
Patrick Marley extended the advantage before points from Conor Hughes and Ryan Donnelly saw the sides all square. James King got Keady’s noses in front but a James McCormack goal followed swiftly by a Paul Nixon point saw Ballyhegan back in charge. Ryan Donnelly got his first of the evening before a goal from Conall McKeever and a point from Mel Courtney left Ballyhegan firmly in the driving seat, leading at half time 0-4 to 2-5.
The gap was extended 60 seconds into the second half when Courtney again split the posts. James McCormack split two James King points while Conor Renaghan got Keady’s 8th point, but his side still trailed by eight. Ryan Donnelly’s second came after a goal from Conor Morgan, who followed up with two more points.
Mark Hughes hit another for Ballyhegan as they ran away with the game. Conor Renaghan pulled on back but it was soon cancelled out by the last score of the night, a point from Conall McKeever. Ballyhegan were the better side on the night and the push for promotion is still on the cards for both these sides.
In the Intermediate B league, Tullysaran saw off An Port More 2-15 to 1-8 to see them stay just above Keady and Ballyhegan at top of the table.
Junior League
Clady 0-12 Derrynoose 2-9
These teams played out an evenly matched contest, the sides’ level with 15 minutes remaining, but a Conor McNally goal nine minutes from time saw Derrynoose take the victory. Clady opened the scoring with a Ryan Devlin point before Conor McNally and Stephen Keenan put Derrynoose ahead.
Clady added a further three points with Gerard McGeown and Liam Doyle (2) both hitting the target. Pearse Lennon and Conor McNally levelled the sides again while Doyle swapped points with McNally to keep the game level at 0-5 each. Sean Smith nudged Clady ahead before Damian McGrane saw the teams tied once more, although Clady would have the final say of the half with Doyle again finding his range, Clady in front 0-7 to 0-6 at half time.
Star man for the Derrynoose men Conor McNally struck for goal two minutes after the break, the first bit of daylight between the teams. Colm Savage reduced the margin to one before McNally doubled his teams’ advantage with a free kick. Gerard McGeown and Liam Doyle both raised white flags to level the game once again, 0-10 to 1-7.
Sean Smith saw his side nudge ahead on the midway point of the second half, the lead was short lived however as Conor McNally once again broke through to hit the Clady net. McNally tagged on a point while Eamon Haughey pulled one back for Clady but it wasn’t enough as Derrynoose ended the game three ahead, 2-9 to 0-12 the final score.
Redmond O’Hanlon’s beat Mullabrack 4-24 to 0-12 while Forkhill also won their game against St Patrick’s II 2-13 to 0-17. Clonmore continued their beaten run with a 0-20 to 1-10 win over Corrinshego while Belleek earned a one point victory against Collegeland, 1-12 to 1-11. Elsewhere travelling side Lissummon overcame Newtown on a score line of 1-8 to 0-9.
