Senior Championship
The final pairings are now confirmed and it’s certainly the two form teams that will compete for the major honours. Clann Eireann have had to do it the hard way, coming from the preliminary round but they have showed cased their talent all through the championship and Sunday’s semi final was no different, putting up a huge score, winning 3-21 to 2-5 against Shane O’Neill’s.
The league Champions Armagh Harps will be their opponents after they defeated Silverbridge in Carrickcruppen on Sunday. The town side led at the interval by seven points, 4-6 to 2-5 before hitting another four goals after the short whistle to see out an 8-14 to 2-11 victory. Clann Eireann and Armagh Harps will contest the Senior Championship final on Sunday 8th of September in the Athletic Grounds.
Intermediate Championship
Granemore 9-10 Ballyhegan 1-12
Goals win games and there could certainly be no question marks over Granemore’s dominant victory over Ballyhegan on Sunday afternoon. Granemore enjoyed home advantage and made the most of it as they led from the first minute to the last to book their place in this year’s Intermediate Championship final.
Ciara Hill began the game in spectacular fashion with a goal in the opening minutes before Ballyhegan replied knocking over a few scores but it was Granemore’s ability to hit the net that told the tale of the opening period as Jordan Carr’s 15th minute goal saw her side take a 4-2 to 0-5 lead.
Corrina Doyle added a 5th three pointer to keep the hosts on top while their defence continued to work well as a unit. Blathnaid Hendron was the only Ballyhegan forward having any joy in the game and she added two points before Grace Ferguson rattle the net to bring Ballyhegan back into contention just before the break, Granemore ahead 5-3 to 1-9.
Ballyhegan got back to within four following two points in quick succession at the beginning of the second period while Granemore responded with a point of their own. Ballyhegan could have been closer to the leaders but for the woodwork after their shot from the penalty spot was turned away by the post.
Orlaith Gorman raised a white flag for Granemore after great build up play before Gorman won the resulting kick out and planted the ball into the net. Granemore were really finding their groove at this stage and kept the score board ticking over with a few more scores to assert their dominance.
Eve Lavery pulled one back for the visitors but her effort was soon cancelled out when Corrina Doyle’s goal bound shot bounced off the bar and shot over for a point. Edle Hagney added a goal and followed up with a few more points before Jordan Carr powered through to hit the net once again.
Orlaith Gorman also rattled the net with a penalty in the final minutes to see Granemore win comprehensively 9-10 to 1-12. They will face Mullaghbawn in the curtain raiser to the Senior final as they also had a big win in their semi final clash with Mullabrack, seeing out a 5-10 to 2-7 victory.
Junior Championship
The tightest game of the day came in the Junior Championship semi final as Craobh Ciaran lost out by six points to Naomh Labhaoise. Both keepers were on form, pulling off some fine saves throughout the duration of the contest but it was Naomh Labhaoise who made the most of their chances and won 1-12 to 0-9. They will face Clan na Gael who enjoyed a massive 8-16 to 3-5 victory over Pearse Ogs with the Junior Championship final being played in Tir na nOg on Saturday 7th of September.
