Junior Championship Match Reports

Crossmaglen 2-17 Eire Og 0-12

A superior second half showing from Crossmaglen stifled any hope of a semi-final appearance for Eire Og.

The league champions pressed the opposition kickouts, forced turnovers high up the field and make it count of the scoreboard.

Twice in the first half the Craigavon side held a four-point lead, going 4-0 ahead after five minutes.

Cross shot straight back into the game with a Caolan Dooley goal, after Colin O’Connor’s pace sliced open the defence.

Photo Credit: John Merry

The Rangers eventually hit the net, after threatened twice. Neil Corey made a super save while Johnny McKeever also rattled the crossbar.

Eire Og nailed four-in-a-row, through Dara Edwards (2) and John Cochrane (2), but Cross fought back once again.

Eoin Keenan and Shane McConville slotted over frees to cut the deficit to two at the break. 0-10 to 1-5.

A quality score from Liam Knox levelled the game, after a trio of points opened the second half scoring for Cross.

Photo Credit: Chris Totton

The Rangers pulled away just before the break with a cool and calm finish to the net from Shane McConville.

Cochrane fired over the first point of the final quarter, but it was all Crossmaglen. Eight points on the trot left no way back for Eire Og.

Crossmaglen Scorers: Shane McConville 1-3 (3f), Eoin Keenan 0-3 (3f), Caolan Dooley 1-0, Connor Savage 0-2, Declan Stuttard 0-2, Cormac Donnelly 0-2 (1f), Johnny McKeever 0-1, Daniel O’Malley 0-1 (45), Orin McKeown 0-1, Dara O’Neill 0-1 (f), Harry Cumiskey 0-1.

Eire Og Scorers: John Cochrane 0-5 (3f), Dara Edwards 0-2, Conor Martin 0-1, Paul Creaney 0-1, Eoin McCluskey 0-1, Ciaran Corey 0-1 (f), Liam Know 0-1.

Derrynoose 1-9 Killeavy 1-6

Perhaps a lot closer than predicted, the result was still as expected as Derrynoose made their way to the last four.

They played the majority of the game without their star-forward Conor McNally, but still had enough to get through.

Patrick Quinn’s second half goal proved the crucial score as Derrynoose held on to win by those three valuable points.

Photo Credit: John Merry

Killeavy rattled the net during the opening period, but the favourites still held a 0-6 to 1-1 lead at the break.

Killeavy closed the gap to the minimum early in the second period, but Quinn’s goal kept the South Armagh men at arm’s length.

Derrynoose will now take on Crossmaglen IIs in an exciting last four showdown, in two weeks’ time.

Belleek 2-13 Lissummon 0-7

Belleek comfortably booked their place in the semi-finals as they continue their search for the Sean Quinn Cup.

Garreth Thornton’s side just lost out last year, after a replay and a extra time, and are now one step closer to reaching their target.

They held a strong 0-8 to 0-2 lead at the half time interval, having been ahead throughout the entire game.

Two second half majors ended the match as a contest and Belleek ran out 12-point winners in the end.

Photo Credit: Belleek

Dorsey 1-17 Redmond O’Hanlon’s 1-11

Dorsey made their way through to the last four of the competition when they saw off O’Hanlon’s on Sunday.

The sides swapped scores early on, but Dorsey’s first half major through Shane Connolly put them in the driving seat.

O’Hanlon’s replied with a goal of their own, as Charlie Magill’s accuracy kept his side in touch.

Photo Credit: Sally Lennon

Second half scores from Kevin Kelly, Conor Moley, Shane Connolly and Padraig Cumiskey extended the Dorsey advantage.

A second yellow card offence for Conor Hughes reduced O’Hanlon’s to 14 men and slashed their chances of a comeback.

The Emmets club will now take on last years beaten finalists Belleek in an all-South Armagh semi-final.