Collegeland 1-14 Dromara 1-13
Armagh champions Collegeland nudged their way passed Dromara in a dramatic and exciting Ulster JFC quarter-final at Pairc Esler. Extra time was required to separate the sides, and in the end, one-point was the difference.
Substitute Oliver Murphy was the hero for Paul Doyle’s men, hitting 0-2 after being introduced, including the winner. Dromara will rue their missed chances, particularly the late wide from Colm Kelly, who pulled his free right of the post.
Having led by five in normal time due to a Brendan McNeill goal, it looked as though Dromara would waltz to victory. But Collegeland had other ideas, and they dominated the second half of normal time.
Dromara edged ahead at the end of the opening period, thanks to a Brendan McKey mark. That left them 0-9 to 0-7 ahead at half time. McNeill’s goal, which came from a long ball in which the Collegeland defence failed to deal with, drove them into a 1-9 to 0-7 advantage.
Collegeland really caught fire then. It was their deadly inside duo of Caolan McQuaid and Adrian Trainor that pulled them back into the game. The pair combined for Collegeland’s major, and 1-2 from McQuaid gave them a one-point lead.
Kelly landed the equaliser that brought the game to extra time where both sides missed opportunities. Luke Savage and Murphy swapped scores before James Kelly put Collegeland up by one at half time of extra time.
Savage tied things up, but Murphy slotted over a close range free. That was enough to see Collegeland qualify for the semi-finals.