Cullyhanna 1-21 Crossmaglen 0-23
Comeback kings Cullyhanna pulled off the most unlikely of comebacks to defeat old rivals Crossmaglen Rangers. Stephen Reel’s men fired off the final ten scores of the game to book a county final date with Madden.
There will be a new name on the Gerry Fagan Cup this season. Both Cullyhanna and Madden headed into their respective semi-finals as underdogs, but are now sixty minute away from a first ever Senior Championship title.
That’s for two weeks’ time. Saturday night belongs to Cullyhanna. They’ve demonstrated their attitude and character right throughout the championship. And that belief was badly needed in the end.
Scoring spree
Jason Duffy put Cullyhanna ahead inside the opening minute with a two-pointer but Crossmaglen took complete control. They rattled off ten points on the bounce inside an electrifying eleven minutes.
Oisin O’Neill was responsible for six points in four minutes. Two right footed two-pointers were followed by a fisted score and a strike off the left. Cian McConville, Paul Hughes, Rian O’Neill and Darron McDonnell also raised white flags.
Duffy broke the Rangers scoring spree before Aidan Nugent fired off a two-point free. Oisin O’Neill had a two-pointer reduced to one as James Carragher got his fingertips to it while Ronan Fitzpatrick and McConville (2) split the posts with singles.
The St Patrick’s men hit a purple patch of their own with two from Ross McQuillan and second from Nugent reducing the gap to six. Aaron O’Neill became the sixth Cross attacker to get his name on the scoresheet, giving them a 15-8 half time lead.
Comeback kings
McConville and Nugent swapped scores at the start of the second half but O’Neill switched gears again and tagged on a further two. A Shea Hoey goal, along with a Gavan Duffy point, offered Cullyhanna hope, although Cross soon restored their nine point lead.
The imperious McConville nailed another three as Paul Hughes also chipped in to completely wipe out Cullyhanna’s mini-resurgence. McConville and Duffy exchanged pointed efforts and then the script was well and truly ripped up.
Ten points in a row, nine from Aidan Nugent, put St Patrick’s in front at just the right time. Rian O’Neill had an audacious effort from the sideline that would have won it, but it fell short and Cullyhanna move on to the county final. A big two week’s awaits.