By Conor McEnoy
Maghery 1-21 Granemore 0-15
Maghery picked up their second win of the Armagh Senior Championship with a comfortable nine-point win over Granemore. It was the lough shore men who dominated the midfield battle throughout the game as Granemore struggled to win any ball around the middle.
Aidan Forker opened the scoring for the home side from the dead ball but it was the away side who picked up the next four scores. Barry Toner (free), Liam Rafferty (two-point free) and Cathal O’Hare.
Ronan Lappin was winning most of the kick outs for the home side in the early exchanges. He took a mark in the midfield and headed towards goal to slot between the posts to pull one back.
Karl McQuaid grabbed another for Granemore before Maghery got the next two through Aidan and Stefan Forker. Jim Short and Brendan Haveron exchanged scores while Barry Toner fired over another free for the away side.
Sean Hackett got himself on the score sheet for the home side before Toner hit another free at the other end. Maghery got their first two-point score of the evening and it came through a free as Stefan Forker slotted over from outside the arc.
Aidan Forker and O’Hare traded points before Maghery pulled away at the end of the first half with two further two-pointers. This time Stephen Cusack got on the board while Aidan Forker converted a free on the edge of the arc.
Liam Rafferty pulled another back for the away side from the dead ball but it was Maghery who took a four point lead at the break on a scoreline of 0-13 to 0-9.
Second half
The home side introduced Padraig O’Keefe and Aaron Fox to begin the second half and it was O’Keefe who took over the free taking duties and he rattled off two frees to increase Maghery’s lead.
Fox got the next score and directly from the kick out Maghery got the ball moved up the field. It fell to Brendan Haveron, who had Aidan Forker coming off the shoulder. He slipped the pass across and Forker made no mistake as he put the ball into the back of the net.
Granemore pulled one back through Odhran Doyle before Cusack picked up at the other end. Doyle then got his second point of the evening but Maghery pulled away through Ronan Lappin, Stefan Forker (two-pointer) and another from O’Keefe.
Granemore got the last three points of the game through O’Hare, who stepped up and slotted over from outside the arc along with a single as he was bearing down on goal. But it wasn’t enough for his side as both teams now await their fate in the preliminary quarter final.