Armagh Club football & hurling

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Armagh Under 21 Championship Final: St Patrick's 0-10 Maghery 0-9

The under 21 championship reached its thrilling conclusion on a bitterly cold Sunday afternoon as St Pat's faced Maghery at the Athletic Grounds. Conditions at headquarters were as good as could be expected given the time of year and both sides went about their task in a whole-hearted, honest and fair manner. I'm not sure if any team has ever played in two under 21 finals in the same calendar year before but certainly St Pat's entered the game wanting to put right the disappointment of February's reversal to Crossmaglen Rangers.

It was to be Maghery who started the brighter however with two early points in the third and fourth minutes, the former coming from a free. The opening exchanges were fairly even with Cullyhanna registering their first score after 6 minutes, thanks to a good point from Rory O'Neill. O'Neill was on the scoresheet again when a foul on Colm Hoey allowed him to level matters with a pointed free. St Pat's forged into the lead 13 minutes in thanks to an audacious effort from Conor Nugent who pointed from what appeared to be a prohibitive angle.  In the second quarter, St Pat's had by far the better of the possession and territory however they found scores hard to come by and largely failed to utilise fully their dominance. A Sean Connell pass found Cathal McGlade who kicked a fine point to put his side two ahead. Maghery remained dangerous however, largely through their full forward Aiden Forker who made good use of a quality pass on 23 minutes to cut the deficit to a single point. A Rory O'Neill pointed free three minutes before the break put two between the sides again however the half-time lead could have been greater had a Kevin Hoey goal effort not been blocked by the Maghery goalkeeper. At half-time the score stood at St Patrick's 0-5 Maghery 0-3. Such a slender advantage was certainly a concern for the Cullyhanna following who were well aware that the lead should have been greater and that an improved second half performance from Maghery was to be expected.

The slender nature of the Cullyhanna lead was highlighted by the fact that it took a mere six minutes for Maghery to not only cancel out the deficit, but take the lead themselves as two superb points from Aiden Forker levelled matters before another point after St Pat's had needlessly lost the ball coming out of defence put the Loughshore men into the lead. Losing their lead appeared to finally stir the Cullyhanna side as they responded in style, initially through Conor Nugent who fired over a score after a St Pat's attack appeared to have broken down. Between the 17th and 19th minutes of the second half came what appeared to be a match winning salvo as a superbly flighted long ball from Tony Donnelly found Kyle McEvoy on the edge of the square who tapped over a lovely point to put his team into the lead. Next Gareth Mackin cut inside a Maghery defender and kicked a point and a minute later, Rory O'Neill produced a lung-bursting solo run along the sideline before driving inside and kicking a magnificent individual score. Having opened up the first three point advantage of the match with only 11 minutes remaining, it looked good for Cullyhanna however Maghery had no plans to meekly accept their fate. A pointed free cut the gap to two before a long range Maghery effort reduced the lead to the minimum. With six minutes remaining, Maghery kicked a point to level the match. The momentum was by now very much with the North Armagh men who were probably favourites to win at this stage. With four minutes remaining, Maghery fashioned an excellent scoring opportunity but just as the forward looked certain to kick a point, Eoin McArdle appeared from nowhere with a heroic block to smother the ball and prevent his side slipping behind. The game ebbed and flowed as each side attempted to fashion a winning opportunity however Cullyhanna's golden chance came as Cathal McGlade burst through the defence before being unceremoniously felled. The resultant free kick was no easy opportunity with Kyle McEvoy having a 30m kick to put his side into the lead. However McEvoy dealt with the pressure admirably and coolly slotted the ball between the posts to put his side in front. Maghery desperately pressed in injury time to find an equalising point, however their challenge ran aground while faced with the defensive abilities of Colm Hoey who produced two superb blocks in the later stages to secure victory for his side.

The final whistle was met with great delight by the Cullyhanna team management and supporters as St Patrick's finished winner by 0-10 to 0-9. Amid joyous scenes, captain Tony Donnelly accepted the cup on behalf of his team-mates and in his speech, thanked team managers Malachy Mackin and Stephen for their hard work, commitment and ability to instil belief in their charges.

The performances of this young team have been absolutely outstanding over the past month and have given the whole village a lift and provided a wonderfully entertaining conclusion to the season. While they certainly do not have a habit of making things easy for themselves,  St Pat's have richly deserved yesterday's triumph. To annex Cullyhanna's first under 21 championship victory for 19 years is a magnificent achievement and is testimony to the skill and courage of this outfit, as well as being a great reflection on the abilities of their managers who have secured a county title in their first venture into management. When faced with adversity, this side have consistently put their best foot forward and overcome all challenges and those attributes will serve them well in the years to come. While this was not a day for individuals, with each member of the team contributing handsomely, special mention should go to the superb half-back line and in particular Eoin McArdle and Colm Hoey for their defensive heroics in the second half and also to Pearse Casey who got through a mountain of work all day. Our congratulations to all involved.

Starting XV: Deaglan McArdle; Kieran McCooey, Darren Mackin, Michael Murray; Colm Hoey, Eoin McArdle, Sean Connell; Tony Donnelly, Pearse Casey; Rory O'Neill (0-4) Aidan Nugent, Kevin Hoey; Cathal McGlade (0-1), Gareth Mackin (0-1), Conor Nugent (0-2). Sub Used: Kyle McEvoy (0-2)

[upthem]

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[1life 1club]

RIP James Hughes.. Sad loss to cross rangers.. Respect for a born winner..

[Orior]

I see Andrew Murnin has been playing for Lurgan Celtic.

Do any Crossmaglen Rangers play soccer?

[fitzroyalty]

No. I do remember reading an article on Aaron Cunningham saying that they weren't allowed to indulge in anything other than CR GFC, or something to that effect.

Then again I also remember hearing AK was playing rugby with Banbridge in the off-season one year.

[AFS]

Cross don't usually have an off-season.

[fitzroyalty]

Cross don't usually have an off-season.

I know. They almost definitely had one a few years ago though.

[Orior]

Q. Who is the second best player to spend the majority of his playing career on the injury list?

[brokencrossbar1]

Q. Who is the second best player to spend the majority of his playing career on the injury list?

Preume RC is best?  Colm Hanratty was brilliant and regularly injured. Ollie Reel could have been a fine player but was a perma crock.

[naka]

I see Andrew Murnin has been playing for Lurgan Celtic.



he should definitely be on the county panel,

[Orior]

The jersey worn by Armagh yesterday was the worst I've seen (so it nearly matched out performance).

I'm grateful for Mr Morgan's generosity, but surely someone with an ounce of sense was involved in the design?

[Applesisapples]

The jersey worn by Armagh yesterday was the worst I've seen (so it nearly matched out performance).

I'm grateful for Mr Morgan's generosity, but surely someone with an ounce of sense was involved in the design?

I'd be more worried about the performance, so much for the return of the prodigal.

[Orior]

The jersey worn by Armagh yesterday was the worst I've seen (so it nearly matched out performance).

I'm grateful for Mr Morgan's generosity, but surely someone with an ounce of sense was involved in the design?

I'd be more worried about the performance, so much for the return of the prodigal.

You can only play with the hand you're dealt with?

[JUst retired]

What has the jersey to do with Mr.Morgan apart from his sponsorship?

[fitzroyalty]

Jersey design has been awful since 2001 so we should be well used to it.

Bring back the collar.