Naomh Colmcille CLG – Donegal

01/11/2010
Naomh Colmcille played Monaghan Junior Champions Corduff at Clones on Sunday afternoon in the quarter final of the AIB Junior Ulster Championship.

The Monaghan side got off to a quick start, registering two quick fire points from play in the 2nd and 3rd minute, before following up with a free on 5 minutes to establish an early 3 point lead.

Naomh Colmcille responded well though, and got themselves into the game with two points from Matthew Crossan – Thomas McKinley picking him out for the first and Barry O’Hagan playing him in with a cross field ball for the second.

Corduff got another point from play before their centre half back Declan Larkin broke through the centre to score a crucial goal. And they added another point from play to leave the half time score at 1-05 to 0-02 in favour of the Monaghan side.

At the turn around Cathal Curran came on for Stephen Davenport and Ciaran Callaghan came on for Ruction Callaghan.

Naomh Colmcille have been strong in the second half all year, and indeed they fought back well after the break. Barry O’Hagan sent over a free after Ciaran Devine was pulled down going through the middle. Corduff responded with a point, but in the last quarter Naomh Colmcille continued to battle hard. Another point from Matthew Crossan and two further points from O’Hagan brought the scores to 1-06 to 0-06 as the game entered the last few minutes.

As Naomh Colmcille sought a goal to level the match, Joe Donaghey sent in a free from the half way line that Barry O’Hagan caught in his chest at the edge of the 21, unchallenged. As O’Hagan turned towards goal, the ref blew up for a foul, much to the bemusement of both sets of players. The respected inter-county referee and Corduff man Pat McEnaney was in the stand – maybe he knew what the foul was for, because nobody else did!

Stephen Friel sent Andrew Clarke on for Ciaran Callaghan as his last roll of the dice as the game entered injury time.

However, Corduff showed their experience in the final couple of minutes, holding on to possession and tagging on two more points as Naomh Colmcille pushed men forward, leaving the final score 1-08 to 0-06 in favour of the Monaghan champions.

Naomh Colmcille showed great battling qualities to reduce the deficit to a goal against a fast, strong Corduff side. The focus now is a strong finish in the remaining league fixtures, with a promotion play off spot still up for grabs.

Naomh Colmcille
Marty Callaghan
Paul Friel, Alex Devenney, Paul McGill
Thomas McKinley, Ciaran Devine, Gerard Curran
Richard Clarke, Barry O’Hagan (0-03)
Matthew Crossan (0-03), Stephen Davenport, Ryan McKinley
Ryan McErlean, Joe Donaghey, Ruction Callaghan

Subs:
Cathal Curran for Stephen Davenport
Ciaran Callaghan for Ruction Callaghan
Andrew Clarke for Ciaran Callaghan