Haughians strike puts Whites through

TIR NA NOG 0-13

A clinically struck ‘45’ by St Peter’s defender Emmet Haughian three minutes into injury time secured a one point win for the Lurgan side last Sunday at Clann ireann Park.

This Championship victory for the Whites has set up a semi-final tie against Cullaville on Sunday week but the division two outfit will be feeling bitter-sweet when they look back on events last weekend.

They lost the linchpin of their attack, Danny McNally, minutes before the whistle when he received a straight red card for what appeared to be a minimal offence and now the Cullaville mountain looks even higher.

Tr na ng, it seemed, could not have played any better. They bounced back from a 0-4 to 0-0 deficit to go three points up in the third quarter.

Brian Mallon was superb, shooting nine of his side’s points. Barry McDonald commanded the game for long periods from his centre-half berth and Paul Carville was again causing the Whites’ rearguard serious problems.

Yet, during the final quarter, it was the Freecrow outfit who were bouncing with youthful exuberance. The young legs shot four of the last five points. Daire Toman’s effort from out on the left, on 55 minutes, was the best individual strike seen in both games between the sides.

This Intermediate quarter final was a gem. The term ‘winning ugly’ thankfully did not enter the equation. On four occasions the sides were all-square and when Brian Mallon levelled matters, and with the Lurgan side a man down, extra time looked a distinct possibility.

The final action, however, belonged to Emmet Haughian who brought the curtain down on a hot game, both in terms of action and the temperatures the players had to endure.

Young Haughian was a modest hero. “It was just great to see the ball going over but the whole team deserved credit,” stressed the St Peter’s defender. “I had been practicing hitting the 45s so thankfully it all paid off.”

Although last Sunday’s game could have gone either way, St Peter’s for their part seemed to have learned more from the drawn game.

They implemented wholesale changes. Former Armagh U21 goalkeeper Paul Wilson was installed between the posts, having worn the number six jersey the previous week. Sean O’Neill was drafted in to a wing-back spot, Emmet Haughian moved to centre-half and, perhaps more importantly, young Armagh Minor star Niall McConville started at corner-forward.

Both sides had many outstanding players on the day, Thomas McCooe and Paul McCann had a tense battle with St Peter’s central pair Paul Brady and Niall Creaney, and the entire St Peter’s defence, including Dermot Kearney whose darting runs down the flanks were amongst the highlights of the game.

Apart from the opening spell, when St. Peter’s raced to a four-point lead with scores from Danny McNally (0-2), Niall Creaney and Keith Totten, Tr na ng controlled the game with James McCann, Paul Carville and Brian Mallon, in particular, setting up a three-point lead for the gs entering the third quarter.

In a pulsating last 20 minutes, the action spilled from end to end. Niall Creaney and Niall McConville brought just a point between them before Carville again stretched the gs’ lead.

McNally, Creaney, a fisted effort from Haughian and Daire Toman’s belter and with tensions rising to a new level, Dermot Kearney’s effort which struck the upright appeared to put the kybosh on the Whites’ chances. It took a cool strike from Emmet Haughian to put the Whites into the semi final.

Gracious in defeat, gs boss Des Henderson joined the St. Peter’s post-match huddle to wish them luck in their pending semi-final. It was a fitting end to two entertaining games.