'Rich' pickings!

In a dour struggle than seen some sixty plus frees awarded, evenly distributed between the teams, Eoghan Rua found themselves a point down, 0-8 to 1-4, going into the last minute and seemingly on their way to the qualifier route in the championship.

Then a surging run down the right side and a perfectly weighted Sean Leo McGoldrick pass found Richard Carey bearing down on the Slaughtneil goal at full pace.

Carey, who had come on as a substitute just over five minutes earlier, advanced just inside the penalty area and let fly with an absolute screamer of a shot that bulged the roof of the net.

The kick out was won by Eoghan Rua and Ciaran McGoldrick burst forward to fire over a point that had the Coleraine side sensationally on the brink of a second win in two years over Slaughtneil in the championship. Slaughtneil attacked searching for a goal that would send the game to extra time but solid defending from Ciaran Mullan, Niall Holly and Barry McGoldrick stemmed the tide and just over three minutes later it was over with the Coleraine men straight into the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile Slaughtneil have to go the qualifier route for a place in the last eight where they will meet Banagher next weekend.

This was a dour struggle from start to finish with a series of stoppages breaking up any semblance of rhythm to the game.

Neither side was prepared to give any ground with the result that the middle third of the pitch was very congested, the tackling and pressure on the ball carrier ferocious throughout.

It was very much a stop-start affair and that fact that only four of the thirteen points scored came from open play tells its own story. Neither defence gave much away but crucially, there were probably only two clear cut goal chances and both were taken by the eventual winners, Slaughtneil never really threatened to grab a three pointer against a mean Eoghan Rua defence.

In the drawn game Slaughtneil’s midfield pair Shane Kelly and in particular Patsy Bradley held sway for much of the game but this time around Niall Holly, Paul Daly, before he left the field injured and his replacement Sean Paul Henry managed to stifle that threat by ensuring the Emmetts pair did not enjoy clean possession.

Still, Slaughtneil won most of the breaks around the middle but they were not able to turn possession into scores, they did squander a few good chances particularly in the closing stages of the first half.

While Eoghan Rua lost the possession stakes they were more economical in front of goal and as always in tight championship games goals will be crucial. In the drawn game Coleraine bagged two at the start and just held on for a replay, this time around they grabbed their goals at crucial stages.

Their first came when they were struggling three points adrift twenty minutes into the first half and then that stunning Carey effort at just the right time when Slaughtneil had little or no time to get over the shock.

Slaughtneil started brightly and had a point on the board in the first minute through the lively Enda McKaigue. It took Eoghan Rua to the sixth minute before they had a concerted attack on the Slaughtneil defence, a foul on Colm McGoldrick gave Barry McGoldrick the chance to tap over the equaliser.

Over the next ten minutes Slaughtneil dominated possession and added three points without reply, Jim Kelly and Paul Bradley both from frees scoring before Cormac McKenna curled over a fine long range effort from way out on the wing.

Eoghan Rua were struggling to get a foothold in the game and they were thrown a lifeline in the 19th minute when good work by Mark McTaggart and Sean Leo McGoldrick set up Gregory Bradley to slide the ball to the Slaughtneil net from close range, the sides now level.

That score lifted the Coleraine men and two minutes later they were ahead for the first time as Barry McGoldrick pointed a free following a foul on Gregory Bradley.

In probably the only occasion that Slaughtneil had a sniff of a goal Eoghan Rua full back Ciaran Mullan fly–hacked the ball clear of the danger for a ‘45’ that was expertly drilled over the bar by Shane Kelly for the equaliser. In the dying minutes of the half Slaughtneil squandered two good chances for points with the sides going in all square at the break 1-2 to 0-5.

So, a rather scrappy first half came to an end, Eoghan Rua looking very nervy throughout with a lot of handling errors while Slaughtneil failed to make the most of the bulk of possession. If the large crowd in Glenullin was hoping for better fare in the second half they were going to be disappointed as the trend continued unabated for most of the next 30 minutes plus.

Early in the second half Slaughtneil took the lead through a Jim Kelly point from a free and then Eoghan Rua survived a defensive error before Gregory Bradley pointed a free from a tight angle to level matters again. Midway through the half Slaughtneil went ahead yet again as Paul Bradley pointed a free then he repeated the dose nine minutes from the end with another well taken effort.

With five minutes left the direct running of Ciaran McGoldrick, who had worked hard all evening carrying the ball out of defence, got into a more advanced position to cause danger and draw a free which Barry McGoldrick pointed to leave just one between the sides.

With normal time almost up and Slaughneil clinging on to that slender one point advantage they were dealt a hammer blow with Richard Carey’s stunning strike for a wonder goal. When Ciaran McGoldrick capped a man-of-the-match performance with a point almost immediately after that crucial goal the Coleraine men were on their way to the quarter-finals for the second year in a row.

Eoghan Rua:Ryan McGeough; Cormac Trolan, Ciaran Mullan, Barry McTaggart; Ciaran Lenehan, Barry McGoldrick, Mark Mearns; Paul Daly, Niall Holley; Declan Mullan, Sean Leo McGoldrick, Mark McTaggart; Ciaran McGoldrick, Colm McGoldrick, Gregory Bradley. Subs used: Sean Paul Henry for P Daly, (38 mins) Anton Rafferty for B McTaggart (47) R Carey for M McTaggart (53)

Eoghan Rua scorers: Gregory Bradley (1-1, 0-1 free), Richard Carey (1-0), Barry McGoldrick (0-3 frees), Ciaran McGoldrick (0-1)

Qualifiers take centre stage

This weekend the Derry senior football qualifiers will take centre stage again as eight teams go head-to-head for a place in the quarter finals.

First into action will be Glen and Newbridge on Friday evening at Bellaghy with a 6.45pm throw-in. Then on Saturday evening a huge double-header should draw a large crowd to Swatragh. Slaughtneil, who were beaten by Eoghan Rua will meet Banagher at 5.00pm.

Following that game at 6.45pm the tie of the round sees heavyweight contenders Glenullin and Bellaghy face off in what should be a real blockbuster.

The final qualifier sees title holders Loup meet Kilrea at Greenlough with a 7.00pm start. The four winners of the qualifiers will then go on to meet the four seeded teams who came through to the last eight unbeaten namely Ballinderry, Ballinascreen, Lavey and Eoghan Rua.

The quarter finals will be played over the weekend of August 29.

Intermediate Championship

semi-finals

The semi-finals of the Derry Intermediate championship will see Steelstown meet Foreglen while favourites Castledawson take on Craigbane.

Foreglen came through a spikey affair with Ballymaguigan to win 1-14 to 0-6. The young Forglen side was very impressive but Ballymaguigan did not help their cause having three players sent off.

There was little to choose between the sides in the first half even though there were distinct signs that the greater pace and cohesion of Foreglen had the Treas stretched, with Oisin Duffy the lynchpin at centre half back. Still it was anybody’s game at the interval, Foreglen just ahead 0-6 to 0-4, the Ballymaguigan attack struggling for scores against the pacy O’Brien’s defence.

Still when Michael Spiers sped through in the opening minute of the second half for a point to cut the deficit to a point there was a hint of a comeback.

Four minutes later Ballymaguigan’s troubles started, as their discipline, on and off the field began to disintegrate. Ballymaguigan wing back Patsy Bateson was shown a straight red card when he knocked the ball out of the referee’s hands.

Ten minutes later Ballymaguigan centre half back Ciaran McIvor picked up a second yellow card.

In the space of the next ten minutes Foreglen rattled over seven unanswered points to put the outcome beyond doubt, the Trea’s unable to stem the tidal waves of attacks that Foreglen produced.

After Eunan McFeely snapped up a goal in added time Ballymaguigan’s cup of woe overflowed when substitute Gerard McIvor was also shown a red card when he threw the ball at the referee.

City side Steelstown were equally impressive as they demolished Faughanvale 2-15 to 1-6. Certainly the Foreglen v Steelstown semi-final tie has all the makings of an exciting game as both sides play an attractive brand of flowing football.

Meanwhile Craigbane edged out Moneymore on a score of 1-13 to 0-12 setting up a meeting with Castledawson who beat Greenlough 1-7 to 1-5.

The decisive moment in this entertaining and closely contested Craigbane v Moneymore quarter-final came thirteen minutes into the second half when pre-match favourites Craigbane’s Noel Moore scored the only goal of the game to open up what proved to be a decisive four point gap.

Moneymore would, perhaps, contend that the dismissal of centre half back Paul Scullion on a straight red near the end of the first half when they were 0-5 to 0-3 ahead, was also a pivotal moment.

From their perspective the sending off was a huge blow but the referee made the correct call after the incident with Craigbane’s Lee Moore.

The sides had been level three times in the first half, two points the margin twice, one point between them on four occasions, 0-5 each the score line when the referee signalled the half time break.

Three times in the opening ten minutes of the second half the game was tied before Aaron McLaughlin edged Craigbane 0-9 to 0-8 in front and then Adie McLaughlin laid the ball on a plate for substitute Noel Reilly who had time and space to round keeper Chris Marshall and plant the ball in the net.

Yet Moneymore refused to accept defeat and cut back the lead to the minimum with eight minutes to go but that was as good as it got for them, Craigbane stronger in the middle third in the closing minutes, more composed in defence and just a tad sharper up front.

For much of the game Craigbane had the edge in the middle of the field, Blain Gormley at times unbeatable in the air as he executed a series of high catches, several times under extreme pressure from Richard Scullion and Barry Doherty in the aerial duels.

Moneymore pulled Johnny Taylor back into defence to provide extra cover against the ever-dangerous Lee Moore. The tactical ploy worked reasonably well until the dismissal of Paul Scullion, after which Moneymore could no longer afford the luxury of an extra player in defence with their pivotal centre half back in the dug out.

Gormley lorded midfield in the second period, Adie McLaughlin did Trojan work in the right corner, while Moore made good use of the greater freedom afforded him up front.

From the dismissal of Scullion Craigbane outscored Moneymore 1-10 to 0-7, despite the best efforts of the outstanding Stephen O’Neill and Paudie O’Neill up front, Richard Scullion in the middle of the field and Adie Gavan, Ryan Barker on the edge of the square and corner back Daniel Jackson until he was forced to retire five minutes from the end with a back injury.

Craigbane will now meet Castledawson who edged out Greenlough by two points 1-7 to 1-5. Two minutes from the end of this low scoring encounter a replay looked firmly on the cards. One score had been registered between the 43rd and 58th minute, a goal from an Enda Lynn penalty when a ‘foot block’ by Castledawson keeper Michael O’Kane denied Kevin McCann a shot for goal.

Greenlough clung to their one point lead until the 54th minute when Niall McNicholl pointed a free to tie the scores, the two sides locked at 1-5 each for the next four minutes.

However just when a replay looked likely Castledawson broke the deadlock with a 58th minute point and then got the insurance scored a minute into added time to end Greenlough’s championship hopes.