Sarsfields secure a final place with late comeback

SILVERBRIDGE 2-11

SARSFIELDS will bridge a 41 year gap when they contest this season’s Intermediate Championship final on October 3.

The Hoops last won the title back in 1969 and although they progressed to an altogether higher level in lifting the senior crown back in 1990, since their dip in form back in 2006, the Highmoss side have made giant strides and face an end-of-season campaign where both important league and championship games will run in tandem.

The Derrytrasna outfit reached next month’s final thanks to a show of both commitment and determination when they defeated Silverbridge who, at one stage, looked set to be meeting Cullaville in the decider.

Not for the first time this season, one of the Sarsfields’ younger players was prepared to step into the breach and show leadership. With Armagh Minor Captain Peter Carragher lording it around the middle for Silverbridge, Eimeid Murray’s introduction to the action had a huge bearing on the eventual result, similar to the impact made in previous games by ‘Young Turks’ Thomas McAlinden and Christopher McGaughey, who may now be tempted to put one foot on the plane as he views events from his new home in Dallas, Texas.

For the second consecutive week, it was Johnny Reynolds who proved to be deadly from the penalty spot. His late converted strike and Eamon McGeown’s clinical finish at the end of a slick move were the crucial scores which eventually brought an end to the South Armagh team’s challenge.

Like the previous game in Saturday’s double-header, it was the underdogs who took the early initiative. Sarsfields looked out of sorts for long periods, yet showed an amount of experience with their ball-keeping tactics towards the end.

Brian Kerr returned to the full-back line alongside his brother Ciaran and Patrick Stevenson and, yet again, the Hoops showed strength in depth when introducing Paul McGeown, Eimeid Murray (0-1) and Paul Hughes (0-1) from the bench, all of whom could be pushing for starting places in the final.

This year’s county panellist Paul Magee showed up well throughout Saturday’s game as did Michael Stevenson with two scores, each secured following raiding moves from the half-back line.

Although Sarsfields can boast that nine individual players registered scores in Saturday’s semi-final, including Eamon McGeown’s personal tally of 1-3, their pure and open brand of football may require modernising for the final against a Cullaville team who could, no doubt, exploit what could be seen as deficiencies in the Sarsfields rearguard.

Team boss Patsy Donnelly may shy away from implementing a more defensive unit and although the Hoops have conceded big scores during the league their system, based on an attacking policy, has placed them in a first county final since 1990.