Monaghan Electrical Intermediate Football League Semi-Final

Carrickmacross 0-13 Rockcorry 0-10                     23/10/11

IFC winners Carrickmacross are still on course for a Monaghan intermediate double after they edged past Rockcorry at Inniskeen in the IFL semi-finals last Sunday. Carrick looked set for a comfortable win after a purple patch midway through the first half, but Rock came storming back to force an exciting finish. Carrick held on, however, to win by three points despite losing Conor McEnaney to a second yellow card. Mark Downey, Stephen Gollogly, Andrew Callan, Peter O’Hanlon and Mark McNally were to the fore for Carrick, while Noel Carroll, Mark Daly, Niall McKeown and Stephen McGuirk led Rockcorry’s challenge.

Mark Downey kicked two points in a low-scoring first quarter, but efforts from Stephen McGuirk and Noel Carroll brought Rock back to level terms. Carrick stepped up a gear early in the second quarter and they pulled away with four points unanswered points from Mark Downey (two), Andrew Callan and Stephen Gollogly. Rock came back before half-time, though, with two pointed frees from Mark Daly and a well-taken score by Paul McKeown, which left them trailing by just a point at the interval (0-6 to 0-5).

Points by Stephen McGuirk and sub Lorcan Smyth, either side of a Gollogly score for Carrick, levelled it up early in the second half and although Gollogly and Downey added points in quick succession, Rock continued to fight back and equalised again through Niall McKeown and Stephen McGuirk. Despite having Conor McEnaney sent off 12 minutes from time, Carrick put some daylight between the teams thanks to points from Peter O’Hanlon, Gollogly and Callan. Rock had chances to hit back, but their finishing let them down, as did a tendency to go for goals instead of points. One of those goal-attempts, from Mark McGuirk, went over the bar to reduce the gap to two, but Mark Downey’s sixth point of a very impressive display secured Carrick’s place in the league final against Currin, which will be played in Drumhowan on Sunday, November 6 at 2pm. Before that, Carrick have the small matter of an Ulster Club IFC game against Kidress of Tyrone this Sunday.

Carrickmacross: J O’Connor; O McNally, M McNally, J McNally; N McEnaney, C Cromwell, D Finnegan; J McGeown, P O’Hanlon (0-1); R McMahon, S Gollogly (0-4, 1f), C McEnaney; A Callan (0-2), J Conlon (Capt.), M Downey (0-6).

Subs: E Sherry for Conlon, S Downey for McMahon, G McEnaney for O McNally.

Rockcorry: J Smith; C Reilly, D Matthews, K Clerkin; N McKeown (0-1), K Daly (Capt.), S McGuirk (0-3, 2f); B Patterson, M Daly (0-2f); M Carroll, N Carroll (0-1), C Quinn; M McGuirk (0-1), P McKeown (0-1), A Tate.

Subs: L Smyth (0-1) for Tate, G Calvert for Patterson, L Connolly for Quinn, O Fitzpatrick for K Daly.

Referee: D Helferty (Truagh).