McGuigan Builders Intermediate Football Championship

Donaghmoyne 2-15 Rockcorry 0-14 (A.E.T.)                     24/8/12

 

Donaghmoyne saw off Rockcorry after extra-time in a keenly-contested and exciting IFC quarter-final at Emyvale on Friday night. Rock led for most of normal time and they were five points clear inside the final ten minutes, but a cracking goal by Ciarán Daly gave Donaghmoyne a late reprieve, which they took full advantage of. Rock did get the first point of extra-time, but Donaghmoyne hit 1-5 without reply in the final 17 minutes – the major coming from Colm Connolly after a mix-up in the Rock defence.

Donaghmoyne took their time to get going, but Daly, Connolly, Christopher Deery, Pauric Donaghy and Bernard Kelly led the way, while the move of Joe Kelly to full-forward also made a difference. Rockcorry were much improved on their tame loss to Doohamlet, with the return of Noel Carroll making a difference and Mark McGuirk, Mark Daly and Johnny Reilly showing well, but they faded as the game went on.

Rockcorry took the lead on the first attack when Barry Patterson and Mark Daly combined to set up Noel Carroll for a point. Carroll turned provider for Mark McGuirk to double Rock’s lead with a good point, before Fergal McGeough converted a 30-metre free for a foul on Daly. Donaghmoyne got off the mark on ten minutes when Colm Connolly linked up with Bernard Kelly to slot the ball over, but the next 11 minutes were scoreless, as play became very scrappy, with one brief scuffle leading to Johnny Reilly and Darren Coleman being booked.

Mark Daly kicked a brace of points from frees – one from the left wing and the other from 40 metres out, both after fouls on Paul McKeown – but a similar effort by Pauric Donaghy kept Donaghmoyne in touch. Gary Woods fired a shot just over the bar after he had taken a pass from Connolly, before Donaghy got on the end of a move involving Coleman and substitute Niall Garland to close the gap to a point. Connolly then scored a free from a difficult angle after Keith Daly had been penalised for over-carrying to level it up at half-time: 0-5 apiece.

Rockcorry began the second half the way they had started the first, as Patterson and Keith Daly linked up to create a point for Reilly. Patterson caught the next kick-out to start a move which finished with Noel Carroll hitting the target, before McGuirk added a point at the end of a well-worked attack involving Martin and Noel Carroll and Reilly. Colm Connolly got a point back for Donaghmoyne at the end of a rare attack in the first ten minutes of the half for them, but an off-the-ball foul on McGuirk allowed McGeough to tap over a 20-metre free at the other end. McGuirk set up a point for Noel Carroll, who then had a shot saved by stand-in Donaghmoyne goalkeeper Gerard Lynch, with the rebound falling for Paul McKeown to split the posts.

A foul on Joe Kelly allowed Ciarán Daly to tap over a 13-metre free for only Donaghmoyne’s second point of the third quarter and Noel Carroll replied after good approach play by Reilly and Stephen Lynch to restore Rock’s five-point lead. Christopher Deery linked up with Coleman to get a point back for Donaghmoyne, who kicked off their comeback in style when Shane Kelly laid the ball off for Ciarán Daly, who fired a powerful shot past Rockcorry keeper Jamie Smith. Deery added a fine point from play to equalise inside the last five minutes and Donaghmoyne looked set to snatch it late on through a well-taken 45-metre free by Connolly, after a foul on Donaghy. There was still time for Rock to equalise, however, through a fisted point by Reilly and with neither side able to find a winner in the three added minutes, the full-time score was Donaghmoyne 1-10 Rockcorry 0-13, meaning they had to play an extra 20 minutes.

The first period of extra-time was cagy, with Noel Carroll’s fifth point from play giving Rockcorry a short-lived lead after John Cumiskey had made an important interception at the expense of a ’45, which was taken quickly. A counter-attack led by a strong Coleman run ended with Donaghy kicking a nice equaliser, before disaster struck for Rock when a short free by Keith Daly deep in his own half failed to find his goalkeeper and instead allowed Colm Connolly to find the net from close range to give Donaghmoyne a 2-11 to 0-14 lead as they changed ends for the final time.

Within two minutes of the second half of extra-time starting, Ciarán Daly had increased Donaghmoyne’s lead with a brace of 25-metre frees after fouls on Connolly and Joe Kelly and he soon added another from 13 metres, following a foul on Coleman. Rockcorry lost Reilly to a second yellow card with seven minutes remaining and although they made a couple of half-chances to get the goals they needed, McGuirk had shots blocked by both Bernard Kelly and Gerard Lynch and Mark Daly sent another wide. Ciarán Daly ensured Donaghmoyne finished with a flourish when he curled over a free off the outside of his boot after a foul on Connolly. Donaghmoyne will now contest a semi-final on the weekend of September 8/9 against either Tyholland or Doohamlet.

 

 

Donaghmoyne: G Lynch; D Burns, J Kelly, F McBride; S Kelly, C Deery (0-2), G Woods (0-1); C Daly (1-5, 0-5f), S Byrne; N Kelly, B Kelly, D Coleman; P Donaghy (Capt., 0-3, 1f), C Connolly (1-4, 0-2f), J Cumiskey.

Subs: N Garland for N Kelly (25 mins), D Connolly for McBride (37), C McBride for D Connolly (70), C Coleman for J Kelly (78).

 

Rockcorry: J Smith; K Daly (Capt.), D Matthews, C McGeough; J Reilly (0-2), S Lynch, N McKeown; M Daly (0-2f), B Patterson; L Smyth, M Carroll, F McGeough (0-2f); P McKeown (0-1), N Carroll (0-5), M McGuirk (0-2).

Subs: K Clerkin for F McGeough (50), G Calvert for M Carroll (55), A Tate for Smyth (59).

 

Referee: B Walsh (Ballybay).