Gormley uPVC Senior Football Championship Round 1B
Magheracloone 2-14 Castleblayney 2-13 (AET) 31/8/13
Magheracloone got back to winning ways in the SFC when they edged out Castleblayney after extra-time in Inniskeen on Saturday. Blayney were seconds away from winning in normal time, but they were pegged back by a late point from Tommy Freeman, which gave Magheracloone the platform to stay in the competition and consign the Faughs to being the first team to be knocked out. Freeman returned after missing the Scotstown defeat through illness to play a key role for Magheracloone, who also had good performances from Gavin Doogan, James and Pete Ward and Paudie Finnegan, while Ciarán Hanratty, Cormac Brady and Kealan Duffy were best for Blayney.
Tommy Freeman opened the scoring from a 30-metre free, but Martin McElroy and Ciarán Hanratty replied with points from play for Blayney. Hanratty then popped up after good work by Dermot Malone to score the opening goal, but Gavin Doogan replied with a well-taken point for Magheracloone. Niall Babington added a point from play and then won a 30-metre free for Freeman to convert, but a similar effort by Mark Hanratty kept Blayney ahead, following a foul on Malone.
Magheracloone took the lead when a strong run by James Ward released Doogan to drill the ball to the net and Freeman added a point from a 20-metre free after a foul on Babington. Paudie Finnegan moved Magheracloone three clear, but 14 scoreless minutes followed until either team scored again, when Ciarán Hanratty had to settle for a point from a rebound after he had been denied by Shane Duffy, following a long ball by Kealan Duffy. Magheracloone still led by 1-6 to 1-4 at half-time.
Ciarán Hanratty hit a point at the end of a surging run in the third minute of the second half, before setting up McElroy to equalise. McElroy, in turn, assisted Gary Ward to edge Blayney ahead, only for Tommy Freeman to hit back with two fine points from play. Doogan then fisted over after a one-two with Damien Freeman, but Malone fisted over at the other end and he then won a 30-metre free for McElroy to convert. Tommy Freeman regained Magheracloone’s advantage when he tapped over a 20-metre free for a foul on Mark Gilsenan and the forward was then involved, along with sub Johnny Coleman, in creating a point for his county team-mate Doogan.
A frantic finish began in the final minute of normal time when a low shot by Cormac Brady crept into the corner of the Magheracloone net, but Freeman won and scored a 30-metre free to level it up again. Blayney looked to have won it when a foul on Patrick Tavey allowed Mark Hanratty to tap over a 20-metre free, but Freeman turned up at the other end to fist over and send the game to extra-time with the scores tied at Magheracloone 1-13 Castleblayney 2-10.
Magheracloone were first off the mark in the extra 20 minutes with a good point by Finnegan, before Ciarán Hanratty left the teams level for the seventh time. Magheracloone missed a few chances to retake the lead as Tommy Freeman and James Hand sent frees wide and Damien Freeman fisted a point-attempt off the crossbar, before McElroy converted a 25-metre free for a foul on Paddy Finnegan to send Blayney in at the change of ends ahead by 2-12 to 1-14.
Blayney suffered a setback straight from the throw-in when Jim McHugh was shown a red card for striking and that was compounded two minutes later when Paul Jones punched a Damien Freeman cross to the net. Brady got a point back for Blayney, but they could not find another equaliser and Magheracloone survived to set up a meeting with either Carrickmacross or Doohamlet.
Magheracloone: S Duffy; M Gilsenan, P Ward, M Jones; N Tuite, J Ward, P Tuite; G Doogan (1-3), J Kieran; P Finnegan (0-2), N Babington (0-1), P Kirk; Damien Freeman (Capt.), P Jones (1-0), T Freeman (0-8, 5f).
Subs: J Coleman for Kirk (40 mins), J Hand for Babington (54), P McArdle for N Tuite (60), K Rudden for Coleman, N Babington for Gilsenan (both 70).
Castleblayney: P McBennett; M Hanratty (0-2f), J McHugh, K Duffy; B Hanratty, C Brady (1-1), D Hughes; C Gurn, M Treanor; D Malone (0-1), G Ward (0-1), M McElroy (0-4, 2f); C Hanratty (Capt., 1-4), B McElroy, D McArdle.
Subs: P Finnegan for B McElroy (39), J Hughes for Gurn (49), P Tavey for Ward (54), N Duffy for McArdle (60), U Brady for M Hanratty (69), J Brady for Tavey (74).
Referee: P McEnaney (Corduff).
By cshalvey Wed 4th Sep
