UNIVERSAL GRAPHICS JUNIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL.
Emyvale 0-14, Oram 1-6
Emyvale booked their place in the final of the Junior football championship, but it was a difficult passage against a very committed Oram side in this fairly low-key and at times lacklustre affair that was played in good conditions in Scotstown on Sunday evening last.
Emyvale were never headed in the entire contest but as a team that had been setting the pace in junior ranks they never really caught fire and Oram carried the game to them to good effect, to be level twice in the 1st half but crucially could not take the lead at any stage. Their prospects of doing that were dealt a blow some 4 minutes from the end of normal time in the 1st half when full forward Pauric Graham picked up a black card and in his absence they lack that edge that he gave them particularly his accuracy from frees.
Emyvale led at half-time by 0-8 to 1-3, and always held that level of a lead in the second-half, before going 4 in front for the 1st time with 7 minutes of normal time remaining. With 3 minutes remaining they opened a 5 points lead with the best Oram could manage thereafter was a point that left 5 between them at the finish. Emyvale finished the game with 14 players after Michael O’Brien was sent off on a 2nd yellow card approaching the end of normal time.
Teams and Scorers: Emyvale: Gerard McCaffrey, Sean McMeel, Aaron Loughran, Ciaran Connolly, Ryan Kelly, Gregory Devlin, Ryan McAnespie 0-1, Michael O’Brien, Colin Hughes, Stephen Askin, Robbie McAllister 0-3 (2f), Gareth McQuaid 0-6 (6f), Johnny McCarron, Gavin McKernan, Daniel McMahon 0-4 (1f). Subs: James O’Neill for S Askin, Michael Flannery for R McAnespie, Jack Kelly for G McKernan.
Oram: Kevin Irwin, Lorcan Keenan, Stephen McBride, Christopher McGeough 0-1, Danny Lynch, Christopher McGuinness, Gerard Keenan, Ryan McGuinness 0-1 (f), Turlough Fitzsimons, Daniel Forde, Jason McDonald 0-2 (1f), Hugh Brennan, Rory Murphy, Pauric Graham 0-2 (1f), John Mone 1-0. Subs: Declan Crowe for P Graham (Black Card), Darren Kavanagh for T Fitzsimons, Michael Mone for H Brennan. Referee: Andrew Mullan (Scotstown).
