St Patrick’s Maghera 1-14St Eunan’s College 1-12
BY MATTHEW WILSON
St Eunan’s College’s Rannafast Cup journey came to an end on Tuesday afternoon, suffering a two-point defeat to St Patrick’s Maghera at Celtic Park.
The two sides were inseparable as the clock entered red at the Derry venue however, the Maghera outfit finished the stronger of the two by landing the final two scores to seal the win.
St Patrick’s Maghera kicked the opening score of their encounter, with captain Don Mulholland firing over after four minutes.
Two minutes later, Jonah Cannon got St Eunan’s College off the mark by slotting over a close range free.
Cannon was soon involved again, kicking over his second score of the afternoon but it was cancelled out by a free from Donnacha Collins shortly afterwards.
The Derry outfit began to find their groove and found the contest’s next four scores to open up a four-point advantage.
This fruitful spell commenced through a placed ball from Don Mulholland before adding further white flags courtesy of Donnacha Collins (free), Sionan McCormack and Mulholland again.
The Letterkenny school responded well to this spell, with Jonah Cannon continuing his fine half in front of the posts by kicking back-to-back points for his side.
The Maghera men’s four-point cushion was soon restored however, with Tadgh Bradley and Sionnan McCormack firing over points in quick succession.
Glenswilly’s Jonah Cannon soon found his fifth white flag of the afternoon before the Donegal side kicked a major to draw themselves level.
An attempted point from Finn Nolan dropped short and ended up in the back of the St Patrick’s Maghera net, much to the visitors delight.
The Oak Leaf County side rallied back by finding Act One’s final two scores from the boots of Joey Griffin and Don Mulholland to leave them two ahead at the break.
The hosts began the second stanza with a bang, landing a three-pointer just 90 seconds after the start.
Joey Griffin received the ball into his hands at the edge of the box and directed his effort beyond James Toner and into the net.
However, this major appeared to inject a bit of life into the Letterkenny school as they hit back with five points without reply.
Shay Sweeney and Mark Anthony McGuinness fired over two fantastic attempts from outside the arc before Cathal Doherty swung an effort over the bar to leave us level again with 18 minutes left on the clock.
The Maghera school restored the advantage once again shortly afterwards, with white flags from Don Mulholland (free) and Joey Griffin.
Although the spirit St Eunan’s College side continued to battle and managed to draw level again, with Cathal Doherty and Aaron McGinley both finding the target.
However, it wasn’t to be for the Donegal men as the hosts landed two successive points in stoppage time courtesy of Ronan O’Loughlin and Tadgh Bradley to secure their progression to the next round.
Teams
St Patrick’s Maghera: Seamus Og Woulihan; Bradan O’Donnell, Fergal MacLarnon, Oran Glackin; Joey Griffin (1-2), Dara McKenna, Cori Harbinson; Don Mulholland (0-5,2f), Sionan McCormack (0-2); Tadgh Bradley (0-2), Dan McEldowney, Cahir McDonnell; Donnacha Collins (0-2,2f), Finn O’Neill, Ronan O’Loughlin (0-1). Subs: Oisin Burke and Dara McKaigue for Harbinson and O’Neill (44 mins), Karl Friel for O’Donnell (55 mins).
St Eunan’s College: James Toner; Senan Kelly. Oisin Higgins, Adam Moore; Luke Gallinagh, Ryan Buckley, Senan Faulkner; Aaron McGinley (0-1), Matthew McGinley; Finn Nolan (1-0), Evan Duffy, Mark Anthony McGuinness (0-2,1tp); Shay Sweeney (0-2,1tp), Cathal Doherty (0-2), Jonah Cannon (0-5,1f). Subs: Ryan Toye for Faulkner (11 mins).
Referee: Gavin Doherty (Derry)
