Academy’s strong first half earns them MacCormack Cup
Academy’s strong first half earns them MacCormack Cup
November 28, 2015
Danske Bank MacCormack Cup final
St Patrick’s Academy Dungannon 2-8 St Colman’s Newry 1-8
ST COLMAN’s Newry didn’t score for the first 28 minutes of this Danske Bank MacCormack Cup final at the Dub on Saturday and paid the price with St Patrick’s Academy going too far ahead to be reeled in during a spirited second half from the Newry side.
It really was a game of two halves. From a position of being 2-5 to 0-0 up heading into the break, the Academy were very much under the cosh particularly during the last 20 minutes as St Colman’s turned up the heat.
The Academy were tuned in from the throw-in and were able to put St Colman’s on the back foot for most of the opening half with half-backs Stephen Corr and Michael McKernan able to get forward to support their attack.
Corr opened the scoring after three minutes and Ryan Coleman had a second point on the board before the first goal in the tenth minute when Coleman intercepted a move out of the Newry defence and Cormac O’Hagan was on hand to finish to the net.
Corr and Coleman then added points before a long effort at a fifth point from Michael McKernan dropped just short of the bar and the back-pedalling Jack Heaney couldn’t prevent it dropping over the line behind him.
There was more woe for St Colman’s a couple of minutes later when midfielder and team captain Charlie Carr had to go off injured. They desperately needed leaders to stand up and they got them.
Rian O’Neill was a huge presence in attack, picking off 1-6, the goal coming from a penalty during first half injury-time when one of his colleagues was impeded as they bore down on goal.
Frank Aiken stepped up the pace around the middle of the field during the second half and slowly Rian O’Neill reeled in the 2-5 to 1-1 interval deficit.
In reply to points from Jude Campbell and Ryan Coleman, O’Neill scored four points, two from play, two from frees. Sean Leneghan and Nicky Murray also got in on the act before O’Neill brought it back to 2-7 to 1-8 with five minutes left.
There were claims for a second Newry penalty in the last few minutes, but it wasn’t awarded and the Academy held them off with Cormac O’Hagan breaking the run of scores from St Colman’s with a late free that seemed to calm his side’s nerves a little.
Overall the Academy probably deserved the win, but it might have been a different story had St Colman’s applied themselves in the opening half as they did during the second.
St Patrick’s: D Woods, T Loughran, B McNulty, L Rafferty, S Corr 0-2, T Teague, M McKernan 1-0, B Kennedy, B Crealey, C O’Hagan 1-1, 0-1 free, D Kerr, M Quinn, J Campbell 0-1, R Coleman 0-4, 0-2 frees, D Jones.
Subs : M Donnelly for M Quinn (42), P Donaghy for M McKernan (45), C Dosantos-Corr for D Jones (52), E Rankin for j Campbell (55).
St Colman’s : J Heaney, P Fegan, O Donnelly, J McKee, M McCreesh, N Murray 0-1, C Gordon, C Carr capt., F Aiken, S Winters, R O’Neill 1-6, 1-0 pen, 0-4 frees, R McGreevy, N Scullion, E McDonnell, S Leneghan 0-1
Subs : C McGrath for C Carr (22), A Gribben for S Winters (50).
Referee : N McKenna (Monaghan)
