SENIOR LEAGUE
Wolfe Tone 0-14 Maghery 3-9
Maghery travelled to Wolfe Tones and fought out a well-deserved win to remain joint top of the Senior League.
Both teams were fairly evenly matched but it was the goals scored at just the right times to keep Maghery in front throughout the match.
The first came from Stephen Cusack who netted the ball after the ‘Tones had took an early lead in the first half, then Shea Tennyson blasted the second shortly before half-time to go into the break 0-8 to 2-5.
Maghery will feel they were the better side in the second half as they were very strong in midfield and keep possession for longer periods than the home team. But it was the final goal scored by Seamus Forker which again kept Maghery ahead until the final whistle.
Maghery travel to Tir Na Og on Friday night while Wolfe Tones are at home to St Paul’s.
St Paul’s 0-11 v 1-13 Granemore
St Paul’s are still looking for their first win of the season after losing at home to Granemore.
The visitors scored an early penalty after 10 minutes through Declan Doyle who got 1-2 on the day.
St Paul’s, missing Andy Murnin, still dominated the middle with Phelim O’Neill in good form.
Granemore led at the break: 1-5 to six points.
After the break it was tit-for-tat as the home side failed to bridge the four point gap with Jason O’Neill hitting five for the visitors.
The Lurgan side only managed four points from play despite having 18 shots at goal.
Up next for St Paul’s is a trip to Wolfe Tones on Friday night while Granemore welcome Pearse Ogs.
Sarsfields 1-14 v 3-13 Pearse Ogs
Sarsfields start to the season has been less than impressive with three consecutive defeats on the bounce – the latest coming at home to Pearse Ogs.
However, this was the proverbial game of two halves as the home side led by three points at the break and it could have been more only for a mistake from the full-back. A high ball in was dropped in to the net. HT: 1-9 to 1-6.
The Ogs really got to grips with the game after the break with Sean Hughes scoring a great goal after a good ball in from Paul Duffy.
Duffy himself got a goal later on before Sarsfields missed a penalty – a fine save from Malachy Trainor in the Ogs goal.
With the wind at their backs Conor and Ronan Clarke lorded it up front with Darnell Parkinson impressive in around the middle.
Dromintee 0-12 v 1-19 Crossmaglen (Fri)
Crossmaglen hosted rivals Dromintee on Friday night and it was Rangers that came out on top.
The rain prior to the game left the underfoot conditions slippery and as a result both sides struggled to cope.
The home side had the advantage of the breeze in the first 30 minutes but failed to make full use of the elements and as a result the sides went in at the interval all square at six points apiece.
On the resumption it was Rangers who made the better start with three points in a row.
Dromintee were not to be outdone and responded with three similar scores.
The turning point of the game came when with 15 minutes left to play when Cross’ scored the only goal of the game to put them five points ahead.
Cross’ dominated the remainder of the game scoring seven points to Dromintee’s three.
Next up for Crossmaglen is an away trip to Forkhill while Dromintee head to Camlough to take on Carrickcruppen.
St Patrick’s 0-14 v 4-8 Ballymacnab
The old adage that goals win games rang true at St Patrick’s Park this afternoon as the concession of a quartet of major scores saw Cullyhanna slip to their first home reversal since the Summer of 2013.
Fresh from a facile victory last week, it was not long before St Pat’s became aware that a very different encounter awaited them with Ballymacnab managing the first point after little more than a minute.
The match was very much nip and tuck in the first quarter with two Tony Donnelly points and a Robbie Tasker score giving Cullyhanna a one point lead before a Ballymacnab goal gave the away side the advantage.
17 minutes had elapsed when Gareth Mackin fired an effort towards goal which deflected off the crossbar and over the bar to reduce the St Pat’s deficit to the minimum.
However that was to signal the beginning of a period of Ballymacnab dominance which provided a platform for victory as a combination of dominance in possession and Cullyhanna defensive confusion saw the away side plunder 2-3 in 11 minutes to open up a 10 point half time cushion.
While few teams recover from double digit deficits within 30 minutes, this gallant St Patrick’s side made a fine effort in the attempt as they utterly dominated the opening 21 minutes of the second half, kicking eight points in succession, each from a different individual, to reduce the deficit to manageable proportions.
A two point margin was as close as Cullyhanna were to get with Ballymacnab stemming the tide thanks to a point eight minutes from time.
Although Donnelly responded for Cullyhanna with a point from play, the away side finished the game the stronger and put the result to bed by scoring 1-2 in the closing minutes to make Donnelly’s pointed free in stoppage time something of an irrelevance.
While a six point defeat at home is a very disappointing result, St Pat’s can at least take heart in the determined fashion in which they fought their way back into contention in the second half.
Friday night’s trip to an unbeaten Harps side now takes on added importance as St Pat’s seek to bounce back immediately.
Elsewhere, Forkhill also picked up another two valuable points at home to Tir na nOg who now prop up the table after three games.
Armagh Harps were convincing winners over Carrickcruppen at Abbey Park and Annaghmore beat Killeavy by three in an important clash at the bottom half.
[standings league_id=1 template=extend logo=false]
For 2015 Senior League Fixtures and Results, click here
INTERMEDIATE LEAGUE
Mullaghbawn 0-9 v 0-11 Culloville
Culloville were victors in this south Armagh derby away to Mullaghbawn. Culloville struck a long distance score in the first minute and it took Mullaghbawn time to get to grips with the game.
The home side hit a series of wides before finally registering a free kick. The visitors landed three more points, but Mullaghbawn kept fighting and leveled the scores.
A point with the last kick of the half sent Culloville in with the smallest of leads,. 5-4 at the break.
With the wind at their backs for the second period, Mullaghbawn were hoping to control proceedings, but Culloville came out firing and within ten minutes of the restart had stretched their lead to five points.
The home side landed the next four scores to reduce the margin to a single point with only a matter of minutes to play.
Mullaghbawn endeavoured to work an opening for an equaliser but a move broke down and Culloville went up the field and won a free to give themselves a more stable two point lead.
It was Culloville’s second win of the campaign to propel them into the top half of the table.
Dorsey 0-3 v 2-15 Shane O’Neills
Dorsey suffered another torrid day at the office as Shane O’Neill’s inflicted a heavy defeat to keep up their 100 percent record in tact.
Paul O’Rourke opened the scoring for the Shanes with the home side replying straight away but this proved to be their only score of the opening period as the visitors went on to totally boss proceedings.
Two quick points from Sean McLoughlin and Paul O’Rourke eased the Shanes ahead before great work from Marc Feehan and Oisin Murphy ended with the latter firing to the net for his side’s first goal of the game.
A Sean McLoughlin free was followed by the Camlough side’s second goal of the contest when full-forward Paddy Maughan made the most of some slack Dorsey defending to find the net and put his team nine to the good.
Further points from Neil Paul Lennon and Sean McLoughlin gave the Shanes a comfortable eleven point half-time advantage, 2 – 6 to 0 – 1.
The second-half began in the middle of a heavy hail shower and took a while for both sides to settle but the Shanes then rattled off six points on the trot with Paul O’Rourke (0 – 3), Oisin Murphy, Mark McCabe and Paddy Doran all on target.
A free for Dorsey saw them register just their second point of the contest before points from Sean McLoughlin and Neil Paul Lennon kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Shanes.
The referee then awarded Dorsey a late penalty but they failed to take full advantage, only managing to score a point from the resulting kick and it was the Shanes who had the last say with Neil Paul Lennon slotting over his side’s fifteenth point of the game with virtually last kick.
Shanes O’Neill’s face another unbeaten side in Clann Eireann on Friday night.
Keady 1-2 v 3-14 Clann Eireann
It was a pretty one-sided affair in Keady as Clann Eireann remained top of the division thanks to a comprehensive 18-point win.
The Lurgan men were four points to the good after just five minutes but Keady were awarded a penalty shortly after in which Brendan O’Hea scored but that’s as good as it really got for the home side.
Keady registered one more point before the break, but a Chris McCaffrey goal left the scores at 1-8 to 1-2 at the break.
Clann Eireann stepped it up a gear and kept Keady scoreless for the entire second half.
Ryan Henderson notched over a few points but goals from James McDaid and Conor McKavanagh gave the scoreline an added gloss.
John McGee, Shea Heffron and Dan France all played well for the visitors.
Elsewhere, the Grange picked up their first win of the season with a 3-13 to 0-7 win away to Middletown.
An Port Mor dropped their first point of the campaign with a draw away to neighbours Collegeland, who incidentally picked up their first point. Despite only recording three points, it was two goals which hauled in Port Mor’s nine point tally. Final Score: 2-3 to 0-9
Madden jumped into the top half of the league with a convincing 1-14 to 1-7 win over Clan na Gael in Lurgan.
It was a single Whitecross goal that separated them and Silverbridge as the home side ran out 2-7 to 1-7 winners to remain joint-top with a 100 percent record. Silverbridge remain rooted to the bottom.
In today’s north Armagh derby, St Peter’s inflicted a first defeat on Eire Og, beating them handsomely by 11 points on a scoreline of 1-16 to 1-5.
[standings league_id=3 template=extend logo=false]
For 2015 Intermediate League Fixtures and Results, click here
JUNIOR A
Belleek 0-13 v 0-8 Ballyhegan
Belleek picked up their first points of the season with a win over Ballyhegan this afternoon.
The home side stormed in to a three point lead before Ballyhegan registered their first score on 17 minutes.
And Ballyhegan then took control of the tie, outscoring their opponents by five points to two to take a single point lead into the break.
Martin O’Callaghan, playing at wing-half back, scored twice after the restart to give Belleek the lead again.
The home side registered another five unanswered points with Ballyhegan only able to register two consolation points towards the end – their goalkeeper with seven minutes to go and the other in stoppage time.
Next up for Belleek is a home time with Lissummon while Ballyhegan travel to neighbours Tullysaran.
St Michael’s 2-4 v 1-14 Clonmore
St Michael’s playing with the wind in the first half, and this paid dividends after a high ball into the square caused chaos in the Clonmore defence and the breaking ball was seized upon by Bonzo Caherty who sent the ball goal-bound for Newtown’s opening score.
Then after some good tackling in the middle third, the Newtown attack won two consecutive frees converted by K Murray to leave the score 1-2 to 0-1.
Clonmore pulled one back to leave a goal in it, but another high ball into the square by B Davidson found the Clonmore net to give Newtown a two goal lead. It is unclear who got the last touch on this, without the benefit of an action replay, but there could be a case for an OG by the Clonmore keeper, though D Mullen was also in the vicinity at the time.
Newtown will be disappointed that this six-point lead was cancelled out almost immediately, and instead of going in six points up at half time, the scores were Newtown 2-04 Clonmore 1-03.
Playing with the wind at their backs, Clonmore started the first half with a flourish, hitting three points from play in as many minutes.
Crucially, Newtown failed to win any breaking ball in the middle sector and could not get a platform for going forward at all.
Clonmore used the breeze well, not allowing Newtown to get any good ball into their forwards.
Even with the lntroduction of Bidy Cunningham, Newtown could not get to grips with the game in the second half and finished the game without registering on the scoreboard in the last 30 minutes.
After going in four points ahead at the break, St.Michael’s will be very disappointed in their second half performance.
In the other game, Corrinshego – playing in their brand new field for the first time, disposed of Lissummon 1-14 to 1-07 to go level on points with Clonmore having played a game less.
[standings league_id=4 template=extend logo=false]
For 2015 Junior A League Fixtures and Results, click here
JUNIOR B
Two games were played on Friday night with Clady beating Dromintee IIs 0-14 to 2-5 to go top of the division while Clann Eireann IIs picked up their first points with a 1-9 to 1-7 victory over Killeavy IIs.
[standings league_id=5 template=extend logo=false]
For 2015 Junior B League Fixtures and Results, click here
