By 
ULSTER INTERMEDIATE CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Eglish 3-10
Crossmaglen 0-19
By Damien Donnelly
GEMMA Daly sent over an equalising score to earn Eglish a second chance after a riveting encounter with Crossmaglen at Pearse Og Park in Armagh on Saturday.
The Tyrone champions, who were pushed close by Naomh Treasa in their home county final, met Crossmaglen for an intriguing match-up that delivered a highly competitive and skilful tussle between two very committed teams. The sizeable crowd certainly went through a rollercoaster of emotions as the game unfolded.
Eglish struck for three goals on the day, two arriving in the first half. Crossmaglen responded well to reach parity by midway (2-6 to 0-12). The Armagh title holders rallied again following a third Eglish goal to go one point ahead but Daly found that levelling point in time.
Play began with the sides swapping early points through Regan Fay (free) for Eglish and Tina O’Reilly in reply. Crossmaglen then tagged on points via Megan O’Callaghan and Faye Fitzpatrick before Rhianne McLoughlin pulled one back on behalf of Eglish.
Faye Fitzpatrick drove over Crossmanaglen’s fourth point but an excellent side-line conversion by Regan Fay and Cliodhna Goodfellow from open play brought Eglish level on 0-4 apiece by the 14th minute.
Eva Cassidy soon had Crossmaglen back in front but then Eglish enjoyed a real purple patch that yielded a 2-1 tally in quick succession. First up, midfielder Kaitlin Gallagher did well to drill home breaking possession in the 17th minute. Oilibhia Farley followed up with a point and then further good approach play by Cliodhna Goodfellow helped carve out a chance that Reagan Fay finished home to the net 19 minutes in.
The Tyrone team now held a 2-5 to 0-5 advantage but Crossmaglen lifted the tempo of their game in response. Points for the Armagh side followed from Faye Fitzpatrick, Tina O’Reilly and Megan O’Callaghan to soften somewhat the impact of those two Eglish goals.
A second point from Eva Cassidy and one courtesy one of Lauren McConville closed the gap more. Francine Farley made a great block to deny Crossmaglen a goal as well.
Emma Holmes and Kellie Shields exchanged points prior to Lauren McConville landing a point as the teams headed in all-square at 2-6 to 0-12, the scoreboard being adjusted to show one of the earlier Crossmaglen efforts that was confirmed as a point.
The pace and power of these two well-matched teams continued to show during the closing 30 minutes. Tina O’Reilly and Reagan Fay had opening points for their respective sides before Eglish netted for a third time on 37 minutes, with Rhianne McLoughlin tapping home to leave the St Patrick’s camogs 3-7 to 0-13 in front.
Lauren McConville drove over as Crossmaglen replied, Kellie Shields and Cliodhna Goodfellow then trading points as play moved swiftly from one end to the other. Faye Fitzpatrick converted a free and Catherine Muldoon did well to intercept a Crossmaglen attack on goal soon after.
Reagan Fay claimed a fine point but Kellie Shields fired over two in succession as the Eglish lead was cut to just one in the 53rd minute. Tina O’Reilly brought the Armagh camogs level and Lauren McConville put them one ahead in the 59th minute.
There was still time, though, for Eglish to launch forward and Gemma Daly posted a levelling point shortly after arriving onto the field of play to necessitate a replay.
Scorers
Eglish: Reagan Fay 1-4(2f), Rhianne McLoughlin 1-1, Kaitlin Gallagher 1-0, Cliodhna Goodfellow 0-2, Emma Holmes 0-1, Oilibhia Farley 0-1, Gemma Daly 0-1
Crossmaglen: Tina O’Reilly 0-5, Kellie Shields 0-4, Lauren McConville 0-4, Faye Fitzpatrick 0-3(1f), Megan O’Callaghan 0-2, Eva Cassidy 0-2
Teams
Eglish: Brenda Horsfield, Francine Farley, Aisling Donnelly, Laura Mason, Grace Daly, Kate Daly, Casey Gallagher, Kaitlin Gallagher, Reagan Fay, Oilibhia Farley, Catherine Muldoon, Cliodhna Goodfellow, Eve Hughes, Rhiane McLoughlin, Emma Holmes. Subs: Gemma Daly for C Goodfellow, Shannon Gildernew for F Farley, Sienna Gildernew for E Hughes
Crossmaglen: Lauren Duffy, Aveen Bellew, Riona McConville, Claragh Leneghan, Alanna McEntee, Blathin O’Brien, Caitlin Leneghan, Ashlinn McMahon, Grace Fitzpatrick, Tina O’Reilly, Faye Fitzpatrick, Megan O’Callaghan, Kellie Shields, Lauren McConville, Eva Cassidy
Referee: Sean Callan, Derry
