‘Castle see off determined Beragh to make last four

Greencastle  1-14   Beragh 1-11

A GREATER attacking firepower combined with their strength in key sectors made all the difference for Greencastle who progressed to the Intermediate Championship semi-final despite some anxious moments at Omagh on Friday night.

The St Patrick’s struggled at times to see off the challenge of the determined Red Knights. A surging end to the first half gave them a four point cushion and they maintained it thanks to the efforts of top scorer Cahir McCullagh.

Greencastle will now progress with confidence to the semi-finals, as Beragh reflect on a number of missed chances and poor choices which undermined their performance.

Strong counter-attacks were the key to Greencastle’s solid performance in that opening period. Swapped points between Cahir McCullagh and Callum Corrigan for Beragh settled the two points. But it was Greencastle who looked the stronger at this stage. Further scores courtesy of Cahir McCullagh edged them 0-3 to 0-1 ahead.

Miceal McCann, Enda Clarke and Daniel Touhey also worked well for them. Beragh worked hard and Aaron Treacy, Callum Corrigan and Matthew McSorley tried to create openings. However, the St Patrick’s defence largely held firm.

All that changed, though, at the end of the first quarter when the Red Knights suddenly found their form. The grand total of 1-2 in the space of as many minutes transformed their challenge and gave them the opportunity to consolidate.

It was a blitz that opened with a well-worked goal. Sean McCann dived to palm the ball to the net and give Beragh a 1-1 to 0-3 lead. Moments later Martin Rodgers fired over a well-taken long range point before Conor Owens converted a free. They were now 1-3 to 0-3 ahead and looking to build.

Another long range point from Conor Owens cancelled out Cahir McCullagh’s response. With Cathal Owens racing through to good effect and Seamus Grant, Martin Rodgers, Johnny Woods and Oran Treacy all doing well, the Red Knights were good value for a slender advantage.

Greencastle, though, always represented a threat and they were to hit back in fine style. Their ability to curb the space available to the Red Knights attack and then hit at speed on the counter-attack really worked well for them during the closing stages of the first half.

Chris Gillen played the roving roll impressively at times, as the efforts of Sean Warnock and Enda Clarke also increased their competitiveness. Four points in quick succession from Cahir McCullagh edged them 0-8 to 1-4 ahead, and set them up perfectly for the crucial goal.

Beragh were pressing, but an interception led to a strong move downfield. It culminated in Gillen setting up Sean Warnock who made no mistake with a fine shot to the net. That left them firmly in control on a score of 1-8 to 1-4, and Cahir McCullagh stretched their lead to five.

Urgent action was needed from the Red Knights to stem the tide. Conor Owens fired over their first score in 13 minutes, and gave them some hope of really getting back into contention on the resumption.

Beragh did indeed produce a much improved performance in the second half. Points from Martin Rodgers frees and then a great effort courtesy of Calum Corrigan saw them reduce the deficit to 1-10 to 1-8. The way was clear for them to capitalise, but the fielding of Sean Warnock and Enda Clarke, and the efforts of Conor Carson settled Greencastle momentarily.

But the Red Knights continued to press. Cathaoir and Fiachra Donnelly moved forward with pace, and Oran Treacy, Cathal Owens and Conor Owens tried hard to create space. Two pointed Conor Owens frees left just the minimum between the teams entering the final quarter and the stage was set for an exciting finale.

Points, though, from Sean Conneely and Cahir McCullagh stretched the Greencastle lead again and they looked to have done enough with time running out for the Red Knights. Oisin Donnelly left two between them and they pressed hard for the scores needed to really challenge.

However, it was Greencastle who held firm and Cahir McCullagh made certain of the win when he stretched their advantage to 1-14 to 1-11 at the end of normal time as Beragh’s desperate attempts for an equalising goal failed to yield the drama they sought.