Eire Og hurlers see off Lisbellaw

Carrickmore Eire Ogs 2-17  Lisbellaw St Patrick’s 2-13

A SUPERB revival during the final quarter of this clash was capitalised upon in magnificent fashion as Carrickmore ran rampant during the closing stages of extra time to book their place in the Ulster Intermediate Hurling Club Championship semi-final on Sunday afternoon.

Sean Og Grogan’s goal in the first period of those added 20 minutes provided the perfect platform for the Eire Ogs. They subsequently dominated the final moments, with Justin Kelly’s accuracy making doubly sure right at the end.

They now progress to the last four of the competition where Creggan Kickhams await and there will be no doubting the determination of the Tyrone champions as they bid to finally make their mark in Ulster.

But it didn’t always look like they were destined for victory as the Fermanagh side dominated for much of normal time. Indeed, despite playing against the wind in the first half, Lisbellaw, made much of the early running.

A goal from Caolan Duffy after just four minutes boosted their confidence and they continued to control matters. While Conor Grogan, Bryan McGurk and Justin Kelly all responded for Carrickmore, they still trailed 1-4 to 0-4 at the end of the first quarter as John Duffy and Luca McCusker fired over for the fired-up visitors.

Lisbellaw continued to make their mark, as Dean Rafferty, Oran McKee and Dermot Begley had to be on their toes in the Eire Ogs defence. Swapped points between Frances McBrien and Luca McCusker for Lisbellaw and Justin Kelly and Sean Og Grogan for Carrickmore kept the issue nicely on the boil approaching the interval break.

But it was the Fermanagh champions who led by 1-6 to 0-6, and the pressure was on the Eire Ogs to respond against the wind on the resumption.

The outlook, though, for them continued to be poor during the opening stages of that second half. Frances McBrien and Luca McCusker added scores to leave Lisbellaw 1-8 to 0-6 ahead, approaching the final quarter.

Now urgent action was demanded for the Eire Ogs to stem the tide, and they showed real character to make their mark in such magnificent fashion subsequently. Their revival was down to star performances throughout the field.

Dermot Begley and Enda Grimes upped the tempo in defence, where Conor Grogan played an important role as sweeper. Bryan McGurk and Ruairi Slane did well at midfield while up front the Munroe brothers, Cormac and Jonathan and Justin Kelly really turned on the heat.

What followed was an important series of scores which soon brought the Eire Ogs right back into contention. Ruairi Slane took a pass from Cormac Munroe to fire over and then Aidan Kelly battled through to leave just three points between the teams.

But the key moment came when Aidan Kelly grabbed a goal. That made the score 1-9 to 1-8, Conor Grogan added the equaliser seconds later. As the end of normal time fast approached, swapped points between Luca McCusker for Lisbellaw and then Jonathan Munroe set up extra time on a score of 1-10 each.

It was the Eire Ogs whose superior fitness really told during those added 20 minutes. Points from Dermot Begley and Sean Og Grogan got them going and Grogan’s goal left them enjoying a fully deserved 2-13 to 1-11 lead at the end of the first period.

All seemed to be going according to plan during the second period. Ruairi Slane increased the Eire Ogs advantage, but Mark Slevin threw a potential spanner in the works when he goaled to leave only three points between the teams again.

However, the home team increased the pace again when it mattered most. Sean Og Grogan and a brilliant brace of points courtesy of Justin Kelly made all the difference in the closing moments as Carrickmore emerged the winners with four points to spare.

THE SCORERS

Carrickmore
Sean Og Grogan 1-3 (1 ’65), Aidan Kelly 1-1, Justin Kelly 0-4, Conor Grogan 0-3, Dermot Begley 0-2 (1 ’65’ 1f), Ruairi Slane 0-2, Bryan McGurk 0-1, Jonathan Munroe 0-1.

Lisbellaw
Luca McCusker 0-7 3 ’65, 2f), Caolan Duffy 1-1, Mark Slevin 1-0, Frances McBrien 0-3, Sean Corrigan 0-1, John Duffy 0-1.

THE TEAMS
Carrickmore
Conor McElhatton, Sean Kerr, Oran McKee, Dean Rafferty, Enda Grimes, Dermot Begley, Anthony Crossan, Bryan McGurk, Ruairi Slane, Conor Grogan, Justin Kelly, Conn Sweeney, Cormac Munroe, Sean Og Grogan, Oisin Daly.
Subs – Jonathan Munroe for A Crossan (28), Aidan Kelly for J Kelly (half-time), Brian Conway for O Daly (52), Cillian Kerr for E Grimes (54).

Lisbellaw
Mark Curry, Michael Flanagan, Ronan McGurn, Ciaran Duffy, Thomas Duane, Rory Porteous, Francis McBrien, Dylan Bannon, Caolan Duffy, Luca McCusker, Conor McShea, JP McGarry, Sean Corrigan, John Duffy, Jimmy Tormey.
Subs – Tom Keenan for J Tormey (39), Mark Slevin for J Duffy (50),
Referee – James Clarke, Cavan.