Glenelly ease past Errigal to make Junior semis

 Glenelly 0-16  Errigal Ciaran III 1-4

THIS was a fairly straightforward afternoon’s work for a Glenelly side that sealed their first Junior Championship semi-final spot in more than a decade.

Managed by Roger Keenan and Tony Scullion, Glenelly raced into a virtually insurmountable 0-11 to 0-1 lead by the half-time whistle of Saturday’s quarter-final joust with Errigal Ciaran Thirds, but their opponents never gave up the ghost and deserve credit for their unceasing efforts even when the game was beyond them.

But this was Glenelly’s day. They played some really tidy football in attack but they aren’t afraid of a bit of hard work and their defenders carried out their remit to perfection, ensuring points were at a premium for Errigal Ciaran throughout. They also have an imposing midfield sector and superb ball-carriers like Thomas Coyle and captain Cormac McBride, so you can’t discount them from springing an upset in the semis – time will only tell on that front.

Glenelly had the ball over the bar in the first ten seconds, Garret O’Neill popping over after a neat one-two, and added another shortly afterwards, the same man landing a superb score with the outside of his boot.

Errigal got their first of the day, a free from veteran performer Davy Harte who has been a real stalwart and reliable source of scores since transitioning into the Thirds team in recent years, but it didn’t set the tone for the remainder of the half as Glenelly assumed almost total control of the contest.

St Joseph’s were looking good in attack and edged into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead, a fine score from Lorcan McCullagh, finding the target superbly despite being off-balance when firing off his shot.

Their support runners were making a positive impact early on and they weren’t doing badly down the other end of the pitch either, forcing a number of turnovers in the opening ten minutes of play.

Bidding to reach the semi-finals of the championship, Glenelly got their fourth of the day – and their fourth from play – when Aodhan McConnell dissected the posts in the 15th minute. McConnell was to the fore again, using all his trickery to find space before teeing up midfielder Rory Kennedy who used the breeze at the back to guide over their latest score from distance.

The Errigal forwards were finding themselves shepherded towards the sidelines by a tuned-in Glenelly rearguard in no mood to cough up unnecessary scores.

Glenelly were having no such problems in keeping the scoreboard ticking over, ferrying the ball quickly up the pitch thanks to the hard-running of the likes of captain McBride, and they tagged on two quickfire points from Ronan O’Kane (free) and wing-back Thomas Coyle, opening up a 0-7 to 0-1 lead.

The game was already starting to slip away from Errigal as Coyle ghosted in for his second of the afternoon. Errigal battled away gamely with Oisin Neill doing well at the back, but Glenelly had attacking threats in every direction and compounded their advantage with a Ronan O’Kane mark. From the restart, Glenelly pounced again with a point from the powerful Cathal O’Neill, meaning that all six of their starting forwards had scored as half-time approached.

Errigal sweeper Caolan Tierney had been forced off with injury and it seemed to empower Glenelly as they tagged on score after score, O’Kane getting his first of the day from play to set up a 0-11 to 0-1 lead. Down the other end, Errigal had a few forays forward but the likes of Fergus O’Neill, Seamus Bradley and Oscar O’Neill ensured that their tally remained at a single point.

The whistle blew for half-time and realistically the game was as good as over, but Errigal now had the wind advantage and they got the first score of the second period, Harte nailing his second free.

Ronan O’Kane steered over his latest point, a tricky free, but Errigal were working hard for each other, showing more bite and energy to their play than they had done previously, and they rattled off a few efforts that tailed wide.

Glenelly conjured a goal chance with Oscar O’Neill blasting the ball over the bar and while Errigal had upped their game considerably, they were still struggling for scores against a stern opposition defence.

Errigal did get a goal, however, with ten minutes remaining, Shane Donaghy’s effort clipping off the underside of the crossbar, while Davy Harte, who battled hard through, scored a point from play.

It had been a commendable second-half performance from an Errigal side and they brought their tally to 1-4 when Turlough Mullin blazed over with 55 minutes on the clock.

Still though, they were a long enough way behind and Ronan O’Kane and Lorcan McCullagh tagged on late scores for Glenelly to make doubly sure of their place in the semi-finals of the championship in a fortnight’s time.

The Scorers

Glenelly
Ronan O’Kane (0-6, 3f, 1m), Thomas Coyle, Lorcan McCullagh and Garret O’Neill (0-2 each), Cormac McBride, Oscar O’Neill, Rory Kennedy, Cathal O’Neill (0-1 each)

Errigal Ciaran Thirds
Shane Donaghy (1-0) Davy Harte (0-3, 2f), Turlough Mullin (1-1)