LEAGUE champions St Brigid’s booked their spot in the last eight and knocked Aghagallon out of the running after mounting an incredible second-half comeback to win by 0-15 to 1-10 at Corrigan Park yesterday.
St Brigid’s were seven adrift at half-time, with a Eunan Walsh goal giving Pete McGrath’s side a 1-7 to 0-3 advantage.
But, six points on the trot from St Brigid’s brought them right back into the encounter and although Aghagallon kept their noses ahead, an Enda Downey point finally got St Brigid’s back on level terms on the 56th minute mark.
St Brigid’s finished with a flurry and points followed through Reuben Carleton and James Smith to secure a two-point win.
Creggan will join them in the quarter-finals following their convincing win over St Gall’s on Saturday evening, with 11 points the difference at full time, 1-15 to 1-4.
Lámh Dhearg booked their place in the quarters as they had seven points to spare over last year’s beaten finalists Dunloy.
Marc Jordan rattled the net as early as the sixth minute to give his side a five-point head start, while a Paddy Cunningham brace extended the gap to seven by the time Dunloy opened their account through Eoin O’Neill.
Lámh Dhearg lead 1-5 to 0-3 at half time but Chrissy McMahon’s major brought Dunloy right back into it and narrowed the gap to one four minutes after the turnaround.
Cunningham, who finished with 0-7, and Declan Lynch both pointed before Murray grabbed a second goal for Lámh Dhearg and quashed any hopes of a Dunloy revival.
Portglenone finished at the top of Group 3 and confirmed their place in the quarter-finals with a draw against Con Magee’s, who were out of the championship before the game.
A first-half Sean Byrne goal gave the Roger Casements club the upper hand by half-time as they nudged ahead 1-4 to 0-5. Cormac McKeown tied things up midway through the second half, hitting home a goal with his first touch after being introduced.
Portglenone had pushed three ahead as the game entered added time but a late goal from Cathal Hynds earned a share of the spoils (2-7 to 1-10) for the Glenravel men.
Quarter-finals
September 13-15 (TBC)
Lámh Dhearg v Creggan
Cargin v Ahoghill
Portglenone v St John’s
St Brigid’s v Dunloy