Cormac Leonard Armagh Senior Football Championship: Crossmaglen Rangers 2-13 Silverbridge Harps 1-11
A FAMILIAR tale, you might say. Silverbridge threw everything they had at Crossmaglen on Saturday evening. They hit them hard and scrapped for every ball and with the wind at their backs in the first half, established a 1-4 to 0-1 lead.
Optimistic souls might have imagined an upset was on its way but they’d only have whispered that because Cross, as they do, weathered the storm. Alternating between lightning breaks and their traditional kicking game, they recovered. By half-time there was only a point in it and, after a 10-minute period when they game was level a couple of times, they pulled away. Aaron O’Neill’s second goal put the issue beyond doubt.
Like this Cross team, Aaron – younger brother of Oisin and Rian - is improving with every match. After the opening weekend defeat against Clan na Gael was followed by the devastating loss of team-mate Caolan Finnegan, victories against Sarsfields, Granemore and now Silverbridge send the defending champions through to the quarter-finals in good shape.
“The trajectory is pretty good,” said manager Anthony Cunningham.
“Given the situation we’re in and the difficulties we have, game-on-game we’re building and we’re in the pot for the quarter-finals. There’s a lot of football still to be play and it’s one of those championships where there’s no out-right favourite. They’ll all be tasty games now – it’s knockout football. Real championship.”
Cian McConville played in Pearse Blessing for the opening point inside the first minute. It came far too easily from a Silverbridge point of view but Fionnan Burns soon cracked over the equaliser after Sean Conlon had shown well at full-forward.
The ensuing kickout hung in the air and Jarly Og Burns was injured as he moved to contest it. He was receiving treatment for what looked like an Achilles Tendon injury (it ruled him out of Craobh Rua’s Armagh hurling championship semi-final against Middletown on Sunday) when Tiernan Murphy gave the first glimpse of his ball-striking ability from a long-range free and when it dipped through Stephen Morris’s fingertips and onto the crossbar Mark Rowland jumped to force the rebound into the net.
At the other end, McConville drilled one goal chance past the post and Paul Hughes had another saved and there wides and a couple more shots that didn’t have the legs.
Meanwhile, Silverbridge extended their lead to 1-4 to 0-1 and Peter Carragher clashed with Oisin O’Neill and Mark Rowland went head-to-head with Rian as the temperature rose but Oisin brought Crossmaglen’s barren spell to an end with a fine finish five minutes from the break.
Odhran Kieran and Morris added two more and Morris and Rian O’Neill were involved as teenage debutant Aaron Haughey broke into the square. His shot was saved but Aaron O’Neill poked the rebound into the net meaning Cross trailed by just one (1-5 to 1-4) at the interval and they certainly would have taken that.
Scores came every couple of minutes in the second half.
Silverbridge were able to keep their nose in front thanks largely to some pure ball-striking from Murphy who finished with six points. Cross, without full-back Rico Kelly after a season-ending hamstring injury, finally levelled via Harry Cumiskey’s point. Then Rian O’Neill – a powerhouse in the middle third of the field with his older brother Oisin, Morris and Callum Cumiskey - and McConville edged them into a two-point lead.
Bryan Murphy’s block denied McConville as he went for goal but Aaron O’Neill buried his chance – a rocket into the left corner from the edge of the square – a minute later.
Silverbridge kept going to the end but there was no way back from there and Cross – with all the neutrals behind them – go marching on.
“We put in a serious shift, we asked them questions and you can’t ask more from the boys,” said Silverbridge joint-manager Damian McCann.
“We started really well but that five minutes before half-time when they got 1-3 was crucial and they got themselves back into it. They mix their game really well, they can be quite devastating in their kicking game and when they go long they have serious talent.
“We know that Cross have had a tough, tough time and we all hope that they do Caolan Finnegan proud and push on this year. Every club in Ireland is behind them.”
Crossmaglen: C Deery; T Og Duffy (0-1), P Hughes, H Cumiskey (0-1); O McKeown, C Cumiskey, O Kieran (0-2); S Morris (0-2), O O’Neill (0-1); C McConville (0-2), R O’Neill (0-1 45), P Blessing (0-2); A O’Neill (2-0), D Cumiskey (0-1), A Haughey
Subs: R Fitzpatrick for Hughes (47), O Carragher for Haughey (55), G Carragher for D Cumiskey (60)
Yellow cards: Kieran (42), A O’Neill (49), McConville (59)
Silverbridge: D McKeown; J Reel, B Murphy, J McArdle; M Traynor, P Reel, A Duffy; P Carragher, F Burns (0-1); M Rowland (1-0), J Og Burns (0-2), T Murphy (0-6 frees); S Rock (0-1 free), J Rock (0-1), S Conlon
Subs: R Reel for F Burns (50), J Martin for J Rock (55), C McArdle for J Reel (61)
Yellow cards: F Burns (31), A Duffy (32), P Reel (46), J Og Burns (54)
