Group D
Mullaghbawn 2-13 Ballymacnab 2-6
Mullaghbawn secured their spot at second place in the Group D table as they saw off Ballymacnab by seven-points in Saturday’s winner takes all clash. The sides were tied at the half time interval, but a second half surge from the home team saw them over the line.
Having lost to Armagh Harps on the opening day, the south Armagh men bounced back with two victories on the trot against Dromintee and Ballymacnab. The Nab secured an opening day win over Dromintee but have lost their last two games to the Harps and Mullaghbawn.
It was the visiting team who opened the scoring inside the first couple of minutes with a pointed mark from Kieran Hughes, but Mullaghbawn replied at the other end with an Eddie English free before Jack Bennett buried the ball to the net with a superb strike.
Mullaghbawn stretched their lead with a Niall Loye free, which was quickly cancelled out by a second mark from Hughes. Midfielders Joe McCann and Ryan Watters traded scores before Finnen Maguire cut the deficit to two-points with his first.
Ballymacnab then shot in front when Hughes sent through Daniel O’Toole, who blasted the ball to the net. That was followed up by another Maguire score, but English and Loye (free) both split the posts before the short whistle sounded to leave the sides level, 1-5 apiece at half time.
The Nab hit the net early in the second period, with O’Toole punching the ball to the bottom corner for his second major but Mullaghbawn took full control of the contest from there and rattled off an impressive1-8 on the bounce.
English kickstarted the scoring spree for the home side and he slotted over his third of the afternoon with a fine left footed strike. Defenders Fergal O’Brien and Martin McKinley (45) fired over a point each to tie things up before Pauric Mackin put Mullaghbawn ahead.
Corner back McKinley fired over a second 45 before Niall Loye grabbed a second three-pointer for Mullaghbawn, with Pearse Magill pouncing on a loose kickout before playing through Loye, and that made five the difference
Mullaghbawn weren’t done yet and English and McCann along with Pearse Quinn all pointed to extend their advantage while substitute Aaron Hughes claimed the final score of the day for Ballymacnab to make the margin seven at full time.
Armagh Harps qualified for the quarter-finals by topping the group before Saturday’s action even got underway. Mullaghbawn’s win sees them finish in second place, Ballymacnab come third while Dromintee crash out of the championship.
Pascal Canavan’s men experienced a comfortable 1-19 to 1-12 victory at home to Dromintee in a dead rubber contest. Neither side had anything to play for and the Harps were the much stronger team on the day.
A first half goal from corner forward James Walsh helped the Harps into a commanding 1-11 to 0-4 lead at half time. Gareth Martin grabbed a second half goal for Dromintee, with seven the difference in the end.
Group A
KILLEAVY upset the odds as they travelled to Silverbridge and picked up a four-point victory, seeing them claim second spot in Group A, leaving the ‘Bridge in third position.
A second half goal from Caolan McConville was the key score for Killeavy while netminder Shea Magill had an incredible game between the sticks, pulling off a number of fine saves, including a late penalty, along with stroking over two 45s.
Tiarnan Murphy opened the scoring for Silverbridge and rattled off the first three points, all from frees. A fisted effort from Niall Magennis was Killeavy’s first score, coming after 17 minutes of play.
A quickfire double from Adam Garvey and Ronan McGuinness (free) got Steven McDonnell’s men back on level terms before Murphy edged the home side back in front when his effort on goal was palmed over by Magill.
Ciaron O’Hanlon burst through the Silverbridge rearguard to get his name on the scoresheet with a point and Killeavy rattled over the final score of the first half through Cathal Boylan to lead 0-5 to 0-4 at the break.
Aaron Duffy levelled the game at the start of the second half before Killeavy grabbed the first goal. Miceal McNamee’s punched effort was saved by Daniel McKeown, but the rebound fell to McConville who fired the ball to the net.
Substitute Aaron McGuinness hit two-points after coming into the fray, and they were matched by Mark Rowland and Pauric Keating. Shea Magill landed a long range free before pulling off two sublime saves at the other end of the field.
Pete Carragher and Murphy (free) kept Silverbridge in touch before Magill knocked over his second free before Killeavy captured a short kickout and Miceal McNamee popped over his first to make it a four-point game. A late Magill penalty save was the icing on the cake for Killeavy.
All-Ireland Intermediate champions Cullyhanna secured their spot in the quarter-finals as they saw off Culloville, who were knocked out of the championship before the game, by five-points.
Cullyhanna led by 1-8 to 1-3 at half time, with Paudi Shea McKeever and Dara Quinn (penalty) grabbing the goals and while Culloville hit a second after the turnaround through Fearghal Traynor, it wasn’t enough to get something from the game.
The Senior Championship Playoff draw:
Killeavy v Group B 3
Clann Eireann v Ballymacnab
Group B 2 v Silverbridge
Mullaghbawn v Maghery