Danske Bank MacRory Cup quarter-final
St Patrick’s, Armagh 1-7 Abbey CBS, Newry 0-10
(after extra-time, St Patrick’s win 4-3 on penalties)
JUST before Christmas, Abbey CBS survived a penalty shoot-out in a Danske Bank MacRory Cup play-off to eliminate St Macartan’s, Monaghan.
On Saturday evening in the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, they were again taken to penalties, but this time they went down 4-3 to St Patrick’s, Armagh.
The first six penalties were all converted, but Armagh goalkeeper Conall McCann smothered the fourth Abbey effort and turned the fifth over his crossbar.
In between, Cathaoir Hughes planted his shot in the left corner and that was that for the Newry side, who had scored seven unanswered points either side of half-time in a very low-scoring game to lead by 0-8 to 1-2 with less than 10 minutes left to play.
However, the boys from Cathedral Hill hit four of the last five points – including McCann’s equaliser from a 45 in the second minute of added time – to bring the sides to extra time.
The extra 20 minutes couldn’t separate the teams and it took further intervention from McCann to secure St Patrick’s a passage to a semi-final meeting with the winners from Wednesday evening’s Derry derby in Owenbeg between St Patrick’s, Maghera and St Mary’s, Magherafelt.
Seven minutes were gone before Conal McGeogh opened the scoring with a point for Abbey and that was the only score of the first quarter. Armagh, however, hit a quick scoring burst at the start of the second quarter.
Ryan McGahan got in for the only goal of the game in the 16th minute and Michael McSorley tagged on two points soon after.
However, the second of those in the 21st minute was to be the Armagh side’s last score for over half an hour.
In between, Abbey started to slowly build a head of steam. McGeogh took his second point off a free in the 22nd minute, while late points from Paul McGovern and a McGeogh free left the Newry side just a point behind at the break, 0-4 to 1-2.
Half-time substitute Charlie McGrath levelled the game with his first touch of the leather in the 32nd minute and four minutes later McGeogh converted a free to edge Abbey ahead.
The Forkhill forward then added one from play and within 60 seconds Diarmuid O’Rourke came storming through to make it 0-8 to 1-2. There were also a couple of half-chances to widen the gap further, but the shooting was off the mark.
Eventually, the game started to change, but it wasn’t until the 52nd minute that the Abbey defence was breached and it took full-back Aodhán McGrane to do it. Oisin Gribben followed with Armagh’s fourth point and, despite sub Daniel Carr responding with an Abbey point after 58 minutes, Michael McSorley and that Conall McCann 45 sent the game to extra time.
There were no scores during the first half, but Carr fired over his second point of the night early in the second half only for McGrane to land the equaliser two minutes from time.
St Patrick’s R McGahan 1-0; M McSorley 0-3 (0-2f); A McGrane 0-2; C McCann (f) & O Gribben 0-1 each
Abbey C McGeogh 0-5 (0-3f); D Carr 0-2; D O’Rourke, P McGovern & C McGrath 0-1 each
