Corn na nÓg final: St Patrick's, Maghera v St Macartan's, Monaghan (Thursday, 5pm, Garvaghey)
COULD this be Monaghan's year in colleges' football?
A fortnight ago, Patrician High beat St Macartan's, Monaghan to keep the Rannafast Cup in the county and, on Thursday, 'the Sem' are in contention for the second Grade A title, the Corn na nÓg, when they meet St Patrick's, Maghera at Garvaghey.
St Macartan's had a titanic struggle with Patrician in the Corn na nÓg semi-final last Friday, before they emerged on the right side of a 3-2 to 1-7 scoreline. That game will have done them little harm as they approach a final against a team who were pre-competition favourites after eclipsing the Dalton title last season.
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St Macartan's met them in a group game back at the start of October and Maghera prevailed on a 3-10 to 3-8 scoreline in a match that could have gone either way. Since then, they have beaten St Patrick's, Cavan by five points and this was a Cavan side who were Dalton Cup runners-up last April.
The semi-final with Patrician was a typical derby fixture, tough and tight throughout in difficult conditions. It went right to the wire, but the Sem had the character to see it out and take their place in the final.
Karl Gallagher is a serious goal threat, hitting the net in each game through the competition. Niall McKenna is also earning himself a name as a finisher, while Lochlainn Power grabbed a goal at the start of each half in the semi-final. At the back, James McAdam, Chrissy Flood and Michael Meehan have held their ground well - and will know what to expect from Maghera.
The south Derry side has done little wrong over the Dalton and Corn na nÓg campaigns, carrying the mantle of favourites lightly. The Monaghan game was the toughest they got in their group and they were very comfortable quarter-final winners in the derby with St Pius X.
Against Omagh CBS, they played with the breeze and led by 3-7 to 1-0 at the break. Omagh had to go at them in the second-half and that left gaps at the back that Oisín McClafferty and PJ McAleese exploited by scoring two more goals to put the game to bed. McAleese and McClafferty are part of a very strong half-back line alongside the latter's Bellaghy clubmate Conan Milne, while Ethan Doherty and Cathair Higgins pose a real danger in attack.
Omagh did score 5-6 against them and that will encourage the Monaghan side, although they will not want to give them such a start.
Maghera were strong favourites to lift the Rannafast Cup, but were halted by a Carrickmacross team that went on to lift the title. They will hope that another Monaghan team doesn't leave them in despair after Thursday's decider.
TEAM NEWS
St Patrick's: C McGilligan, F McGrath, A McGuckin, J McWilliams, O McClafferty capt, C Milne, PJ McAleese, S McKenna, S Murray, E Doherty, E Downey, S Kearney, C Higgins, S Turner, S Lagan; Subs: P Quinn, C Murray, J McGurk, F Murphy, L Murray, R McFaul, C Diamond, T Higgins, R O'Kane, R McGill, C McNicholl, F McNicholl, E McOscar, J Duggan, E Quinn, S Cassidy, C Mullan, L Diamond.
St Macartan's: C Caulfield, M Meehan, J McAdam capt., R Boyle, A Brennan, C Flood, C Devlin, O Fegan, J McElvaney, L Power, K Gallagher, C Lappin, C McHugh, B Maguire, N McKenna; Subs: J McKenna, D Murray, E McGinnity, T Moyna, T Kierans, A Smyth, M Carville, D McCaffrey, T McDonald, T O'Rourke, N Corrigan, P Keenan, C Meehan, C McCooey, D Treanor, J Hagan, K McKenna.
