Northern Switchgear Antrim Senior Football Championship: O’Donovan Rossa, Belfast 0-6 Creggan Kickhams 1-8
THIS must have been close to being the most miserable, wettest day in the history of Gaelic Games.
Slate grey skies, a depressing mist and heavy rain that never ceased from start to finish.
The Hightown Road was no place for the faint hearted yesterday afternoon as defending champions Creggan Kickhams eased past a gutsy O’Donovan Rossa to book their semi-final place in this year’s Antrim senior football championship.
But how the game was allowed to continue after half-time was a major talking point.
The St Enda’s, Glengormley pitch is one of the best surfaces in the county, but it was like a water park in the second half after another deluge of rain fell during the half-time interval and thereafter.
Conditions in the first half were difficult. By the time the second half got underway they were downright treacherous.
Players slid in the water for record distances – dream images for a sports photographer.
All eyes were on referee Karol Doherty throughout the second half as to whether he would abandon proceedings.
The team that’s trailing in situations like yesterday are usually the ones to make the most noise about player welfare. On a couple of occasions, Doherty must have been close to pulling both teams off the field.
Nobody could have complained either.
At one point, he was in deep conversation with his linesman, presumably about the worsening conditions and player safety.
But after a brief pause the game continued – much to Rossa’s chagrin.
While the catcalls from the Rossa backroom team continued, justice was still served in this quarter-final.
Rain or no rain, a game had to be negotiated, and Creggan mastered the conditions much better than their opponents.
Gerard McNulty’s side virtually owned the ball in the second half. Their handling and timing of the hand pass to an overlapping team-mate were first class, all things considered.
Rossa, by contrast, were guilty of too many misplaced passes – and they paid the price.
And yet it was the west Belfast men who got off to the better start in yesterday's eagerly awaited tie.
Liam Quinn may have opened Creggan’s account on his weaker right side after three minutes, but Rossa nabbed three of the next four scores in what was always going to be a low-scoring game.
Stephen Beatty hammered over from distance and county ‘keeper Michael Byrne strode forward to convert a pair of rangy frees for ‘Rossa.
Niall Crossan and Richard Gowdy were winning turnovers along their own ’45 and Hugh McGettigan’s game-plan was functioning nicely, although losing Michael Armstrong and Adam Devlin to injury before half-time were blows.
Then disaster struck.
‘Rossa midfielder Eoghan McMenamin fumbled a ball 30 metres from his own goal, it broke to arguably the most ruthless finisher in this year’s county championship – Ruairi McCann – and the county ace got enough direction and power in his shot to ripple Rossa’s net and put Creggan 1-2 to 0-3 ahead on 24 minutes.
Any of the 30 players could have fumbled a ball in such terrible conditions - and many of them did - but it just happened to be McMenamin's unfortunate mishap that gave Creggan the platform to push on in the second half.
The champions led 1-3 to 0-3 at the break and they never looked like relinquishing this advantage in the second period.
The Johnston brothers - Marty and Ricky - broke forward to good effect at times while 'Rossa found it impossible to stop or dislodge the ball from Kevin Small's grasp as the Creggan midfielder made some strong penetrating runs into Rossa territory.
Placed balls were always going to be key though. Jamie McCann converted just before the break and added two more in the second half.
Only five points were scored from play yesterday - three from Creggan, two from Rossa - but the pick of the bunch by some distance was Tiernan McAteer's raking effort in the 37th minute that prompted an almighty roar from the travelling Kickhams contingent that put the champions 1-5 to 0-3 ahead.
Rossa were on the back foot.
Amid the slipping and sliding, Creggan fashioned the better goal chances too. Kevin Rice and Jamie McCann had sights of goals chances while Cormac McGettigan caught Byrne’s lobbed free but his 52nd minute shot really had to go under the Creggan crossbar rather than over it to turn the game in Rossa’s favour.
So impressive in their group win over Cargin, Rossa playmaker Dominic McEnhill constantly foraged and looked for openings in the Creggan defence that just weren’t there.
He slotted over a stoppage-time free to reduce the arrears to 1-8 to 0-6, but Rossa were a busted flush at that stage.
The incessant rain well and truly demoralised everybody by the final whistle as there wasn’t much of a celebratory roar from the Creggan supporters who were already rushing to their cars.
Cargin await their neighbours in the semi-finals in a fortnight's time - a repeat of last year's meeting. Still all to play for in Antrim...
O’Donovan Rossa: M Byrne (0-3 frees); M Mackin, C Orchin, G Walsh; J Morris, C McGuinness, R Gowdy; C McGettigan (0-1), E McMenamin; D McEnhill (0-1 free), T Morgan, A Devlin, S Beatty (0-1), M Armstrong, N Crossan Subs: C McDonald for M Armstrong (15 inj), S Shannon for A Devlin 30 inj.), C Fleming for E McMenamin (51), SP Donnelly for N Crossan (51), P Moyes for J Morris (59)
Creggan Kickhams: O Kerr (0-1 ’45); EC Small, R Johnston, E McAteer; A Maguire, M Johnston, J McCann (0-3, frees); K Small (0-1), K McCann; T McAteer (0-1), F Burke, O McLarnon; L Quinn (0-1), D McAteer, R McCann (1-1, 0-1 free) Subs: S Duffin for D McAteer (48), C Small for L Quinn (50), F Burke for O McLarnon (55), K Burke for M Johnston (60)
Referee: K Doherty
