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Burren (Down) 1-14

Omagh St. Endas (Tyrone) 1-11

 

Omagh started off the match in flying fashion scoring a goal straight from the throw in from captain Jason McAnulla, followed by a point from midfielder Conan Grugan.

 

Burren responded with 2 Sean Murdock points and a pointed free from full forward Eamon Toner

Conor Clarke fired over a point for Omagh but Burren got right back in to the game with a Gerard McCartan Free and a goal from that man Murdock.

 

Points were traded in the 13th minute from Omaghs Leo McCullagh and Burrens Donal O'Hare. Omagh drew the match level @ 1-05 each with points from Conor McMahon and Conan Grugan.

 

Ronan O'Neill ended Omaghs first half scoring with a point as Burren finished the stronger with 4 unanswered points from the boots of  Anton McArdle, Sean Murdock, Conaill McGovern & Padraig Poland.

 

Half Time: Burren 1-09, Omagh 1-06

 

Omagh flew out of the traps from the second whistle with young Ronan O'Nell converting a free and half back Barry Tierney firing over to leave the minimum between the sides.

 

Burren then took control with 2 points apiece from Murdock and Conaill McGovern but disaster struck as their number 7 David McEntee got his marching orders from referee Pat McEneany for a very dangerous high challenge in the 25th min.

 

This re-energised Omagh as they made a comeback with 3 unanswered points; two from midfielder Conan Grugan and another Barry Tireney point who flew forward from half back.

 

Burren responded with a much needed point from corner forward Donal O'Hare and they survived massive late pressure from Omagh who were trying to work the goal that would take it to ET. Stout defending ensured no more scoring as Burren captured the inaugural Ulster U21 Club Football Championship hosted by Kickhams Creggan.

 

Joint captains Murdock and ?? lifted the trophy to the delight of their large support.

 

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Burren (Down) 1-12

Naomh Conaill (Donegal) 1-09

 

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Omagh St. Endas (Tyrone) 3-06

Crossmaglen (Armagh) 0-07

 

 

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Sunday 31st January
Throw-In 2pm

Kickhams Creggan (Antrim) 1-04
Burren (Down) 3-07

The old adage is certainly true...goals win games! Creggan U21's certainly discovered the harsh truth of this as Burren opened up with a goal blitz inside the opening 10 minutes to leave Creggan stunned and 9 points down before they had hardly kicked a ball.

To haul back this defecit was always going to be a massive task and so it proved to be when the scores were tallyed up that was the difference between the teams. That's not to say Creggan didn't have their chances, they did, as a missed penalty and other missed goal chances were testament to this. In the end though it was too much work to do and Burren showed how sharp they were out of the blocks on the back of their County final 5 days earlier.

Burren proceed through to the semi final stage with their number ll Sean Murdock picking up the Denvir Plumbing & Heating MOTM award.

 

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Saturday 30th January

 

Omagh St. Endas (Tyrone) 0-16
Truagh Gaels (Monaghan) 3-04

Omagh eventually edged out winners in this first round match on Saturday against Monaghan side Truagh Gaels at Kickhams Creggan. In the early exchanges it looked like it was going to be a routine outing for the men from Tyrone but the Truagh side had not travelled the distance to be rolled over easily.

During the first 30 minutes of play, Omagh fired over 10 points with Truagh only managing to record 3 scores, a goal and 2 points to be going in at the break 5 points down. It was expected that Omagh would surge ahead and finish the job but Truagh never stopped tackling, harassing and surging forward at every opportunity which St. Enda's found difficulty coping with at times.

The long high ball in to the full forward line was playing dividends for Truagh as they managed to score another two goals, one of which came from the penalty spot. Indeed if they had better composure in front of the posts when shooting and with another extremely strong claim for a penalty turned down this result could have been so different.

In the end Omagh had enough class about them to get over the finish line as victors, and in full forward Jason McAnulla, they have a number 14 with undoubted ability to punish the best of defences in Ulster at this level.

All that was left was for Man of the Match sponsor Brian Denvir of Denvir Plumbing & Heating to present the award to Truagh Gaels Number 30 Owen Kelly who had a fine game for the losers.

 

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Saturday 23rd January

Throw-In 2pm 
 

Crossmaglen (Armagh) 5-21
St. Patricks Donagh (Fermanagh) 0-04

Armagh U21 Club Champions Crossmaglen opened up the inaugural Elk Sponsored Ulster U21 Club Championship at Kickhams Creggan with a facile preliminary round win over Fermanagh representatives St. Patrick's Donagh. This was a very one sided contest and as one of the tournament favourites will not have learned too much from their outing.

Indeed Crossmaglen were highly impressive, efficient and ruthless as is to be expected of this Club with Jamie Clarke picking up the MOTM award with a personal tally of 3-05.

Crossmaglen will now face Cavan side Belturbet in the first round proper on 6th Feburary with a 2pm throw-in

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Naomh Conaill, Glenties (Donegal) 1-08
Foreglen (Derry) 0-10

A GOAL five minutes from time by substitute AJ Gallagher was the key score as Naomh Conaill booked their place in the semi finals of the inaugural Elk Sponsored Ulster U21 Club Championship by eeking out a win over Foreglen from Derry in yesterday’s quarter-final at Kickhams Creggan GAC.

With the Glenties men leading by the narrowest of margins (0-8 to 0-7) as the game entered its final five minutes, Leo McLoone senior’s team bagged the killer goal. Leo McLoone fed captain and Man of the Match Eoin Waide with a clever diagonal ball that opened up the Foreglen defence. Waide, who played for Donegal on Saturday night, would have backed defender Martin Bradley to cut out his delivery, but the ball slipped through his fingers into the path of Gallagher, who drilled home from the edge of the square.

While points from Martin Farrell, Eoghan McFeely and Nigel Bradley brought Foreglen back into the contest, it was too little, too late as Naomh Conaill had done enough to come through a hard-fought encounter.

They have yet to complete their 2009 Donegal U21 Championship, indeed they are only at the quarter-final stage of that competition, but Naomh Conaill, having won the last three Donegal titles, were put up as the county’s representatives in the first ever U21 Club Championship, held at the mightily impressive Kickhams Creggan club.

Though young in years, it was a vastly experienced Naomh Conaill team that lined out yesterday, with a number of members of the club’s senior team, which contested the senior county final in October, included.

Dara Gallagher and Eoin Waide came through Donegal’s McKenna Cup match with St Mary’s the previous evening and were included from the off.

With less than two minutes played, Naomh Conaill penetrated the Foreglen defence when Gallagher’s ingenuity put midfielder Leo McLoone in the clear, but his attempt at goal was parried to safety by Joseph Ashford.

Dermot Molloy raised the game’s first white flag on ten minutes when he got on the end of a McLoone pass to fire over. Gallagher doubled that advantage on the quarter-hour mark when he delivered a fine point off his left foot having collected a sublime cross-field ball by Molloy.

It took Foreglen 24 minutes to score their first point of the game, registered from a free by Nigel Bradley after Eoin Waide was penalised for a foul on Eunan McFeely. That would be the County Derry team’s only point of the opening half.

Meantime, Dermot Molloy took receipt of another McLoone pass to hit his second of the day and in stoppage time at the end of the half he knocked over his third - from a free, after a late hit on Dara Gallagher by Oisin Duffy.

Naomh Conaill hit six wides in the first 30 minutes and in the opening minutes of the second-half the sizeable following who made their way from Glenties must have been worried that their missed chances could return to haunt them.

Inside the first seven minutes after the re-start Nigel Bradley converted a pair of frees to move Foreglen to within a point, but Molloy responded with a free. Eoghan McFeely kept Foreglen within touching distance, as he popped over a majestic point from 45 metres, while a free by Martin Farrell came just a minute after Dara Gallagher pointed at the other end.

Naomh Conaill were finding the gears again, with Eoin Waide and Leo McLoone pulling the strings. Skipper Waide was fed by Dermot Molloy, whose power saw him regain possession, and the wing-back split the sticks from 30 metres.

Molloy defied the laws of trigonometry when he perfected his angles from the tightest of positions out the left, after a surging run from inside his own half by McLoone opened up the chance.
But Foreglen weren’t going down without a stern fight and points by McFeely and Bradley pulled them from the brink again, only for them to be rocked by the concession of AJ Gallagher’s goal on 55 minutes.

Despite Foreglen applying a good deal of pressure late on, Naomh Conaill held on.
For the winners, Cathal Ellis, Stephen Molloy, Dermot Molloy, Leo McLoone and Eoin Waide were on song, with the latter being named the Man of the Match.

NAOMH CONAILL: Stephen McGrath; Martin Gallagher, Ciaran Boyle, Stephen Molloy; Jamie McHugh, Cathal Ellis, Eoin Waide (0-1); Callan Waide, Leo McLoone; Dermot Molloy (0-5, 2f), Seamus Corcoran, Dara Gallagher (0-2, 1f); Christopher Molloy, Joe Kennedy, Brian Quinn. SUBS: Jamie Molloy for C.Waide (36 mins); AJ Gallagher (1-0) for McHugh (41 mins); David Gallagher for C.Molloy (57 mins); John Molloy for Kennedy (60 mins).

FOREGLEN: Joseph Ashford; Ruairi Duffy, Shane Duffy, Kevin O’Neill; Paul Kealey, Oisin Duffy, Darren O’Kane; Ciaran McFeely, Mark McCormick; Cathal O’Hara, Nigel Bradley (0-5, 3f), Martin Farrell (0-2, 2f); Eoghan McFeely (0-3), Sean Campbell, Eunan McFeely. SUB: Martin Bradley for Kealey (half-time);

REFEREE: Owen Quinn (Antrim).

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