Naomh Colmcille and Aodh Rua will meet again in a replay of their Intermediate Championship semi-final after finishing all square at 1-13 to 2-10 after a nail biting game at O’Donnell Park this afternoon.
Thomas McKinley got Naomh Colmcille off the mark after a few minutes. Aodh Rua began to feel their way into the game and were beginning to find space in the forward lines, scoring two points after a few wides.
But Naomh Colmcille replied with four points in succession, with Willie Gillespie splitting the posts from the angle on the right before Ryan McElrean got two points and Mark Dowds rounded off a slick move from the back with a well taken point.
Aodh Rua added their third before Matthew Crossan sent over a point from the centre. With a few minutes left on the clock in the first half Aodh Rua added a free and then breached the Naomh Colmcille defence to find the net.
As the half drew to a close Matthew Crossan curled over a free from the left and Willie Gillespie saw a diving effort with his fist go narrowly wide of the net.
After an even enough first half the score was Naomh Colmcille 0-07 Aodh Rua 1-06.
Aodh Rua came out strongly in the second half and mounted wave after wave of attack, registering a goal and three points without reply in a ten minute period.
Joe Higgins rang the changes and brought on William Lynch, Don Hegarty and Andrew Clarke. Naomh Colmcille began to stem the tide and scored three points, two from Crossan before a goalbound effort from Ciaran Devine was deflected over the bar.
Aodh Rua replied with a point worked from a short free before Naomh Colmcille split the posts again and Don Hegarty found the net to reduce the margin to two points with just over 5 minutes to go. Ciaran Callaghan was introduced from the bench
Naomh Colmcille had the bit between their teeth now and Willie Gillespie and Ryan McErlean both pointed to draw the teams level a 1-13 to 2-10 at the end of regulation time.
During the six minutes of injury time added by the referee both sides had chances to win it, with Aodh Rua hitting two wides and Willie Gillespie just missing a chance to nick it for Naomh Colmcille right at the end.
So after an evenly contested first half, Aodh Rua looked to be in control in the third quarter but Naomh Colmcille’s impressive comeback means the teams will meet again to decide who advances to the final.
Naomh Colmcille: Marty Callaghan, Paul Friel, Alex Devenney, Anthony Grant, Gerard Curran, Shane McAteer, Eddie Gillespie, Ciaran Devine (0-01), Ryan McKinley, Mark Dowds (0-01), Ryan McErlean (0-03), Thomas McKinley (0-01), Willie Gillespie (0-02), Joe Donaghey, Matthew Crossan (0-04)
Subs: William Lynch, Don Hegarty (1-0), Andrew Clarke, Ciaran Callaghan
Match pictures are available on the club website. The replay is due to take place on next Saturday (27th) at 8:00 pm in MacCumhaill Park. Please come along and give the lads your support.
The club dinner dance is set for Friday 23rd November at the Station House Hotel, Letterkenny. Further details to follow.
The club will be holding a FREE Halloween football camp on Thursday 1st November from 10 am to 2:30 pm, for u8s to u12s boys and girls. More details to follow….
The club will be holding a Poker Night on Saturday 17th November. Contact Leo Devenney for details.
You can now keep up to date with the latest club news on twitter: Go to https://twitter.com/Naomh_Colmcille and hit Follow.
Naomh Colmcille Training Schedule this week is as follows
• Under 8’s: Training has now finished for the year.
• Under 10’s: Training has now finished for the year.
• Under 18’s: Minor championship final date/time tbc; please check Facebook or club website for updates.
• Senior training will continue this week as per notification via TEXT from Senior Manager Joe Higgins
New players are always welcome!!
Note: all updates about training and match fixtures will be on the Club’s website (www.naomhcolmcille.com) and Facebook page (Naomh Colmcille GAA.)
Naomh Colmcille’s Weekly Lotto: This week’s winning sequence was 1.17.19.3.16. Congratulations to Gabriel Devenney, Fiona Dowds and John Lynch who matched 3 numbers and won €25 each. The Club would like to take the opportunity to Thank Everyone for their continued support of the Lotto as it gives the Club the essential means of continuing to give our local Kids and Adults the chance to avail of a great and healthy pastime.
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