M&L Contracts Derry Senior Football Championship: Loup 1-14 Glenullin 1-8
Loup justified their favourites’ tag with this six-point win over Glenullin at Owenbeg on Saturday evening, their reward a quarter-final meeting with Glen.
Mitchel’s manager Liam Bradley sprung quite a surprise at the throw-in when he did not start his sons, Paddy and Liam, although they had been named in the starting 15
The latter was introduced in the 21st minute, with Glenullin trailing 0-8 to 0-2, the former joining the fray four minutes into the second half, with Loup’s 0-9 to 0-3 interval lead cut to 0-9 to 1-4.
There were just 14 seconds on the stopwatch in the second half when Christopher Dempsey fired the ball to the net, Brian Mullan then picking up a loose ball from an Eoin Bradley free to the goalmouth and slotting it over the bar.
Ruairi Bradley had not been named in the starting 15 but, along with Donal McNicholl, he was in the team that lined up and got the scoreboard moving with a fourth minute point.
But thereafter, Loup utterly dominated the half. They were in control at midfield, where Terence O’Brien reigned supreme and Jason Rocks was punching holes in the Glenullin rearguard.
Ciaran Devlin levelled, Anthony O’Neill from a free, Paul McVey, the outstanding Patrick Coney, Brian Doyle from a free and keeper Thomas Mallon from a ‘45’ were all on target for 0-6 to 0-1 lead by the 10th minute.
Indeed the game might well have been put beyond Glenullin two minutes later but for a superb save by keeper Eoin McNicholl.
Coney and Devlin had points either side after one from Dermot O’Kane, Aidan McAlynn closing the half with a minor after O’Kane had landed 23rd minute point.
In the final minute of the half, Glenullin’s centre-back John O’Kane was black-carded, the Mitchel’s adding to their scoring burst at the start of the second half with a monster point from Eoin Bradley in the 47th minute and another from Brian Mullan two minutes later for 0-12 to 1-8.
Paul McVey halted Glenullin’s surge with a fine point but Loup’s hopes could have been dented when Thomas McVey was red-carded after picking up a ‘black card’ to add to his first half yellow card.
They overcame this blow with a rousing finish that brought a third point by Coney in the 52nd minute and a stunning goal strike by corner-back Conal McGinley six minutes from time.
