MacLarnon Cup quarter-final: St Louis', Ballymena 3-4 St Columb's, Derry 0-12 A GOAL in the 50th minute from Allstar hurler Keelan Molloy, St Louis', Ballymena's only score of the second half, was enough to take them through to next week's Danske Bank MacLarnon Cup semi-final draw after a thrilling game in Owenbeg yesterday evening.
Goals certainly made a difference in this game and unfortunately for St Columb's, Derry their super point-scoring throughout was not enough to take them over the line. St Louis' opened with a flurry, John Eddie Convery pointing in the first minute and they went into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead after seven minutes.
St Columb's then got into their stride and two points from Dean Curran and another from Odhran Armstrong edged them ahead after 18 minutes.
Eamon Fyfe knocked St Columb's back with a goal in the 22nd minute, quickly followed by a point and they were just getting back into the game, when half-back Darren McCormick fired in a second goal, leaving Ballymena 2-4 to 0-7 ahead at the break.
St Columb's got back into it when Paul Ferris (2), Ruairí Magurie and substitute Conor Gormley to picked off scores and edge them ahead by 0-11 to 2-4 entering the last 10 minutes.
Then came the key moment with Darren McCormick's shot saved by Donal Doherty in the St Columb's nets, but Keelan Molloy followed up to score their third goal. Despite a free from Dean Curran in the 54th minute, the last nine minutes of play were scoreless and St Louis' survived.
St Louis: A Hasson; M Laverty, D Martin (capt),
P O'Connor; C Kinsella, J Henry, D McCormack (1-1); C Lemon, C Carey; K Molloy (1-0), Eamon Fyfe (1-1), JE Convery (0-1 free): M O'Connell (0-1), S Duffin,
C McFerran. Subs: C McAteer for JE Convery, C Faith for C McFerran.
St Columb's: D Doherty; J Brown, R Stevenson,
M Lynch; C Higgins, E McElhinney, A Moore;
M McAdams, R Maguire (0-1); C O'Connor (0-1),
O Armstrong, C White; P Ferris (0-3, 0-2 frees),
D Curran (0-4, 0-3 frees), S Bradley. Subs: C Gormley (0-2) for C Whyte, E Concannon (0-1) for M McAdams, T Reilly for C Higgins, S Mortimer for R Maguire,
C Feeney for S Bradley.
Referee: J Mulholland (Derry)