Football

DERRY SFC: Slaughtneil too strong for Newbridge

Se McGuigan turns away after scoring Slaughtneil’s only goal during their 10-point win over Newbridge at Owenbeg. Picture: Margaret McLaughlin 
Se McGuigan turns away after scoring Slaughtneil’s only goal during their 10-point win over Newbridge at Owenbeg. Picture: Margaret McLaughlin  Se McGuigan turns away after scoring Slaughtneil’s only goal during their 10-point win over Newbridge at Owenbeg. Picture: Margaret McLaughlin 

DERRY SFC: Loup 0-16 Glen 0-13; Slaughtneil 1-15 Newbridge 0-8; Ballinascreen 2-14 Magherafelt 1-12

Loup 0-16 Glen 0-13

GLEN made a sensational start to this game at Owenbeg before 3,409 fans last night, with Michael Warnock hitting three points from open play in as many minutes to put them 0-4 to 0-1 ahead after six minutes.

However Warnock was black-carded four minutes from half-time in a closely contested game that saw Loup fighting back to go in all square at half-time, 0-7 each.

Terence O’Brien had levelled at 0-1 each, Aidan McAlynn, Paul Young, Declan McAlynn (2) and Anthony O’Neill had Loup points,  before Ciaran Devlin levelled in added time after Emmett Bradley had pointed his second free.

Anthony O’Neill  from a free and Brian Doyle put Loup two ahead  by the 35th minute but Emmett Bradley from a free and Conor Carville responded for 0-9 each in the next five minutes, the former then taking a pass from Ciaran McFaul to put Glen  back in front.

However, Loup had a purple patch between the 43rd and 50th minute when a pointed free from O’Neill levelled the score at 0-10 each, O’Brien, Devlin, Coney and O’Neill then on target to open up a 0-14 to 0-10 gap.

In a keenly contested final 12 minutes Loup defended stoutly and Ciaran Devlin scored the last point deep into added time to seal victory.

Slaughtneil 1-15 Newbridge 0-8

Slaughtneil qualified for a semi-final meeting with Ballinderry or Banagher after a commanding win over a Newbridge team that battled hard to the finish but were never really in contention after conceding an early goal.

Slaughtneil dominated much of the first half, with Chrissy McKaigue and Brendan Rogers pushing forward from defence to provide a constant supply of ball to the attack.

The Newbridge defence was undone in the third minute. Cormac O’Doherty and Chrissy McKaigue combined to set up Sé McGuigan for a well-taken goal in response to an earlier pointed free from Peter McGrogan.

By half-time Shane McGuigan  had scored three points and Cormac O’Doherty two to give Slaughtneil a 1-6 to 0-5 lead, McGrogan (3) and Ryan McElhone (2) on target for the O’Leary’s, McGrogan’s third point in the final minute of the half their only one from play.

Within 10 minutes of the restart, Slaughtneil had extended their lead to 1-11 to 0-6, Paul Bradley from a free, Shane McGuigan (2), Patsy Bradley and Cormac O’Doherty on target, with Danny Mulholland hitting the first of his two second half points for Newbridge.

Slaughtneil continued to create opportunities but a combination of poor finishing and brilliant saves from keeper Stephen Bateson kept the margin within reasonable proportions.

Ballinascreen 2-14 Magherafelt 1-12

The large contingent of Ballinascreen supporters in the 2,396 crowd at Owenbeg on Saturday went home delighted after a determined display was enhanced by economical finishing which saw them convert 16 of their 18 scoring chances, as opposed to 13 from 24 from their opponents.

Ballinascreen took control of the game in the sixth minute when Paul Burns scored an opportunist goal for a 1-1 to 0-1 lead, one they maintained to the final whistle.

By the midpoint of the half there was just one point between the sides, a monster 60-metre point from Shane Heavron lifting a misfiring Rossas.

However, despite 0-3 from Heavron, a 27th minute major from Shane Mulgrew – he scored 1-2 in the opening period – put Ballinascreen 2-4 to 0-5 in front.

Benny Herron, Mulgrew from a free, Antone McElhone and Heavron from a free advanced the score to 2-6 to 0-7 at the break.

Niall Higgins was denied a goal in the first minute of the second half by a superb goalmouth block from Dermot McBride, before three unanswered points from Mulgrew, two from frees, between the 38th and 45th minutes opened up a seven-point gap.

Rossas got a lifeline a minute later when McElhone was fouled in the goalmouth and Shane Heavern tucked the ball low to the corner of the net from the resulting penalty.

However, Benny Heron responded inside two minutes and Ballinascreen controlled the game until the final whistle, Heron and Phillip Bradley increasing the winning margin to five.