T-Met Armagh Senior Football Championship quarter-final: Crossmaglen Rangers 1-14 Pearse Og 2-6
Crossmaglen had to rely on all their old craft to ward off a late Pearse Og rally in this mediocre quarter-final clash at the Athletic Grounds yesterday.
Both teams finished with 14 men, Marc Cullen sent for early shower on 26 minutes and Rangers substitute Stephen Finnegan picking up his red eight minutes from time.
The defending champions got off to a rampant start, Johnny Murtagh’s green flag leaving them 1-2 to 0–0 ahead after five minutes and it looked as if the city side could be obliterated, but three more goal chances were squandered, Murtagh on the end of two of them.
That early dominance seemed to count for precious little when a piece of timely vision from Marc Cullen picked out the unmarked Ros Clarke for an Ogs major, leaving 1-2 to 1-1 at the end off the first quarter.
Cross upped the ante and with David McKenna lording the midfield, landed the next four points, full-forward Kyle Brennan claiming three of them.
Trailing 1-7 to 1-1 close to the interval, Ogs were in a spot of bother but the impressive Marc Cullen broke through for a minor only to be red-carded immediately afterwards.
A major blow for the losers who were beginning to find a way back. Ros Clarke from a free narrowed the gap, leaving it 1-7 to 1-3 at the break.
On the resumption, Cross wasted no time taking full advantage of the extra man and early scores from Tony Kernan (0-2) and Murtagh, had them 1-10 to 1-3 in the ascendency
To their credit, Ogs kept battling on and were rewarded with points from the Clarke’s, Ros and Conor. But the champions, still a man up, were winning possession all over the park and when Aaron Kernan (0-2) and Mickey McNamee pushed them 1-13 to 1-5 ahead midway through the second period, it seemed done and dusted.
Ogs were then thrown a lifeline in the form of Sean Moore’s clinically dispatched 47th minute penalty and when Cross substitute Stephen Finnegan was red-carded, it was suddenly not all plain sailing. In fact they only outscored their opponents 0-7 to 1-3 in this second period.
Ogs hard-working midfielder Sean Moore kept his side’s slender hopes alive converting with a long range 57th free, before being black-carded with time practically up, but Murtagh with Rangers’ responded with sole point in the final 15 minutes to close the game out.
