Football

Maghery and Pearse Og clash for spot in Armagh Senior Championship final

Armagh skipper Aidan Forker is a key player for Maghery. Pic Philip Walsh.
Armagh skipper Aidan Forker is a key player for Maghery. Pic Philip Walsh. Armagh skipper Aidan Forker is a key player for Maghery. Pic Philip Walsh.

Cormac Leonard Armagh Senior Football Championship semi-finals: Pearse Og v Maghery Sean McDermott’s (tonight, the Athletic Grounds, 7pm)

HAVING your nose in front when the final whistle blows is all that matters in championship football.

Neither of this evening’s combatants were convincing winners at the quarter-final stage but both were ahead when it counted and managers Shane McConville and Finnian Moriarty will hope for more fluency and form but know they’ll get spirit and resilience from their charges in this evening’s semi-final.

McConville was the man who guided Maghery to their first ever Armagh senior title back in 2016.

Since then he has moved on to Pearse Og and his side did enough to get past Cullyhanna in their opener and then hung in doggedly to pull off an upset win against Madden at the quarter-final stage in the first ever penalty shoot-out in the history of the Armagh championship.

Joe Sheridan had scored both Madden goals but couldn’t manage another from the spot and the experienced Paul Duffy held his nerve to score his penalty and send the Ogs through to the last four.

It was his brother Anto who scored the crucial goal in the first round when Pearse Og beat an understrength Cullyhanna side 1-11 to 0-12. Duffy was used as a targetman full-forward that night but the city side can mix the long-ball game with pacey, running attacks and James Freeman is a capable finisher.

Conor Clarke, sprung dramatically from the bench last time out, is another reliable forward while, at the back, Vincey Brady is the defensive lynchpin of the team.

Meanwhile, Maghery’s defence struggled to cope with the precocious skills of Conor Turbitt and trailed for much of their quarter-final against Clann Eireann but they timed their run perfectly to come from one down near the end of extra-time, pip the Lurgan men at the post and win by a point. Stefan Forker and Brian Fox got the vital scores.

Midfielder Ben Crealey will miss the match after breaking his collarbone in pre-season training. The Armagh star has had surgery on the injury and will sit it out this evening. He believes that Maghery, beaten semi-finalists last year, can go a step further this season if they produce their best.

“I’m looking forward to it and hopefully the lads perform well and get over the line,” he said.

“It has been a very unpredictable year so it’s all about how we perform on the night.”

The inside knowledge McConville gained during his time with Maghery is bound to be a factor this evening. Crealey says: “Shane was with us for three years so he’ll be no stranger to the lads” but his successor Finnian Moriarty is equally astute and has plenty of experience in the Forkers – Aidan, Paul and Stefan, the Lavery brothers, James and skipper David, and the likes of Brian Fox who is dangerous and direct up front.

That experience and quality gives Maghery a slight edge tonight but neither side has produced their best and the one that finds the extra gear will make the final.