Kiernan’s Service Station Cavan Senior Football Championship: Mullahoran 0-10 Ramor United 0-10
From Andy Watters at Kingpsan Breffni
IN the curtainraiser, Killygarry and Kingscourt Stars played out what some good judges described as the best game of football they’d ever seen. That was always going to be a tough act to follow and the headline act never reached those heights.
It was engrossing nevertheless as underdogs Mullahoran stuck doggedly to their task in a scrappy showdown with defending champions Ramor who were missing their front two (Sean McEvoy and James Brady) from last season. Without them they struggled for accuracy in front of the posts and the Dreadnoughts, Division Two champions this year, battled back at the death to force a replay.
Shane McCabe’s Mullahoran side took the lead after a couple of minutes when Tom Harten was fouled as he nipped in bravely to win a loose ball and Enda Reilly stroked over the free.
Ramor played Ado Cole and Paddy McNamee in advanced positions so it was either go long, or run the ball and they were able to do both. Jack Brady launched a Hail Mary into the Mullahoran square where Eoin Somerville did well to keep it in play and earn a free.
Jack Brady sent it well wide but he made amends when muscular full-forward Cole was tugged back as he broke for the ball and it was all-square after eight minutes. The Ramor defence was soaking up Mullahoran attacks and turning them over and Simon Cadden got on the end of a sweeping counterattack to give his side the lead before McNamee somehow wriggled through a mass of bodies to make it 3-1.
Ramor won the kickout and Cadden was given far too much time to weigh-up his options and curl over his second of a game that was swinging the way of the defending champions.
But Mullahoran hung in there and Reilly pulled one back with a free and then substitute Darren Shiels registered his side’s first from play after a lung-busting support run up the right.
With playmaker Cadden pulling the strings in the half-forward line, Ramor quickly recovered their poise and Brady landed a second free after Enda Maguire, driving through from midfield, had been dragged down.
It was fast and furious. Both sides gave away a lot of ball and Mullahoran made the most of wayward Ramor passing when Niall McGahern and then Cormac McKeogh sent curling efforts over their bar from the left to leave it all-square. With half-time approaching, Cathal Maguire tried his luck from the 45-yard line and his score meant Ramor went in 0-6 to 0-5 ahead at the interval.
Mullahoran wasted an early chance to equalise when Reilly sent a free wide but Harten made no mistake when he found space on the right in the next attack.
At the other end, Ramor kicked three wides on-the-trot which brought their total to six and then Mark Magee’s shot fell into Dominic Crudden’s arms. Mullahoran broke but Caolainn O’Reilly’s run was halted by a bone-shuddering shoulder from Eoin Somerville. The crowd roared, half-gasping at the hit and then McNamee ended Ramor’s wasteful streak with their first point of the half.
They should have capitalised on a dreadful pass out of the Mullahoran defence. McNamee played in Ronan Patterson but his shot was blocked bravely by Mullahoran ’keeper Crudden.
His opposite number Liam Brady missed from the 45 but Jack Brady sent over his third free to leave Ramor 0-8 to 0-6 ahead with a quarter of the game remaining.
Killian Brady joined the Mullahoran attack and had the goal in his sights but he blazed his shot wide and points from McNamee and James Bradley left clear daylight (0-10 to 0-6) between the teams for the first time.
Veteran McNamee was called ashore as Ramor retreated behind the ball but their what-we-have-we-hold tactics didn’t pay off and a point from Cormac McKeough and two from Cormac Reilly left one in it with a minute to go.
Cormac McKeough was taken down by a combination of Lorcan Lynch and Ben Smith as he broke through the Ramor defence and Reilly tapped over an easy free to level it as four minutes of injury-time began.
Ramor won the kickout and kept the ball and kept it but the shooting chance never came and a replay will be required to separate two evenly-match teams.
Mullahoran: D Crudden; S Cadden, K Brady, J Reilly; C McKeogh (0-2), M Hynes, Colm O’Reilly; N McGahern (0-1), Caolainn O’Reilly; T Harten (0-1), G Brady, J Coyle; E Dalton, Cormac O’Reilly (0-2), E Reilly (0-3 frees)
Subs: Darren Shiels (0-1) for S Cadden (12), S McGeough for McGahern (45), Daithi Shiels for Caolainn O’Reilly (50)
Yellow cards: Cormac O’Reilly (16), Reilly (40)
Ramor United: L Brady; A O’Connell, D Barkey, L Lynch; B Smith, J Brady (0-3 frees), M Magee; E Maguire, L Caffrey; E Somerville, S Cadden (0-2), C Maguire (0-1); P McNamee (0-3), A Cole, B O’Connell
Subs: R Patterson for Caffrey (40), C Bradley for Somerville (45), J Bradley (0-1) for Maguire (50), S Brady for McNamee (52), L Maguire for Smith (60)
Yellow card: M Magee (57)
Referee: J Clarke
Cavan SFC semi-final draw: Cavan Gaels/Gowna v Crosserlough, Mullahoran/Ramor v Killygarry
