INCREDIBLE COMEBACK BY DERRYNOOSE
DERRYNOOSE 2-14 CLAN NA GAEL 4-6
Richard Bullick at Silverbridge
A fantastic comeback by Derrynoose left Clan na Gael with a sinking feeling of déjà vu as the Lurgan girls saw the prospect of an historic Buttercrane Intermediate title triumph dashed from their grasp for a second year running.
With the advantage of a strong breeze behind them and playing down the slope towards the clubhouse end in Silverbridge, Clan na Gael looked well placed for victory when their fourth goal of the afternoon gave them an eight-point lead 12 minutes into the second half.
But Derrynoose didn’t stop believing and they kept chipping away at the arrears until star forward Maeve Lennon levelled the scores in the fourth minute of injury-time, then put her team ahead before adding a long-range free to leave Clan na Gael chasing a goal.
However, the last chance fell to Derrynoose and, although Caoimhe Gollogly couldn’t convert a free which she had won herself, the youngster had already done enough to earn the Player of the Match award with her haul of 1-6.
Edged out by Granemore in Lurgan last autumn, Clan na Gael again left empty-handed here but the prolific Lennon continued her record of firing her team to victory in adult club championship finals in even-numbered years.
She first came to wider attention when starring for Craobh Ciaran – an amalgamation with Middletown – as they defeated St Peter’s to win the 2020 Junior final and then starred two years ago as Derrynoose won the third tier decider in their own name.
Having become the first Ulster Schools All Star for ladies football from St Pat’s Keady in the meantime and been brought into the senior county panel, Lennon continues to provide the cutting edge for ambitious Derrynoose.
The Queen’s University student netted an incredible NINE goals in this season’s Intermediate quarter-final rout of St Peter’s in their own Lurgan backyard and weighed in with half a dozen points in last Sunday’s decider.
What had looked like the most attractive of the three finals on paper in advance didn’t disappoint as these sides served up an entertaining, high-scoring game with an exciting finish as the threatened rain stayed away until near the end.
The teams traded early goals, Maeve McShane’s green flag for Clan na Gael being followed by Derrynoose’s Anita McKearney finding the net at the other end and Lennon soon nudged them into the lead with a free after her great run drew a foul.
There was plenty of free-flowing football mixed with the frenetic commitment which would be expected in a final between teams with a bit of rivalry built up from underage level, and Clan na Gael got their noses in front at the interval thanks to a 28th minute goal.
Angela Loughran curled a long ball in to the back post like a soccer cross and it was fisted in by McShane for her second major of the afternoon, with the wind taking Lennon’s attempt to equalise with an injury-time free off target.
An Aimee Brady free and Ella Reid goal within eight minutes of the resumption put Clan na Gael in control and, although Lennon kicked a free, Clodagh Robinson replied with a goal which made it 4-5 to 1-6.
Derrynoose needed to respond promptly and they hit back almost straight away with a rather fortuitous goal when a free from Gollogly bounced into the Clan na Gael net but Aimee Brady hit another free to leave six between the teams going into the last quarter.
The odds were still stacked against Derrynoose but they got great momentum during a purple patch which yielded five unanswered points in the space of seven minutes, one free from Lennon punctuating four set-piece conversions by Gollogly.
Lennon held her nerve with that heroic hat-trick of scores in injury-time, two fine frees sandwiching a point from play, and Derrynoose can now look forward to hosting Cavan’s Mullahoran in the Ulster Intermediate Championship preliminary round on October 19.
Gollogly’s 1-6 and Lennon’s 0-6 was supplemented by McKearney’s 1-1 and a point from dual star Sinead Quinn, who had won Armagh’s only Ulster All Star in camogie two nights before.
