Templeport 1-11
Knockbride 0-10

Templeport are through to the quarter-finals of the junior football championship after ending Knockbride's campaign tonight at Kingspan Breffni Park.

Benjamin Kelly's 1-3 contribution from full-forward proved salient for the winners as the men from Canningstown simply wouldn't go away throughout this contest, bringing on veteran star Larry Reilly early in the second-half to try and salvage something for them.

Despite adding 0-2 to his side's tally, the ex-Cavan star's efforts proved to be in vain as Templeport's young guns, minus the injured Liam Galligan, kept the score board ticking over after Kelly's brilliant goal to set up a meeting with Munterconnacht in the last eight.

Knockbride's start was promising with Adrian Carroll and Niall McCabe sailing over early points inside the first five minutes, while their opponents failed to string together a legitimate attack.

Templeport's first threat wouldn't arrive until the 11th minute and it paid dividends after Kelly's blocked effort went out for a 45, which Ben Kiernan flighted over superbly. A minute later Eoin Martin earned a free inside for namesake Doonan to convert, levelling the sides, before Kelly steered the west siders into their first lead.

With the Bawnboy men starting to boss things, an Adam Traynor free ended a 16-minute scoring drought for Knockbride ahead of great work by Dillon Raythorne at the other end to cut through for a score and keep Templeport's noses in front.

The momentum had well and truly swung at this stage and the leaders kept the pressure on until half-time. Kelly earned a free at full-forward for Doonan to tap over before Raythorne tallied their fifth wide, letting Knockbride off the hook, and leaving it at 0-5 to 0-3 at the break.

Kelly pushed it to three early on in the restart, with a goal chance on, but two Traynor frees had the Canningstown men right back in contention. A brilliant individual effort from Doonan had Templeport's tails up again and that was surely the case when Liam McAweeney sent Kelly through with a perfectly weighed pass and the full-forward provided a deadly finish.

To their credit, Knockbride recovered well with points from Patrick Smith (45) and Traynor's third free, before the latter saw black, and when the wily Reilly sent over the score of the game his side were within a goal of the lead. Their cause wouldn't helped by another black card, this time defender Sean Rogers would be guilty of dragging down his man, and when Lasse Morgenroth drove through to smash a thunderbolt shot off the crossbar and over the signs were ominous for Jason O'Connor's men.

The superb Raythorne and Eoin Martin put an exclamation point on the win, before Reilly gave what might well have been his last contribution in the championship for a club he has gave such outstanding service to, with a late 20 metre free that left Knockbride four short come the long whistle after Smith had been red-carded in injury-time.

Templeport: Daniel Shannon; Brendan McGoldrick, Sean Dolan, Michael Devine; Lasse Morgenroth (0-1), Benjamin Kelly (1-3), Dillon Raythorne (0-2); Martin Ball, Killian Smith; Eoin Doonan (0-3, 2f), Ben Kiernan (0-1, 45), Donal Maguire; Eoin Martin (0-1), Oran Duffy, Liam McAweeney. Subs: Conor McAweeney for K Smith (33mins), Martin Baxter for B Kelly (60).

Knockbride: James Lynch; Mark Magee, Peter O'Reilly, Eamon Carolan; Sean Rogers, Michael Clarke, Jordan McCabe; Niall McCabe (0-1), Patrick Smith (0-2, 2f); Adrian Carroll (0-1), Ciaran Lynch, Roy Donohoe; Seamus O'Brien, Larry Maguire, Adam Traynor (0-4, 4f). Subs: Patrick Rogers for R Donohoe (27mins), Stephen Maguire for J McCabe (30), Larry Reilly (0-2, 1f) for S O'Brien (37), O'Brien for A Traynor (47, BC), Kieran McManus for L McAweeney (49), David Rogers for S Rogers (53), Raymond O'Brien for C Lynch (55).

Ref: Ray Tynan (Ramor United)

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