These two teams served up a cracker in Round 4 in what was a pulsating match that ended in a draw.  Wednesdays semi-final was another breath taking encounter from start to finish.  The opening half saw St Marys go into the break with a 4 point lead 0-7 to 0-3.   The opening half saw some wonderful football, matched by some wonderful individual battles.   In the first half Sean Horan, Liam Stafford, David Hobbs, Caolan Nulty and Luke Hanan where all  to the fore and at the heart of some great play from St Marys.   3 great points by Liam Stafford had his marker Sean O'Donoghue on the ropes and the one to one battle between Sean Horan who put in an outstanding display in the first half help to restrict the dynamic play of Realt Na Mara's key man Godfrey Ehicohya.  Realt Na Mara however playing in to moderate wind managed to keep the deficit to 4 points thanks to two points from Cian Fynn and one from Des OKeefe as the whistle went at the end of the first half.

If the first half was great, the second half was even better.  Realt Na Mara reduced the deficit to three courtesy of Cian Flynn.  Another terrific score this time from Shaun Leonard reduced the deficit to 2 points before a great score from Luke Hanan extended the St Marys PPS lead back to 3 points.    The matched ebbed and flowed before a glorious long range score from Sean O'Donoghue reduced the margin to two points once more and the score seemed to galvanise the Donacarney Boys.  A great  off load from Shaun Leonard who was terrific throughout released Cian Flynn and he reduced the margin to a single point minutes later.   St Marys however dug in and a great move involving Killian McLoughlin and Sean Horan released Liam Stafford and he sent Ryan Connolly clear to convert and push the lead back out to two points.   The game was in the melting pot now with some terrific turnovers, blocks and great tackling.

A great turnover from Godfrey Ehicoya saw him race up the field and he fed Cian Flynn and he duly split the posts to reduce the margin to a single score.   Minutes later another broken ball saw Euan Canniffe send Godfrey Ehichoya clear and he slipped Dean Scully in to tie up the match with minutes to go and amidst great noise from both supporters.    When it looked like it was destined for extra time a long ball in from Euan Canniffe saw Eoghan McCloughan field a brilliant catch before he was fouled 21 yards out in front of goal.   With minute to go up stepped Cian Flynn to stroke over the point to put the Realt Na Mara boys ahead for the first time in the match since the opening score in the first half. On the resulting kick out referee Graham Reilly blew the final whistle to great scenes at the final whistle.

In summary over two hours of football only a kick of  a ball separated these two great school sides.  Both schools can be extremely proud of their respective sides.     St Marys had Realt Na Mara on the ropes for most of the first half with some stunning performances from Liam Stafford, Caolan Nulty , Sean Horan and great finishing from David Hobbs.   However Realt Na Mara's big players whilst shook stood up in the 2nd half and slowly but surely wrestled control of the match. In Godfrey Ehichoya they had a player tested for long periods by the brilliance of Sean Horan but his constant pace and energy finally wore young Horan down and his influence in turn  grew.  Sean O'Donoghue was too on the ropes in the first half with Liam Stafford's 3 great points and great play  but he too stepped up when it mattered and won some great ball and kicked the score of the game to galvanise his team .  In Shaun Leonard Realt Na Mara have a real sharp forward  whose movement caused St Marys plenty of problems whilst in Euan Canniffe they had the contests best player.    From start to finish his reading of the game was superb, his passing top drawer and he helped cut out numerous St Marys attacks that saw his school reach their first Cooney Cup Final, in what was a  great day for the Donacarney School and a great advertisement of Cooney Cup Football

St Marys Scorers: Liam Stafford 0-3, David Hobbs 0-2, Ryan Connolly 0-2, Joe Comiskey 0-1, Luke Hanan 0-1

Realt Na Mara Scorers: Cian Flynn 0-6 (3frees), Sean O'Donoghue 0-1, Shaun Leonard 0-1, Dean Scully 0-1, Des O'Kefe 1-0

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