SEAN O'MAHONYS 0-13
ST JOSEPHS 0-13

A pointed free from Conal O'Hanlon four minutes from time ensured that St Josephs and Sean O'Mahonys will have to meet again to decide who will play St Fechins in the Intermediate Championship Final.

In what proved to be an absorbing encounter in front of a healthy crowd at Clan na Gael Park on Thursday evening, the teams couldn't be separated.

In a game that produced some impressive scores from both sides, it was the O'Mahonys who had the better of the late chances but just couldn't get themselves across the line.

The Joes started the game win whirlwind fashion and had points on the board from Conal O'Hanlon and Alan Quigley before the first minute had elapsed. However, the O'Mahonys replied with points from Conor Finnegan and Alan Watters to tie the game.

The Joes had the better of the first ten minutes and restored their two point advantage through Conall Smyth and Alan Quigley.

However, the Point Road men began to get a grip on their opponents and kicked three in succession from Stephen Kilcoyne, Liam Dullaghan and Finnegan to lead 0-5 to 0-4 on 18 minutes.

In what was proving to be a fast-paced end-to-end game, the Joes responded through Quigley and a fine Peter Mulligan effort, before Fisher levelled the game once more at six points each.

The Joes edged ahead through O'Hanlon before the impressive David Dowling made pointed with his first touch, with the last two points also shared by Finnegan and Peter Mulligan to send the teams in at the break level at eight each.

The scoring rate dropped dramatically in the third quarter with Dowling claiming the only two points to put his team ahead, but the margin should have been greater as they also missed a number of chances.

However, it was looking good for the O'Mahonys when Kilcoyne made it 0-11 to 0-8.

Conal O'Hanlon grabbed a much-needed first point of the half on 48 minutes but that was quickly cancelled out by Kilcoyne. Conall Smyth and Liam Dullaghan then swapped scores to see the Dundalk side retain the upper hand with a 0-13 to 0-10 lead with nine minutes to play.

The Joes were struggling to get any space in a packed defence but kicked three points in two minutes through Quigly, Tomas Smyth and O'Hanlon to get back on terms.

They were unable to build on that momentum and it was the O'Mahonys who finished the stronger but just couldn't get the vital score to claim a place in the final.

SEAN O'MAHONYS: Kevin Brennan; Pat O'Brien, Mickey Clarke, Ronan Byrne; Alan Watters 0-1, John O'Brien, Peter Nixon; Conor Martin, Shane Brennan; Conor Finnegan 0-3, Keith McLaughlin; Stephen Fisher 0-1; Liam Dullaghan 0-2, Conor Crawley, Stephen Kilcoyne 0-3. Subs: David Dowling 0-3 for C Martin, Kurt Murphy for A Watters, Conor Martin for K McLaughlin.

ST JOSEPHS: Robert Sansom; David Mernagh, Bernard Mulligan, David Kieran; Liam O'Leary, Alan Lynch, Sean McQuillan; Peter Brennan, Peter Mulligan 0-2; Craig Doherty, Conall Smyth 0-2, Daire Smyth; Alan Quigley 0-4, Conal O'Hanlon 0-4, Derek Mulligan. Subs: David Reilly for C Doherty, Shane McQuillan for A Lynch, Tomas Smyth 0-1 for D Smyth.

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