JFC: St. Ultans march on

St. Ultan's Declan Ball with Daire Rowe Syddan during the JFC round 3 clash at Moynalty

St Ultans 3-13 Syddan 2-13

St Ultans move on to quarter finals after securing victory in the final group game in a winner takes all tie. Both sides we already assured of their place in Junior, victory for either side would see them secure a quarter final place with a draw being sufficient for Syddan to advance. A minutes silence was observed before throw in as a mark of respect to the McDonnell and Mallon families following the passing of TJ McDonnell and Sheila Mallon. Ultans opened the scoring with an early Conor Finnegan point from play. Syddan responded well with three points from play. Tom Brennan raised the first orange flag of the evening to draw the sides level on twelve minutes. Heavy rainfall led to plenty of greasy ball, battles for breaking ball and handling errors. The sides exchanged scores with Charlie O’Brien on the run and Tom Brennan pointing for the men in black. Syddan pushed into a four point lead with a point followed by a well taken goal. The response from Ultans was decisive. Cillian Yore was fouled out near the side line and Conor Finnegan pointed  the resulting free from an acute angle. Tommy Buchanan pointed after a mazy run to reduce the gap. Syddan created a great goal chance but an excellent Keith Hennessy save denied what looked like a certain goal. Jonny Foster won a crucial turnover in defence an carried the ball up the field, the ball was passed through to Charlie O’Brien who finished well to the net. Conor Finnegan concluded the half with a two pointer from play that left the men in black three up at the break.

Some missed chances by Ultans and sharp shooting from Syddan forwards changed the momentum of the game and five unanswered points left Syddan two up. Tommy Buchanan lifted the spirits of Ultans support with a well taken goal, Tom Brennan scored then from just inside the arc and Ultans led by two. The sides exchanged points with another one for Tom Brennan who would score five points on the night from play. In a night of high drama Syddan goaled again and point shortly after left them two up as the game approached the final five minutes. Luke Griffin capped a fine performance with a smart finish for the fifth goal of the night. Ultans led by one and the defence held solid with multiple attacks turned over. As Ultans attacked Syddan breached and Ultans elected to go for the one point effort that Conor Finnegan duly converted. A two pointer would have drawn the game and Ultans defence stood strong, Adam Rogers scored a late fisted point to leave three between the sides deep into injury time, the was one last attack for Syddan to look for a goal but ultimately Ultans held on for three point victory.

St. Ultans: Keith Hennessy, Andrew Harford, Declan Ball, Sean Herward, Luke Griffin1-0, Martin Dolan, Cillian Yore, Lee Hennessy, Jonny Foster, Tom Brennan 0-5 (1 2PP), Conor Finnegan 0-5 (1 2PP, 2f’s), Charlie O’Brien 1-1, Tommy Buchanan 1-1, Adam Rogers 0-1, Darren Mallon Subs Used Gearoid Rennicks, Luke Cahill, Alex Casserly and Ruairi Buchanan