NEWTOWN BLUES 1-10
ST PATRICKS 1-8

Newtown Blues recovered from a disastrous start to this semi-final replay to book a meeting with Cooley Kickhams in the Senior Championship decider.

The Drogheda side were six points down after 11 minutes but hit back in impressive style to claim victory in a game of great intensity at Haggardstown.

The 22nd minute dismissal of Shane Hynes helped the Blues get on top while a goal from a Hugh McGinn penalty just after the break proved to be the decisive score.

Having played within themselves in the drawn game, St Pats came flying out of the blocks and had two points on the board from Eoin O'Connor and Karl White. It took a great save from Conor Barton to deny Aidan McCann but the Lordship side weren't to be denied for long as on nine minutes O'Connor flicked an Eamon Carroll centre to the net.

When Paddy Keenan pointed on 11 minutes to make it 1-3 to no score, the reigning champions looked to be on their way to another final.

The Blues finally opened their account on 12 minutes through Hugh McGinn, but the Pats missed a chance to take complete control when Danny O'Connor blasted wide from close range.

The Drogheda side seemed to take heart from that miss and points from Colm Judge (2), Stephen Moonan and McGinn had their side trailing by just 1-3 to 0-5 after 18 minutes.

Conor Barton was forced to make another good block to deny a goal and the game took another turn in the Blues favour when Shane Hynes was given a straight red after an off-the-ball incident on 22 minutes.

Two minutes before the break, McGinn levelled the game but a Paddy Keenan free in injury time had his side leading by 1-4 to 0-6 at the break.

The Blues continued to enjoy the better of possession and produced the decisive score on 37 minutes when Derek Kierans was pulled down in the square and McGinn fired the penalty to the net.

The Blues were always favourites to win from that stage as the Pats failed to produce the rhythm they had in the opening quarter.

However, the continued to battle and reduced the arrears to one point through a Paddy Keenan free. An excellent Andy McDonnell point was then followed by a long range free from Moonan to put their side 1-8 to 1-5 in front.

Eamon Carroll pointed a free on 18 minutes but his side were unable to create enough clear-cut chances to get back on terms. Points from John Kermode and Robert Carr gave the Blues a four point cushion entering the final two minutes.

The Pats, who were helped by the dismissal of Colm Judge, threw everything into attack and pulled back two points but were despite a couple of goalmouth scrambles they were unable to produce the required goal.

The Blues played with great composure in the closing stages and given their performances over the two games, they were deserving winners.

NEWTOWN BLUES: Conor Barton; Niall Costello, Thomas Costello, Andrew Tinnelly; Stephen Moonan 0-2, Eoghan Judge, James Murray; Keith Lynch, John Kermode 0-1; Brian Kermode, Colm Judge 0-2, Andy McDonnell 0-1; Derek Kierans, Hugh McGinn 1-3, Robert Carr 0-1. Subs: Jamie Carr for T Costello, Cormac McQuillan for R Carr, Barry Sharkey for B Kermode.

ST PATRICKS: Sean Connor; Kevin Toner, Dessie Finnegan, Darren O'Hanlon; Ray Finnegan, Alan O'Connor, Owen Zamboglou; Paddy Keenan 0-4, Paudie Mallon; Eamon Carroll 0-2, Eoin O'Connor 0-1, Aidan McCann; Shane Hynes, Karl White 0-1, Daniel O'Connor. Subs: Eoghan Laverty for A O'Connor, Evan White for A McCann. Tweet

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