CARRYDUFF booked their place in the Bank of Ireland Ulster U-21 Club football tournament final after edging past St Brigid’s in a cracking encounter at Páirc Chiceam, home of Creggan Kickhams.
However, it took a last minute point form Daniel Guinness to settle this entertaining affair that could have gone either way.
Carryduff opened the scoring with Ronan Beatty firing over his first of five frees after three minutes, but the Antrim champions began to fire.
Firstly, Peter Webb with a delicious score with Rory Brolly providing the assist. Peter Henvey finished a flowing move to give the Musgrave Park side the lead before Brolly and James Smith opened a three-point lead for St Brigid’s after just eight minutes.
Carryduff responded with a magical strike from midfielder Josh Connery, who drilled the ball to
the bottom corner of John Toner’s net.
Points from John McGeogh, Beatty (0-3f) and Connery were answered to by Webb (0-2) and Smith as Carryduff took a two-point lead into the interval.
Carryduff opened the scoring at the start of the second half with a Pierce Laverty point, but the Antrim champions were back on terms minutes later when Peter Henvey
blasted a penalty to the back of the net.
Darragh Connolly answered this score with a Carryduff goal and when Beatty and Owen McCabe tagged on points, Carryduff had moved five clear.
St Brigid’s weren’t finished just yet and John Blaney and Brolly left three points in it.
Beatty responded for Carryduff before he and Finnegan exchanged scores. A Smith goal had St Brigid’s on Carryduff’s tail, but D J Morgan’s side were not for rolling over, despite Smith lofting over the equalising score.
The game seemed destined for extra time until Guinness fired over the winning score and bring the game to a dramatic conclusion.
St Brigid’s: John Toner, Henry McGuigan, Conor King, Daire McGarvey, John Morgan, Michael Cummings, Daniel Foster, Peter King, Patrick Finnegan (0-1), Peter Webb (0-3), John Blaney (0-1), Rory Brolly (0-2), Michael Cummings, Ethan Carleton, James Smith (1-3, 1f), Peter Henvey (1-1). Subs: Brian McCarthy for McGuigan, Brogan Austin for Foster, Paul Bradley for D Connolly.
Carryduff: Darren Ross, Lorcan Toal, Gareth Henderson, Caolan Cunningham, John McGeogh (0-1, 1’45), Daniel Coogan, Daniel Guinness (0-1). Pierce Laverty (0-1), Josh Connery (1-1), Rory Anderson, Owen McCabe (0-1), Peter Loughran, Darragh Connolly (1-0), Ronan Beatty (0-7, 5 f), Ciaran Sherry. Subs: Michael Lawson for Sherry, Eoin Rooney for Connolly.
Carryduff 2-12
St Brigid’s, Belfast 2-11
PADDY MCLARNON SEMI-FINAL