High scores in all three MacRory ties today
Danske Bank MacRory Cup
St Patrick’s Cavan 4-14 St Patrick’s Academy 2-12
St Mary’s Magherafelt 4-10 Patrician Carrickmacross 1-13
Abbey CBS 2-10 St Ciaran’s Ballygawley 1-12
There was little sign of teams adopting a blanket defence in yesterday’s three Danske Bank MacRory Cup ties with a total of 14 goals and more than 70 points recorded as the forward lines found the range with frequency in all the games.
Defending champions St Mary’s Magherafelt hit Patrician High Carrickmacross early in their match in Lurgan, going 1-5 to 0-1 up inside 12 minutes and that despite Tiarnan McAteer’s penalty not hitting the target.
Daniel Bradley fired in the opening goal after just four minutes of play and he and McAteer quickly added points before the Monaghan school could muster a recovery.
Andrew Woods and Sean Burns tagged on a couple of points each for Carrick, but Adam Connolly shot a second goal in the 23rd minute and the Convent went on to lead by 2-7 to 0-5 at the break.
A goal from Woods in the 38th minute narrowed the gap to two points, but Daniel Bradley stroked home a 41st minute penalty to open a gap once more and Connolly sealed a 4-10 to 1-13 win with his second goal in the 54th minute of an entertaining game.
St Patrick’s Cavan also started strongly in their game with Dungannon Academy in Scotstown. Thomas Smith bagged goals in the 4th and 13th minutes and when Paddy McPhillips added a third in the 20th minute the Cavan boys held a 3-4 to 0-3 lead in the repeat of the 2015 final.
Mark Donnelly’s frees kept the Academy going until the break when there was still a three goal gap between the team, 3-6 to 0-6.
Amazingly the Academy closed that gap to a single point at the end of the third quarter, helped in no small way by goals from firstly Diarmuid McKeown and then Ryan Jones.
Cavan were reeling at that point, but Eoghan Brady stepped up to the mark with a couple of excellent points. The game was still very much in the balance however until the 51st minute when Brady’s goal gave Cavan a cushion to see out the game on a 4-14 to 2-12.
The last match of the day between Abbey CBS and St Ciaran’s Ballygawley saw the game turned on its head not once but twice in the last five minutes.
Abbey got the better start with a goal from Lorcan Forde but by half-time St Ciaran’s were back on their coat-tails at 1-3 to 0-5, two of the points coming from Darragh Canavan frees.
Canavan shot four more from frees as he and Ruairi McCormick went on a head to head to keep the game finely balanced going into the last few minutes.
The Newry side still held sway at 1-10 to 0-10 when Canavan hit the net, his only score from open play and Mark Lennon and Thomas Hoy quickly added points.
However St Ciaran’s couldn’t hold out and in injury time Lorcan Forde grabbed his second goal and a single point victory for the Newry side in a thrilling finale.
St Mary’s : Daniel Bradley 2-5, Adam Connolly 2-0, Tiarnan McAteer 0-3, Dominic McAteer 0-1, Ronan Hughes 0-1.
Patrician : Andrew Woods 1-5, Sean Burns 0-5, Ciaran McNulty 0-1, Barry Kearns 0-1, Jordan Morris 0-1.
St Patrick’s Cavan: Thomas Smith 2-2,Eoghan Brady 1-5, Paddy McPhillips 1-0, Cormac Timoney 0-3, Eoin Clarke 0-2, Ruairi Curran 0-2.
St Patrick’s Academy : Diarmuid McKeown 1-0, Ryan Jones 1-0, Mark Donnelly 0-7, 0-6 frees, Luke Ferguson 0-2, Odhran Mellon 0-2, Ryan McCabe 0-1.
Abbey : Lorcan Forde 2-1, Ruairi McCormick 0-5, Pearse Loughran 0-1, Billy Campbell 0-1, Ardan McAvoy 0-1.
St Ciaran’s : Darragh Canavan 1-6, 0-6 frees, Padraig McNeillis 0-1, Michael Owens 0-1, Daniel Millar 0-1 free, Jamie McMenamin 0-1, Mark Lennon 0-1, Thomas Hoy 0-1.
