Glenn
and St John's Draw in Semi Finals - 08/10/2003
Junior
Championship semi-final: Glenn 0-16 St Johns 3-07
By Tony Bagnall, Newry Democrat
GLENN showed immense
character to storm back from an almost disastrous opening 12 minutes to force
a draw against St Johns in this pulsating Junior Championship semi-final.
In fact at a bitterly cold Tullylish, the John Martin club began both halves in
much the same vein.
After clawing back an eight-point deficit by the interval,
Tony Bagnall’s side found themselves once more facing an uphill battle as they
conceded a goal and a point within four minutes of the restart.
Still,
after going through their league campaign without losing, Glenn have acquired
lots of mental strength and, spurred on by their tenacious midfielders Peter Farrelly
and Seamus McGuinness and with Mark Lennon and David Bagnall playing like men
inspired, they battled on courageously to take a single point lead going into
injury time.
But here the Saints proved that their rivals don’t have
a monopoly on fight-backs and scored a cracking equaliser.
Furthermore
as the excitement reached fever pitch, St Johns had an opportunity to win the
match from a freekick; but they narrowly failed to do so.
Still it would
have been a travesty of justice on a gutsy John Martin side had that point gone
over. Seconds later the full time whistle went with a relived Glenn manager Tony
Bagnall leaving the park gasping: “A draw was a fair result.”
Just two
minutes had gone when Damian Murray blasted a close range drive into the back
of the Glenn net and the Saints added to this bright beginning by adding a further
point.
Then the match was then halted for six minutes owing to a serious
injury to a St Johns’ player.
But on the resumption the misery continued
for Glenn with Damian Murray firing home a second goal, this time Murray’s swerving
long-range effort beating a stranded Glenn keeper Shane McSherry.
Plus
Aidan Kelly popped another one over the bar.
Things were looking decidedly
dicey for Glenn and rosy for St Johns who incidentally this season had lost their
previous three games to the Division Four league winners.
Indeed 15 minutes
were gone before Glenn would trouble the scoreboard man. Then Ollie Conlon knocking
over the bar. This Conlon point however, kick-started the Glenn scoring machine
and Peter Farrelly and Davy Bagnall knocked over further points.
But
Aidan Kelly replied for St Johns on 18 minutes.
There were six points
between the teams at that stage but before the break Glenn totally dominated and
in fact squared matters. Nicky Cranney, Mark Lennon, Peter Farrelly and a trio
of scores from the excellent David Bagnall did the needful.
Glenn went
into the changing rooms at the break in a confident mood and, after ruling the
roost in the previous 15 minutes, seemingly were on their way to the final.
But their rivals had other ideas and one minute after the interval Daniel Marmion
picked off a point. Plus Glenn were rocked back on their heels three minutes later
when Kevin Savage lashed a thunderous shot off the underside of the Glenn crossbar
and into the net.
They had come back from an even more precarious position
earlier but could Glenn do it again?
They could. Indeed in the next ten
minutes Glenn whittled away at the St Johns’ lead and on 43 minutes were level,
Seamus McGuinness, two great freekick points from Mark Lennon and a sweet Cathal
O’Hare effort doing the trick.
And when Mark Lennon fired over another
superb left-wing freekick on 46 minutes to give Glenn the lead for the first time
in the game, it seemed as though the Gods were smiling.
But St Johns were
most certainly not gone and Damian Murray equalised on 18 minutes.
And
indeed the Saints could have added yet another goal to their tally but Cathal
Farrelly made a brave match-winning block when it appeared as though Dolan Burns
must net.
In the final nail-biting eight minutes Glenn led twice - from
Mark Lennon and a tremendous David Bagnall shot on the turn. But twice more St
Johns replied – through Damian Murray and a classy injury time equaliser from
substitute Gary Lavery.
So the two teams must do it all over again.
Glenn:
Shane McSherry, Rory McGuigan, Adam Mackin, Raymond Quinn, Cathal Murtagh, Tom
Grant, Mark Mackin, Peter Farrelly, Seamus McGuinness, Derek McConville, Cathal
O’Hare, Oliver Conlon, David Bagnall, Nicky Cranney and Mark Lennon with subs:
Frank Diamond and Cathal Farrelly.
