Rostrevor 3-8 Castlerahan [Cavan] 1-12

Twice already this season, the minors of Down and Cavan have served up footballing epics for our delight. On Sunday in Belfast, they served up another. This Ulster quarter final had everything. The conditions were perfect. The football wasn’t far behind, sizzling with pace, endeavour and skill from start to finish. And the drama of it had the large crowd transfixed right up until the final whistle.

ESCAPE

Rostrevor followers could have done without some of that drama; particularly as the game went into added time and their side was clinging to a 3-8 to 1-12 advantage. Then a Castlerahan breakaway saw the brilliant Cian Mackey get inside the Rostrevor full back line and advance rapidly on an unprotected Padraig Mulholland. The magnificent Breiffne lad had not put a foot wrong all afternoon, and it was hard to see any outcome other than a billow in the Rostrevor net, and a goodbye to their reign as Ulster champions. But as the young Reds keeper came out smartly, the Cavan star was forced to snatch at his chance and the ball screwed high and wide, to the indescribable relief of the Rostrevor support!

HAT-TRICK FOR CONOR

Mackey’s solitary moment of frailty serves to highlight the contribution of this game’s other top personality, Conor Mackin. The effervescent little Rostrevor attacker finished up with three goals, two of them inside a minute late in the first half, the third drilled home from the penalty spot three minutes from the end with the scores tied at 2=8 to 1-11 at the time. His ability to make things happen went a long way towards compensating for the difficulties Rostrevor were experiencing around the middle of the park, where the high fielding of Pauric Smith, augmented by the ferocious tackling and foraging of his teammates were giving the Cavan champions the edge. The opening twenty minutes were typical, with the lead changing hands on no fewer than four occasions. Castlerahans tactic of crowding midfield and plying attackers like County minors Cian Mackey and Ronan Flanagan with ball in space was paying dividends. Mackey and Flanagan shared Castlerahans first four points between them. Rostrevor, when they did manage to break their opponents midfield stranglehold, looked the more inventive team. Sean Mackin [2], the impressive Conor Magee and Ryan Watt were their scorers as the 20 minute mark was reached with the scores level at 0-4 apiece.

SIGNS

But the quality of Watt’s point in particular, a rippling burst through the middle, highlighted that Reds attack was the more creative unit. And that was illustrated in a decisive two minute burst. In the 21^st minute, a Conor Mackin shot came back of the post, and when goalkeeper Brian Coleman kept out Anthony Donnan's first fisted effort, the Rostrevor man went back to retrieve the ball and burrowed his way goalwards before parting to Conor Mackin who drilled the ball low to the net. Just over a minute later, Donnan ran on to an inviting through ball from Eamonn McConville, and when his shot rattled the Castlerahan crossbar, Conor Mackin pounced again for his second goal! The game would surely have been over had Anthony Donnan not squeezed his shot narrowly wide just before half time, but instead it was castlerahan who responded best to that two goal tattoo. Points by Cian Mackey, Enda O’Connell and Ronan Flanagan worked them back into the game before half time, and they continued their rally on the restart, as points by Lynch and Mackey clipped the Rostrevor lead to one before midfielder Smith got himself on the end of a long ball into the Rostrevor goalmouth in the 36^th minute and blasted the ball high to the roof of the Rostrevor net!

BETTER AND BETTER

The game got better and better. Sean Mackin hit back immediately with a point, and Paddy Mooney, now winning some important ball for the champions, tapped over the equaliser early in the final quarter. Ronan Brady restored Castlerahans lead, but by now the introduction of Colm Clerkin was beginning to register for Rostrevor. The Reds marksman was far from fit, but his composure was seen to great effect in two points in the 51^st and 52^nd minutes which put the Down champions in front for the first time since Smiths 36^th minute goal. There was still everything to play for, however. Cian Mackey jinked his way through for an equaliser in the 55^th minute, but a minute later, Conor Mackin raced through the middle, and when Anthony Donnan was tripped as he cut in, Conor was on hand to hit the penalty low past Coleman for what should have been the decisive score. But it almost wasn’t! Another superb Mackey point cut the difference to two, and then came that sensational Mackey miss in added time!

LUCKY?

Rostrevor definitely rode their luck here, but that’s not to say they didn’t deserve the luck they rode. The truth is that this was a very good Castlerahan team, inspired by a player who has already played twice for his county team in the Senior Championship! Rostrevor had to dig deep into their resources to survive. They had some accomplished defenders in the shape of Gary Magee, Gareth Clarke, Colm Murney and Patrick Mooney.They had an electric attacker in Conor Mackin, with Conor Magee and Sean Mackin also showing well, and while they missed the finishing skills of Colm Clerkin in the first half, their injured star showed that, even at half pace, he had something important to contribute, once he came on midway through the third quarter. Rostrevor now go through to the semi-final on December 18^th, where they await the winners of next Sunday’s quarter final between the champions of Donegal and Monaghan. Castlerahan go home empty-handed, but with the knowledge that, in Cian Mackey, Ronan Flanagan, Pauric Smith , Barry Cusack and Paudie O’Reilly, they have players of whom much more will be heard in the years ahead.

Rostrevor scorers; Conor Mackin [3-0]; Sean Mackin [0-3] 1free; Colm Clerkin [0-2] 1 free; Conor Magee [0-1]; Ryan Watt [0-1]; Paddy Mooney [0-1];

Castlerahan scorers; Cian Mackey [0-6] 3frees; Ronan Flanagan [0-3]; Pauric Smith [1-0]; Enda O’Connell [0-1]; Daniel Lynch [0-1]; Ronan Brady [0-1]

Rostrevor team; Padraig Mulholland; John Morgan, Gary Magee, Gareth Clarke; Gerard McCartan, Colm Murney, Patrick Mooney; Ryan Watt, Eamonn McConville; James Clerkin, Conor Magee, Colin Farrell; Anthony Donnan, Conor Mackin, Sean Mackin.

Sub used; Colm Clerkin for James Clerkin [36 minutes]

Castlerahan team; Brian Coleman; Shane Boylan, Fiachra Cork, Fergal Flanagan; Sean Fitzpatrick, Paudie O’Reilly, Tommy Tracey; Ronan Brady, Pauric Smith; Gavin Cunningham, Cian Mackey, Jason Connolly; Daniel Lynch,Ronan Flanagan, Barry Cusack.

Subs used; Enda O’Connell, Michael Smith

Referee; Jimmy McKee [Armagh]

Man of the match [shared]; Cian Mackey [Castlerahan] and Conor Mackin [Rostrevor]

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