St John’s maintained their unbeaten
sequence but only after a thorough examination
by a determined Aghaderg side. A win for the
visitors would have seen them join St John’s
at the top of the tree and they played with
a determination that reflected this, giving
St John’s their closest game to date.
St John’s were first on the scoreboard
with a point from Donal Burns but the visitors
wasted no time in replying with a pointed
free from Kevin Anderson. Indeed it was score
for score for the opening quarter but St John’s
second score was a goal from Jonathan Addis,
after Damien Murray had advanced down the
right and cut the ball across to Addis. Rory
Simpson pointed in reply but Gerard McAnulty
pointed a free quickly after to reflect the
end to end nature of the game. Both sides
missed opportunities before Rory Simpson pointed
again for the visitors. Aghaderg then got
the upper hand for a while with. Kevin Anderson
pointed another free to reduce the margin
to one. Indeed there might have been a goal
chance on for the visitors before the referee
blew for the free. Another point tied the
game and Anderson almost put Aghaderg ahead
but his free from out on the left came back
off the near upright.
Again the sides traded scores in the blast
five minutes. Damien Murray edged St John’s
ahead when he pointed a free. It was all his
own work as he caught a high ball into the
danger area but was then pulled down. Rory
Simpson equalised after good interplay in
the left corner; Conor Flanagan pointed for
the Johnnies but Aghaderg got the last score
of the first half to leave the teams sitting
level on 1-04 to 0-07 at the interval.
During the half-time period the respective
under-8s took to the field and played a game
that was every bit as close as the seniors
encounter had been. Only one point separated
the teams at the close. Thanks to Daniel McKay
for refereeing.
St John’s opened the scoring in the
second period just as they had done in the
first when Damien Murray pointed a free. Again,
just as in the first half, Aghaderg were quick
to respond. And how – Aghaderg seized
on a misplaced pass in the St John’s
half of the field and a couple of quick passes
later Eugene Devlin drove the ball to the
back of the net. Substitute Thomas Lennon
then pointed a free to leave Aghaderg three
points to the good. At this stage St John’s
unbeaten record looked anything but secure
and top spot in the league was up for grabs
again.
Damien Murray pulled one point back when
he pointed after combining well with Brian
Fitzpatrick after the ball had been worked
forward quickly. But still Aghaderg continued
to press, but they were poorly rewarded for
their control at this time. The St John’s
defence stood firm with Dan Marmion leading
the resistance. He pulled off two excellent
blocks in quick succession to deny Conor Lavery
as he was about to pull the trigger each time.
Eventually Aghaderg restored their three point
advantage when Rory Simpson’s long shot
was tipped over by Darren McMullan.
Conor Braniff was introduced with just over
ten minutes to go and St John’s upped
the tempo. Three scores in quick succession
soon restored parity. First Damien Murray
pointed when he might have gone on and tried
for a goal (or got nothing!). Then Conor Burns
sneaked forward for a point before Conor Braniff
pointed. St John’s had somehow upped
the tempo for the last ten minutes and this
would see them home.
They continued to press but without further
reward until Conor Flanagan and Brian Fitzpatrick
combined well to make progress up the left.
The ball was passed across to the edge of
the square but the forward was tumbled as
he collected the pass. The referee had no
hesitation in signalling a penalty. Gerard
McAnulty, the youngest player on the team,
stepped forward, kept his nerve and send his
show low and hard into the left corner. Another
point from Conor Flanagan gave the home side
some breathing space as the game ticked into
added time. Although Kevin Anderson pointed
a free for the visitors St John’s were
safety home having negotiated their trickiest
encounter yet.
St John’s: Darren McMullan;
Ryan Flanagan, Dan Marmion, Conor Burns; Mickey
Flynn, Ronan Kelly, Donal Burns; Joe Savage,
Bert Hughes; Eugene O’Boyle, Gerard McAnulty,
Jonathan Addis; Conor Flanagan, Damien Murray,
Brian Fitzpatrick. Subs used: Cathal O’Connor
for Jonathan Addis (ht) Kelly for Bert Hughes,
Conor Branniff for Eugene O’Boyle.
