Morgan Fuels Down SFC quarter-final
Burren 2-10 Bredagh 1-10
AT half-time had you told anyone watching this match that Burren would be hanging on for the victory they’d have advised you to stay out of the strong sunshine.
Yet that was the worrying position last season’s finalists somehow found themselves in, a man down and shielding their eyes and their goal on several occasions in added time as Bredagh tried to find the net and force extra time.
Burren’s own goal threat had been shown from very early on and they scored two majors in the opening quarter, through Down stars Liam Kerr and Danny Magill, but they failed to build on a seven-point half-time lead, 2-6 to 0-5.
Instead, Bredagh made a real match of it, boosted by a 43rd minute goal from Donal Hughes, although they never managed to get closer than two points at any stage.
Having only scored once in the third quarter, and that from a free, Burren at last roused themselves in the 50th minute to score three points in a row, and although the excellent Emmet Rogers brought his tally to 0-8 Bredagh could not find the second goal they needed to keep this tie alive.
Burren joint-manager Stevie O’Hare insisted he’d never anticipated getting it easy against the Belfast men, despite them having suffered relegation, explaining:
“Bredagh came into the game very well, that’s Championship football, knockout football. I knew what it was going to be like – we played them twice in the League and there was nothing in it and we didn’t expect anything different today.”
Yet with a number of past and present Down players along with Armagh All-Ireland winner Paddy Burns in their ranks, most observers believed Burren would have too much for their opponents, and that’s how it shaped up in the opening half.
Indeed the St Mary’s opening score really should have been a goal, after Kerr nicked the ball off the Bredagh full-back, but his pass to Niall Toner seemed to catch the full-forward unawares too and he fumbled the ball before sending it wide of the gaping net.
Burren appeared content to play patient possession football as Bredagh dropped deep and in numbers, but then burst into life with two goals inside a five-minute spell.
First an excellent kick-out from poacher-turned-goalkeeper Donal O’Hare allowed Odhran Murdock and Ryan Magill to combine and present Kerr with a simple palm to a net.
Then, even though they’d been reduced to 14 men when Conaill McGovern was black-carded for a bodycheck, Burren netted again in very similar fashion.
Another O’Hare kick-out found the formidable figure of Murdock in midfield, and the ball went via Ronan McGrath for Danny Magill to palm in.
It wasn’t until the 18th minute that Bredagh got their first point from play, Rogers teed up by a fine run from Conor Francis, who soon opened his own account, but even with the last two scores of the half from Rogers they were still seven down.
The power of Murdock, the pace of Kerr and Danny Magill, and scoring power even from defenders looked like much too potent a combination for Bredagh to contain.
However, they had a piece of luck in the opening minute of the second half when a fisted effort from Danny Magill bounced several times on the crossbar before being cleared and the underdogs seemed to take heart from that reprieve.
Pushing up on Burren, showing more aggression in the tackle, Rogers continued to be accurate from frees and from play – and then they grabbed a goal out of nowhere.
Half-forward Michael Robinson cleverly took a quick free, sending the ball over the defence to Hughes, who lashed it past O’Hare.
The next minute Bredagh bore down on goal again and although an over-hit pass to captain John McKenna forced him wide he found Francis to leave just two in it, 2-7 to 1-8.
Their nerves might have been jangling, but Burren boldly pushed O’Hare way up into his former role among the forwards, and they worked that trio of scores to give themselves breathing space, capped off by a huge effort from corner-back Mal McAvoy.
That man Rogers scored twice more to leave just a goal between the teams, but even though Burren again went down to 14 when Danny Magill was black-carded late on, they survived the Bredagh onslaught to secure their semi-final slot.
Burren: D O’Hare; P Burns, G McGovern (joint-capt.) (0-1), M McAvoy (0-2); P McCarthy (0-1), R Magill, P Fegan; A Cole, O Murdock (joint-capt.) (0-2); D McEntee, L Kerr (1-3, 0-1 free), C McGovern; D Magill (1-0), N Toner, R McGrath.
Substitutes: T Magee for C McGovern (h-t); R Treanor (0-1 sideline) for McGrath (41); R Cunningham for McEntee (49); C Murphy for Fegan (52); C Toner for Cole (61).
Bredagh: O Tracey; T Clarke, M Woods, M Armstrong; B Christie, A O’Keefe, J McDonnell; J Shields, J McKenna (capt.); M Robinson, E Rogers (0-8, 0-4 frees), B Gallen; C Hannigan, D Hughes (1-0), C Francis (0-2).
Substitutes: C O’Rawe for McDonnell (41); E McGirr for O’Keefe (47); C Curran for McKenna (50); J Rutherford for Robinson (54).
Referee: Paul Faloon (Drumgath)
