Cullyhanna fight back from nine down to stun Crossmaglen in SFC Semi

St Patrick’s Cullyhanna pulled off a sensational comeback this evening, scoring the last 10 points of the game to defeat neighbours Crossmaglen by one, booking their spot in the SFC Final in the process.

On a night where Oisin O’Neill and Cian McConville were firing on all cylinders for the men in amber and black, Stephen Reel’s side looked dead and buried.

However, their superstar players stepped up in the dying stages, with Aidan Nugent nailing nine of his team’s last 10 points, including a two-point score fit to win any game, and he was supported by the superb Jason Duffy and Ross McQuillan.

Cullyhanna had a ‘never say die’ attitude and they left Crossmaglen stunned at the full-time whistle.

Their SFC Final meeting with Madden in two weeks’ time will be one for the history books, as one of the clubs will get their name on the Gerry Fagan Cup for the first time ever.

Cross start fast

Cullyhanna got the first score of the day with Jason Duffy landing a two-pointer, but Crossmaglen played football which was out of this world in the opening 20 minutes.

Everything they touched turned to gold, and Oisin O’Neill took no time to settle into the contest, as after McConville grabbed Cross’ first, O’Neill rattled off six points (with two two-pointers) in quick succession. Crossmaglen were 0-10 to 0-2 ahead before Cullyhanna knew what hit them following points from Paul Hughes, Rian O’Neill and Darron McDonnell.

Cullyhanna answered back with a Jason Duffy point and Nugent two-point free, but Cross resumed control and moved 0-14 to 0-5 to-the-good after Oisin O’Neill, Ronan Fitzpatrick and Cian McConville (two) found the target.

The St Patrick’s men finished the first half well with McQuillan (two) and Nugent (free) on target, but they still had plenty of work to do, trailing by seven at the break after an Aaron O’Neill score which concluded the first half.

Rangers keep Cullyhanna at arm’s length

No side in Armagh has more experience of winning big games than Crossmaglen, and they managed the third quarter of the game extremely well. Cross grabbed three of the first four points of the half with McConville and Oisin O’Neill (two) raising white flags at one end, with Nugent slotting over at the other end.

Cullyhanna showed signs of life 10 minutes after the restart when Nugent picked out Shea Hoey from a free and he found the back of the Cross net in a one on one. When Gavan Duffy followed that up with a points moments later, the comeback looked to be on.

But in fairness, Crossmaglen had no intention of letting Cullyhanna back into the contest, and they looked to have stemmed the tide when they scored four points on the spin via McConville (three) and Paul Hughes. Cullyhanna couldn’t live with McConville, and although Jason Duffy responded with a point, the Cross number 13 made it 0-23 to 1-11 inside the last 10 minutes.

Sensational comeback from Cullyhanna

What happened in the dying embers of the game was hard to believe. Nugent hit two two-point frees in quick succession, but Cullyhanna still had plenty of work to do. Crossmaglen gifted them another point (a tap-over free for Nugent) after the goalkeeper Miceal Murray took too long on his kick out and suddenly there were just four points between the teams.

Cross’ cause wasn’t helped when McConville was shown a black card for dragging Jason Duffy back, and when Ross McQuillan fisted over, there was just one score between the sides. Having been so composed on the ball all evening, all of a sudden Cross couldn’t get their hands on it, and Nugent cut the gap to one when he landed another two-point free over the bar.

With ninety seconds left of stoppage time, Nugent was afforded too much room and off the outside of his right boot he curled over a fabulous winning score – bringing the huge Cullyhanna support to their feet.

Cross had one last chance to win the game – albeit it was a very difficult kick – as Rian O’Neill attempted a two-point free from out near the right side-line. His effort dropped short but bobbled around the goalmouth for a couple of seconds and Cullyhanna hearts were in their mouths.

But it was Jason Duffy who emerged with the ball, and seconds later Fearghal Laverty’s whistle sounded an unforgettable win for the St Patrick’s men.

MATCH STATS

Crossmaglen: Miceal Murray, Eugene McEntee, James Morgan, Thomas Og Duffy, Rico Kelly, Callum Cumiskey, Paul Hughes (0-2), Stephen Morris, Darron McDonnell (0-1), Oisin O’Neill (0-9, 2tp, 1m), Rian O’Neill (0-1), Aaron Haughey, Cian McConville (0-8, 3f), Aaron O’Neill (0-1), Ronan Fitzpatrick (0-1).

Subs: Odhran Caraher for D. McDonnell, Odhran Kieran for A. Haughey, Aodhan O’Callaghan for P. Hughes.

Cullyhanna: James Carragher, Sean Og Irwin, Francis O’Rourke, Cathal Burns, Sean Connell, Michael Murray, Ross McQuillan (0-3), Gavan Duffy (0-1), Phelim Savage, Jason Duffy (0-4, 1tp), Shea Hoey (1-0), Gary Mackin, Aidan Nugent (0-13, 4tpf, 1tp, 2f), Tony Donnelly, Kieran McCooey.

Subs: Caolan Reavey for F. O’Rourke, Neil McCreesh for G. Mackin, Donnacha Gribben for C. Burns.

Referee: Fearghal Laverty.