Saval stick three in the net as they claim Intermediate crown

Saval were back in the winners enclosure on Saturday evening at Pairc Esler where the air matched the green grass at the final whistle as the supporters stormed the pitch with flares in tow.

They beat Annaclone 3-11 to 0-9 to claim the Down Intermediate Championship title that they last won in 2022. Annaclone brought the most support in the packed stand but it was the Saval fans who made the most noise in the end.

Three goals was more than enough for Martin O'Rourke's men but Saval had the better of their opponents throughout and fully deserved to get their hands back on the WJ Farrell Cup.

Saval led by four points at the break with their first goal giving them the edge and they never looked back after that.

It was an uninspired first half with the first score not landing until the seventh minute as most of the battles were in midfield.

Pat Havern was kept well under wraps by Annaclone but that mattered little as other men were providing the scores and he came into his own in the second half to earn the Man-of-the Match award.

Darragh Fegan got the scoreboard moving for the men in red and white but Joe McAloon responded immediately when Dean Rice won a mark from the kick-out and played on to his Saval teammate.

Dan McKernan doubled their lead with a well-taken point and Ryan Rice who had just come on as a sub, saw his low shot pushed over his bar by Annaclone keeper James Fegan.

Saval tried for another goal minutes later but this time Fegan came out for a good block and Ciaran Greenan made it 0-3 to 0-2 with a good score from just inside the arc.

Niall Devlin replied with a tremendous point that came from a long crossfield pass by Pat Havern and on 25 minutes the Saval men stretched their advantage to five when a great team move led to a maximum.

Ronan McCarthy laid the ball off to Dara Havern as they both raced toward goal. McCarthy retrieved the ball and passed to Dan McKernan who fisted home from the far post.

Paul Og McAvoy kicked short into Saval netminder Peter Murphy's arms, and the first two-point effort of the game from Keelan Rice at the other end floated wide.

The last action of the half saw a three back rule breech by Saval result in a free that Odhran Heenan kicked over the bar to make it 1-4 to 0-3 at the break.

A couple of Saval wides began the second half and Pat Havern kicked a long-range effort short where it was cleared by the Annaclone defence.

Dean Rice opened the scoring four minutes in to increase Saval's lead and Havern nailed his first score of the evening on 36 minutes.

He landed the first two-pointer of the game on his second attempt after that as the game started to slip away from Annaclone.

Havern began to delight as he played a pin-point ball in to Rice who swatted across to McAloon and he planted the ball in the net.

Havern tagged on a free and while Sean McIlroy responded with a point at the other end, the finish line was in sight for Saval midway through the half. They led 2-9 to 0-4 and seemed to be going from strength to strength as Annaclone faded.

Donal Clarke reduced the deficit marginally with the next poinrt but it was game over when Brendan Tumilty launched a long ball into the square where it was deflected into the net.

Annaclone battled on and hit a few more scores before the finish, but it was Saval's day by a comfortable margin with a winning score-line of 3-11 to 0-9.

MATCH STATS

Saval: Peter Murphy; Corey McCullough, Jarlath MCCarthy, Daniel Fearon; Ronan McCarthy, Curtis Sands, Dara Havern; Pat Havern (0-4, 1tp, 1f)), Daniel McCarthy; Joe McAloon (1-2), Kealan Rice, Dean Rice (0-1); Brendan Tumilty (1-1), Dan McKernan (1-1), Niall Devlin (0-1)

Subs: Ryan Rice (0-1) for Sands (7mins), Kevin Turley for McCullough (46mins), Sands for McCarthy (49mins), Darragh Saul for McKernan (54mins), Ciaran Bagnall for K Rice (56mins)

Annaclone: James Fegan; Cian McAvoy, Benny McArdle, James McNeill; James McKay, Sean McAvoy (0-1), Kieran McNeill; Liam McClory, Keelan Mallon; Odhran Heenan (0-1,1f), Ciaran Greenan (0-1), Paul Og McAvoy; Sean McIlroy (0-2, 1f), Darragh Fegan (0-2), Sean O'Hare

Subs: Eoin Branniff for O'Hare (31mins), Donal Clarke (0-1) for Heenan (40mins), Niall Fegan (0-1) for Greenan (42mins), Gary McArdle for McIlroy (54mins), Niall Wallace for Fegan (60mins)

Referee: Jake Magill (St John Bosco)