MITCHELS BOOK KNOCKOUT PLACE AFTER SECOND-HALF SURG

DKIT Sport Louth Junior Football Championship

John Mitchels 1-17

Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock 0-13

John Mitchels booked their place in the knockout stages of the DKIT Sport Louth Junior Football Championship after overcoming a determined Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock side in an entertaining encounter at Louth Village on Sunday afternoon.

Despite the final seven-point winning margin, there was little between the sides for long periods, with Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock producing an excellent first-half display to lead by a point at the interval.

John Mitchels ultimately turned the game around after the break, outscoring their opponents by 1-11 to 0-6 in the second half, with Arthur Sands delivering the decisive blow when he found the net late on.

Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock made the brighter start and quickly established a four-point advantage inside the opening nine minutes.

Robert Murphy opened the scoring after his long shot in bounced over for a 2-pointer. Feely was then on target again in the eighth and ninth minutes, with two excellent scores from play leaving Mitchels under early pressure.

John Mitchels finally opened their account in the 10th minute when Trevor Matthews converted a valuable two-point free.

That score settled Mitchels and they began to find their rhythm. John Gallagher followed with a point from play before Matthews added another from play in the 13th minute.

Arthur Sands then got his first score of the afternoon, bringing Mitchels back to within a point, before Matthews added another to put the sides level.

Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock regained the initiative when Ciaran Murphy registered in the 21st minute, and they extended their lead late in the half when Robert Murphy landed a superb two-pointer from around 60 yards.

At half-time, Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock led 0-7 to 0-6, setting up an intriguing second half.

Mitchels emerged with renewed purpose after the restart and Sands quickly levelled the contest with a point in the 31st minute.

Five minutes later, Gallagher converted a free to edge Mitchels ahead for the first time.

The game then became increasingly physical, with Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock reduced to 14 players when Eoin Farrell was shown a black card.

Mitchels took advantage of the extra man and began to build momentum.

John Bingham pointed from a free in the 41st minute before Sands added another excellent score off his left foot a minute later.

Adam Keenan then got on the scoresheet from play, followed by another point from Sands as Mitchels began to pull clear.

Gallagher then produced another valuable score, this time a two-pointer in the 46th minute, putting further daylight between the sides.

Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock’s task became even more difficult when Paul Mallon was shown a red card following an off-the-ball incident, leaving them with just 14 players on the field.

To their credit, however, they continued to battle and Robert Murphy reduced the deficit with a free in the 51st minute.

Three minutes later, Feely produced one of the scores of the game when he fired over a brilliant two-pointer, giving Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock renewed hope.

Ciaran Murphy then converted a two-point free in the 58th minute after John Mitchels were punished for a three-up breach, cutting the gap once again.

But just when Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock appeared capable of mounting a late comeback, Mitchels delivered the decisive moment.

In the 61st minute, Arthur Sands broke through and finished brilliantly to the net, putting Mitchels firmly in control.

Gallagher added another point from play shortly afterwards, with Cole Leavy completing the scoring in the 63rd minute.

The final whistle confirmed a 1-17 to 0-13 victory for John Mitchels, securing their progression to the knockout stages.

While Mitchels will be pleased with the result and their strong second-half performance, Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock can take plenty of encouragement from a spirited display that saw them lead at half-time and remain competitive for much of the contest.

For Mitchels, the ability to respond after trailing at the interval will be particularly pleasing as they now turn their attention to the knockout stages.

John Mitchels

David Anderson, Adam Finnegan, Shane Crossan, Aaron Kane, Jake Gillespie, Ruairi McCann, John Bingham 0-1f, Trevor Matthews 0-4 (1x 2pt), Arthur Sands 1-4, John Gallagher 0-6 (1x2ptf & 1 x 2pt), Eoghan McEneaney, Aaron Keely, Stefan Halpenny, Tristan Knowles. Subs: Adam Keenan 0-1 for Stefan Halpenny (HT), Cole Leavy 0-1 for Jake Gillespie (55).

Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock

David Boyle, John Galligan, Ronan McCartney, Stephen McGuinness, Joseph Woods, Micheal Woods, Shane Ruddy, James Mahoney, Fionn Tipping, Ciaran Murphy 0-3 (1x2ptf), James Feely 0-4 (1x2pt), Thomas Muckian, Paul Mallon, Robert Murphy 0-5 (1x2ptf & 1x2pt), Eoin Farrell. Subs: Tony McNally for Thomas Muckian (38).

Referee: David J McArdle (Naomh Bríd)

Man of the Match – John Gallagher – John Mitchels

John Gallagher was the Man of the Match. He was involved in everything good about the Mitchels performance, driving his side forward and making a telling contribution throughout. Gallagher finished with 0-6, including two crucial two-pointers, and was central to Mitchels’ strong second-half performance.

There were also standout performances from Trevor Matthews and Arthur Sands. Matthews was composed and accurate from placed balls while also contributing from play, while Sands was a constant attacking threat and capped his display with a superb goal late in the game amd finished with 1-4 to his name.

For Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock, James Feely was one of their leading performers. He was a constant danger in attack, scoring 0-6, including a brilliant two-pointer, and helped keep his side in the contest right until the closing stages.