Queens Belfast 1-9 UU Jordanstown 1-8: Queen's performed a classic late snatch to pip Belfast neighbours Jordanstown in the second of yesterday's Datapac Sigerson Cup semi-finals.
Having struggled for much of the match Queen's slipped by their opponents with two points in injury-time and survived a scare in the dying seconds when Philip Loughran's 45 fell dramatically short.
One of the umpires appeared to be raising a hand, suggesting that Niall Bogue had stepped back over the goalline with the ball but referee Séamus McCormack blew for time as soon as the final clearance soared out of the Queen's defence. Television pictures viewed afterwards were inconclusive.
Winning manager James McCartan cheerfully admitted that he had all but given up on making the final. "It looked like it was gone. They looked like they'd negated all our pluses. It was a heavy slog we just couldn't cut them open."
He identified as the turning point a UUJ penalty miss just into the second half. Colin Devlin actually hit it well, driving it hard and apparently accurately to the right and sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. But the ball cannoned off the inside of the upright and ricocheted to safety.
Nonetheless the Jordanstown lead was extended to six by the 37th minute, 1-7 to 0-4, and there appeared no way back for Queen's. McCartan felt, though, that his players had "got their heads up" after Devlin's miss. From there on they outscored their opponents 1-5 to a point to qualify for a second successive final against champions Sligo IT.
Jordanstown's Mark Lynch was the best forward on view and ended up with 1-2, his goal coming in the 13th minute when he outjumped John Gibney to touch Devlin's high ball into the net. This took the score to 1-4 to 0-2. Queen's Brian Mallon kept the scoreboard ticking over so that by half-time the deficit was kept to four points, 0-4 to 1-5 - sizeable in the conditions but not insurmountable.
Queen's did have an early chance after the break but James McGovern's good work in cutting inside brought a good save from John Devine.
Devlin's missed penalty wasn't the full story of the Queen's comeback. A goal seven minutes later threw the match into the melting pot. Martin McGrath's run at goal looked to have ended in a penalty but no award was given and instead McGovern shot the loose ball into the net.
With 18 minutes left the match was up for grabs and Queen's grew in cofidence. They began to exert pressure around the middle third and tie down the Jordanstown backs whereas their own began to push forward. Points from Mallon and Kevin McGourty tied the match at 1-8 each with the game into injury-time.
Ultimately it was a fine, ambitious long-range kick from Fermanagh's Ciaran O'Reilly, on as a replacement, that pushed Queen's in front for the first time in the match. "My neck was on the chopping block over that," said McCartan. "He's just back from injury and it was a big ask for him. I'm sure there's others that thought they should have come on but Ciaran's a scoring forward, an area where we tend to fall down.
"People were saying during the week that the pick of the Belfast teams wouldn't beat Sligo and except that I'm the Queen's manager I might be inclined to believe it," was his mischievous assessment of today's sem-final.
QUEEN'S: J Gibney; N Bogue, D McCartan, R O'Neill; K Gunn, G O'Kane, J Turley; M McGrath, C O'Brien; G Donaghy (0-1, a free), B Mallon (0-6, four frees), K McGourty (0-1); C Moran, J McGovern (1-0), P Turley. Subs: C O'Reilly (0-1) for Moran (44 mins), C Shields for McGovern (53 mins).
UUJ: J Devine; J Keenan, J Conlon, R Murray; B Shannon, M Quinn, M Anderson (0-1); M Mackin (0-1, free), P Loughran (0-1); M Donaghy, M Lynch (1-2), S Doherty; C Devlin (0-2, one free), J Bradley, B O'Brien (0-1). Subs: B Toner for Doherty (12 mins), M Murphy for Toner (47 mins), P Forker for O'Brien (54 mins).
Referee: S McCormack (Meath).
