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Burt knocked out of Ulster
17.11.11
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Cremartin
(Monaghan)...1-8 Burt...0-4 BURT tamely exited the Ulster Junior Club football championship when they lost by seven points to Monaghan champions Cremartin in the semi final in Brewster Park, Enniskillen on Sunday. Ronan McLaughlin’s side were blitzed at the start of each half, with the taller and physically stronger Monaghan side tearing into them from the off. While Burt opened the scoring through Enda McDermott, Cremartin dominated the first quarter with wing forward Ronan Burke in particular tormenting the Burt defence. He hit two points from the left wing and Darren Bishop gave a pinpoint pass to Kevin Brennan as Cremartin took a 0-3 to 0-1 lead. Worse was to come from Burt in the 13th minute when Brennan and Jonathan McGuigan combined to set up Burke and he finished to the bottom right corner of the net. Burt were shell shocked and while Paddy McDermott responded with a free soon after, despite playing with a strong wind on their backs, Burt couldn’t find their range and the hit seven wides during a wasteful first half as Cremartin led by 1-3 to 0-2 at half time. |
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Having lost Eamon Reddin to
injury and Joe Boyle to suspension, Burt’s playing
resources were stretched and while they defended
reasonably well, they had no attacking penetration
whatsoever and struggled for scores over the hour,
managing only four points from frees. The Monaghan champions started the second period as they did the first, blitzing Burt with four early points, two from the tricky Kevin Brennan and one apiece from Liam McVicar and Jonathan McGuigan, to lead by 1-7 to 0-2 by the 37th minute. Burt were reduced to 14 men when Martin Donaghey picked up a second yellow card and their challenge petered out after that. Indeed, they had ’keeper Stephen Gillespie to thank for a couple of smart saves at the feet of Kevin Brennan. Gillespie had made a good save off Barry Carragher in the first half too and if it weren’t for his good form between the posts the scoreline would have been an awful lot worse. While Burt defended better as the half wore on, and Rory Grant, Mark McGavigan and Kevin McDermott all showed well, they were hemmed into their own half by a Cremartin side content to defend their lead. While the McDermott brothers Paddy and added another point each, the goal they needed never looked like coming. Cremartin closed out the scoring with an injury time point giving them a seven point winning margin. The win extends Monaghan’s strong showing in the Ulster Junior Football Championship with Cremartin becoming the fifth different team from the county in five years to reach the provincial decider. They will play Tyrone side Derrytrasna in the final in a fortnight’s time. |
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Burt still have a shot at
provincial silverware; they play Creggan Kickhams from
Antrim in the Ulster Junior hurling final replay in
Armagh on Sunday. Burt: Stephen Gillespie, Benny Harrigan, Mark McGavigan, Johnny Downey; Paul McHugh, Martin Donaghey, Paul O’Brien; Kevin McDermott, Ciaran Dowds; Mickey McCann, Paddy McDermott (0-2f), Seamie O’Donnell; Niall Campbell, Enda McDermott (0-2f), Rory Grant. Cremartin: Damian Lavelle; Conor Mulligan, Patrick McGuigan, Eanna Atkinson; Fergal Mulligan, Declan Farrell, Jonathan McGuigan (0-1); Niall Flanagan, Gary Boyd; Declan Mulligan, Darren Bishop, Ronan Burke (1-2); Barry Carragher, Liam McVicar (0-1), Kevin Brennan (0-4). Subs: Peter McMahon for D. Mulligan (44 mins); Chris Farrell for B. Carragher and Mark Bishop for L. McVicar (both 54 mins); Referee: Fergal Cleary (Fermanagh) Man-of-the-match Midfielder Gary Boyd, wing forward Ronan Burke and corner forward Kevin Brennan all impressed for the Monaghan men, while Burt’s best performers were all in defence. Full back Mark McGavigan and Benny Harrigan were composed in possession and always willing to attack, but goalkeeper Stephen Gillespie was Burt’s standout player. His bravery in closing down attackers, and coming swiftly off his line when needed as well as a series of point blank save all contributed to his man-of-the-match performance. Tactical take When your goalkeeper is man-of-the-match, you get some sense of the pressure Burt was under. Cremartin were, by and large, taller and physically stronger. They hunted in packs and physically dominated the Burt men who couldn’t break through their tackles. Cremartin packed the midfield area preventing Burt from gaining a platform from which to launch long balls into the attack, pressuring them into shooting from distance or difficult angles. (Burt hit ten wides to their opponents four.) Cremartin won the game in the first and third quarters when their direct, penetrative running caused havoc in the Burt rearguard. They hit 1-3 in the first quarter, 0-4 in the third quarter, more than enough to win the game and they defended comfortably. For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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