HE GAA Senior Football League Division One semi-final: DIT 2-11 Queen’s University, Belfast 1-9
Goals prove crucial as Queen’s exit
By Daire Walsh
SECOND HALF goals from Mayo’s Aidan O’Shea and substitute Martin Reilly proved to be the difference between the two sides in Belfield last night, as DIT booked their place in the Higher Education Senior Football League Division One Final at the expense of a spirited Queen’s University of
Belfast.
Queen’s manager Anthony McGrath was disappointed to have lost out in the end, as his side were left to rue some missed opportunity in the opening period.
“Absolutely gutted, but we probably didn’t get enough scores on the board in the first half. They came straight into the second half, and after getting a point in the first minute, they got a few quickly after that. We reacted well and got a penalty (scored by James Kielt),” the Donegal native stated.
“We attacked well in spurts, but I don’t think we defended well collectively. I think the downside is that we didn’t get those scores in the first half.”
Queen’s had started the game in impressive fashion, and were four points to the good inside the opening ten minutes thanks to three superb frees from Derry’s James Kielt, as well as a close-range effort from
corner-forward Eugene McVerry.
DIT were struggling to come to terms with Queen’s around the middle-third, but they finally opened their account after 13 minutes courtesy of a free from Bernard Allen. This was quickly cancelled out by the first score of the game from open play by Tyrone star Niall McKenna.
After a scrappy finish to the opening period, swapped scores from the reliable Kielt and Allen meant that the Belfast men held a four-point advantage heading into the second half (0-6 to 0-2).
Much like their rivals UCD in the previous game, though, DIT were a completely different outfit upon the resumption, as David Gibney’s point in the first minute of the half was added to swiftly by scores from Allen (two) and his midfield partner O’Shea.
Queen’s were struggling to re-produce their fine football from before the break, but they rallied with a 1-1 salvo from Kielt just shy of the final quarter, his goal being a penalty that he was drilled clinically past Robert Lambert in the DIT goal.
This looked to have settled Queen’s back into the proceedings, but DIT showed their true mettle to cancel out their opponents advantage with a point from substitute Mark Collins being followed by a low finish to Mattie Jackson’s net by O’Shea from a tight angle on the right.
This set the tie up for a tantalising conclusion, but even though Queen’s substitute Caolan Daly briefly regained the ascendancy for Queen’s, it was DIT who had that bit extra in the tank, as points from Allen (two) and Collins, and a fine individual major from Cavan’s Reilly, moved them into an unassailable
five-point cushion.
A McVerry score from play did cut into the deficit, but a final point from Cork underage prodigy Collins sealed DIT’s place in the decider, even though wing-back Colin Walsh was dismissed on a second yellow-card late on.
Although accepting that their loss to the Dublin college was a disappointment, McGrath still saw plenty of positives as they prepare for their Sigerson Cup campaign in the New Year.
“As I said to the boys there, we’re in a very positive place. We had quite a strong panel, though some of them weren’t available tonight.
“So, we’ll come together. We’ll obviously enter Sigerson. Sigerson is what Queen’s is all about. We aim to qualify from the group, and be competitive after that,” McGrath concluded.
MATCH STATS
QUB: M Jackson; C McNulty, G McGovern, E Costello; G Collins, S Warnock, R Mallon; J O’Reilly, J Kielt (1-5, 1-0 pen, 0-5 frees); S Cardle, N McKenna (0-1), C Sheerin; R Rafferty, C Rafferty, E McVerry (0-2, 1 free).
Subs: C Daly (0-1) for R Rafferty (18), P Quinn for Costello (48), R Jones for O’Reilly (53).
DIT: R Lambert; J Gallagher, B Menton, G O’Hehir; A Nestor, N Devereux, Colin Walsh; A O’Shea (1-1), D Gibney (0-1); P Maguire, Conor Walsh, C Reddin; H Dawson, T O’Connor, B Allen (0-6, 5 frees)
Subs: M Collins (0-3, all frees) for Conor Walsh (h-t), J McGrath for Dawson (h-t), M Reilly (1-0) for Maguire (42), D O’Reilly for Reddin (42), P O’Curry for Gibney (61).
Referee: F Kelly (Longford).