Rangers reign supreme in Armagh

By Shaun Casey

Crossmaglen 1-19 Killeavy 0-17

Crossmaglen regained their throne in the Orchard County as they edged out Killeavy in a brilliantly contested Armagh SFC final at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds.

The side were all square thanks to a Fergal Boylan two-pointer at the 50 minute mark, but the Rangers finished strongly and outscored their opponents 6-1 in the final ten minutes.

Killeavy, appearing in their first county final since 1988, burst out of the traps and were five ahead early on, with Callum O’Hare and Shea Magill (free) raising orange flags.

Shane Lennon’s Crossmaglen hit a phenomenal purple patch and kicked the next nine points, with full forward Oisin O’Neill to the fore.

Killeavy settled themselves and kicked the final two scores of the opening period, with Gareth Murphy and Conor O’Neill splitting the posts, to leave it 10-8 to Crossmaglen at the halfway stage.

Magill (free) and Ciaron O’Hanlon smashed over two-point scores at the start of the second half, but an Oisin O’Neill brace had Cross back on level terms.

Cross could have hit the net when captain Callum Cumiskey saw his effort crash back off the post, but they didn’t have too long to wait as Blessing deliver the game’s first and only goal to put Shane Lennon’s men back in front.

The impressive Fergal Boylan, Killeavy’s top scorer on the day, slotted over a superb two-pointer to remind the jam-packed BOX-IT Athletic Grounds that Killeavy were still well within the fight.

But Crossmaglen’s response was emphatic and they put their foot to the ground in the final ten minutes. Teenager Keelan McEntee fisted over his side score after coming in off the bench while Blessing recorded a point.

Boylan (free) kept Killeavy in touch but Blessing (two-pointer) substitute James Teelan and Cian McConville all split the posts to seal the deal for Crossmaglen, who will face Cavan champions Gowna in the opening round of the Ulster Championship.

Crossmaglen: Miceal Murray, Eugene McEntee, Caolan Dillon, Christopher Crowley, Odhran Caraher 0-1, Callum Cumiskey, Harry Cumiskey 0-1, Stephen Morris, Pearse Blessing 1-3 (1tp), Aaron Haughey, Oisin O’Neill 0-6 (1pt, 2f), Ryan Martin, Cian McConville 0-3 (1f), Aaron O’Neill 0-2, Rian O’Neill. Subs: Keelan McEntee 0-2 for O. Caraher, Padraig Stuttard for E. McEntee, James Teelan 0-1 for H. Cumiskey.

Killeavy: Shea Magill, Conor Magennis, Kyle Mallon, Callum O’Hare 0-2 (1tp), Lee Rice, Gareth Murphy 0-1, Cathair McKinney, Euan Boyd, Cathal Boylan 0-1, Conor O’Neill 0-1, Kealan McDonnell, Ciaron O’Hanlon 0-3 (1tp), Fergal Boylan 0-5 (1tp, 1f), Ronan McGuinness, Aron Magennis 0-1. Subs: Caolan McConville for E. Boyd, Tiarnan Brown for R. McGuinnes, Niall Magennis for K. McDonnell, Jamie Cosgrove for L. Rice.