Ballinderry Shamrocks

Holders Ballinderry came perilously close to losing their crown at the weekend, a last minute controversial penalty giving them an unlikely lifeline when all seemed lost as they trailed by four points as the game ticked over into added time.Conleth Gilligan, who had scored some priceless points as the Shamrocks clawed their way back from a seven-point deficit midway through the second half, tucked away the spot-kick to leave one point between the sides.

The four added minutes were played out in a seething cauldron, the Banagher fans raging at the award of the spot-kick.

On the field, the Banagher players seemed to have the situation under control as they held Ballinderry at bay but, with seconds remaining, Ballinderry launched a last attack and Adrian McGuckin sent then fans into seventh heaven when he flicked over the equalising point.

The first signs of a shock had emerged as early as the tenth minute when Rory McColgan fired home a goal to put Banagher 1-03 to 0-04 ahead.

Six minutes from half-time, keeper Mickey Conlon hesitated as a Simpson lob dropped in the goalmouth and McColgan nipped in to fist the ball to the net to help Banagher to a 2-4 to 0-6 interval lead. Ballinderry brought on Enda Muldoon, Sean Donnelly and Brendan Conway in the early minutes of the second half but they were again rocked in the 45th minute when keeper Conlon dropped a speculative lob by Ryan Lynch to the net to open up a seven point gap. Gilligan chipped away at the lead with some wonderful frees but they still needed a huge slice of luck to force a replay.

Ballinderry: M Conlon; S Mullan, K McGuckin,

J Bell (0-1); P Wilson, R McGuckin, D Crozier;

D Conway (0-1), J Conway; P McIver, C Gilligan

(1-5, 1-0 pen, 0-3 frees), A McGuckin (0-1);

D Bateson (0-1), M Harney (0-1), F Muldoon (0-1 free).

Subs: S Donnelly for M Harney; E Muldoon (0-2, 0-1 free) for P McIver; B Conway for J Bell; J Bateson for F Muldoon

Banagher: D Hasson; G Lynch, E Feeny, C Simpson; SM Lockhart, R Lynch (1-0), P Carton; PJ McCloskey, P O’Kane (0-1); A Devine, G Biggs (0-2), K O’Neill; R McColgan (2-0), M Lynch (0-4, 0-3 frees), G Simpson.

Referee: Dessie Kearney (Glen)