Crossmaglen were in fine form on Friday evening, as they saw off Clan na Gael by 13 points.
Young players Aaron O’Neill and Aaron Haughey – who were both Armagh U20s this season – led the way by combining for 1-13 of their team’s tally with O’Neill setting up Haughey’s second half goal.
Cross’ experienced players also came to the fore with James Morgan and Callum Cumiskey marshalling the defence, whilst Paul Hughes found the back of the net.
In fairness to Clan na Gael, they were without several key players such as Callum O’Neill, Brendan O’Hagan, Diarmuid Loney and Jack Lavery, as well as their county stars Shane McPartlan and Stefan Campbell.
The Clans, who have reached the Senior Championship final in each of the last two seasons, will be a different animal come knockout football.
Closely fought early stages
Despite playing against the breeze, it was Clan na Gael who were first on the scoresheet through Matthew Lennon.
However, Crossmaglen began to take over on the opposition’s kick-outs and they rattled off four points in a row through an O’Neill two-point free, Stephen Morris and Pearse Blessing.
Clans hit back through a Cianan Campbell point, but Cross remained on top as O’Neill took his tally to 0-4.
But midway through the first half, Clan na Gael were given a huge shot in the arm when Rico Kelly touched the ball on the ground on his own goal-line and they were awarded a penalty. Lennon stepped up from the spot and finished into the bottom corner, to reduce the deficit to one.
Cross lead at the break
Cross responded well however, with O’Neill firing over off the outside of his right boot with one of the scores of the game, before they raised a green flag themselves.
Haughey overturned a Clans’ kick-out and Hughes played a one-two with Callum Cumiskey and upon receiving possession back, he drilled his shot into the far corner of the net to put the hosts five ahead.
Lennon hit an impressive two-pointer against the breeze for Clan na Gael in reply, but Cross dominated the closing stages of the first half and hit the final five points.
O’Neill hit three of those points, with Haughey and Cumiskey also getting in on the act, seeing Shane Lennon’s side leading 1-12 to 1-4 at the half-time whistle.
The home side see out the win
Despite playing into the win, Cross started the second half on top, with Patsy Finnegan hitting two points in quick succession.
Clans got a decent spell in reply, with Lennon nailing a two-point free, before Sam McClarnon made a diving block at one end which led to a Tom Lavery score at the other, and suddenly they were back to within seven points with 20 minutes to play and the wind advantage.
But whatever momentum they were building was soon quashed by the two Aarons – Haughey and O’Neill. Haughey played the ball into the forward line where O’Neill got out in front of his marker, broke a tackle and was on his way through. Haughey continued his run, received possession back from O’Neill in a dangerous position and drilled his shot into the roof of the Clan na Gael net.
That score gave the visitors a mountain to climb, and from that point on Cross never looked like losing the game.
Those same two players grabbed the next two points as Crossmaglen pushed their lead out further, before Finnegan made their lead 13 points.
James Austin stemmed the tide with a score for the away side but Haughey replied for Cross. Clans finished the game with 14 men after Shea McCann was shown a straight red card for an elbow on O’Neill with five minutes to go.
O’Neill then added his tenth of the game, before a McClarnon two-pointer for Clan na Gael and a Thomas Og Duffy point for Cross wrapped up the game’s scoring.
Cross in a good position
The result sees Cross all but confirmed for a spot in the top four of the table, which will see them seeded in Pot 1 for the Championship.
Although they trail table toppers Killeavy by four points with three rounds to go, they face Steven McDonnell’s side next week, and a win for Cross would pull them right back into the race for the league title.
MATCH STATS
Crossmaglen Scorers: Aaron O’Neill (0-10, 2tpf, 2f); Aaron Haughey (1-3); Patsy Finnegan (0-3); Paul Hughes (1-0); Pearse Blessing (0-1); Thomas Og Duffy (0-1); Callum Cumiskey (0-1); Stephen Morris (0-1).
Clan na Gael scorers: Matthew Lennon (1-5, 1pen, 1tp, 1tpf); Sam McClarnon (0-2, 1tpf); James Austin (0-1); Cianan Campbell (0-1); Tom Lavery (0-1).
Referee: Martin Conroy.