Ballymacelligott and Clogher to contest AIB All-Ireland Club JFC Final
Clogher Éire Óg of Tyrone enjoyed a convincing AIB All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship win over Kiltimagh of Mayo.
AIB All-Ireland Club Junior Football semi-finals
Ballymacelligott (Kerry) 2-13 Grangelovin (Kildare) 0-16
Clogher Éire Óg (Tyrone) 2-13 Kiltimagh (Mayo) 0-9
For the third time in four years, the AIB All-Ireland Junior club football final will see the Munster and Ulster champions go head to head after Ballymacelligott (Kerry) and Clogher Éire Óg (Tyrone) came through their semi-final battles this afternoon.
Grangenolvin of Kildare were the side hoping to become the first Leinster team since Rathgarogue-Cushinstown (Wexford, 2020) to reach this final and for long stretches of the game they were more than a match for a stylish and slick Ballymacelligott side who also had their sustained periods of dominance.
One of those spells was right at the start when Niall Collins and then Adam Sheehy found the net to give them the dream start. They undid that good work by helping Grangenolvin back into the game by their own indiscipline, conceding fouls, a black card and a score from a breach.
Dylan Costigan took control of the game from centre back while brothers Cillian and Conall Bergin were imperious at midfield to give the Kildare club a strong foothold in terms of possession, while another brother Fionn had 0-7 scored from dead balls in the opening half.
Jack Joy hit a couple of crucial points with Aidan Breen showing all his experience around the middle to steady the ship and leave five points between the teams with a little over a quarter of an hour remaining, but true to form, there was still time for one more purple patch each. Grange got back to a couple of points adrift, but Ballymacelligott had the legs and the quality to see out a 2-13 to 0-16 win.
It was much more straightforward at a frosty Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada in Carrick-on-Shannon where Clogher Éire Óg had plenty to spare against a misfiring Kiltimagh team. It finished 2-13 to 0-9 and even early on, when the East Mayo club were in the game, it was as much due to a couple of excellent saves from goalkeeper Jamie McNicholas as much as anything else.
Ciarán Bogue drew one of those saves from McNicholas but he still went on to hit 2-4, 2-3 from play, including a low drive to the net that made it 1-7 to 0-4 at the break.
Paul Kelly hit a two-pointer early in the second half to try and bring Kiltimagh back into the game but they were on the back foot for long stretches and never succeeded in keeping Clogher at bay for any length of time. Once Ryan McCaughey set up Bogue for his second goal with ten minutes remaining, the Tyrone side’s path to Jones Road was laid out in front of them.
