Harps make it three out of three
Derrygonnelly 1-13 Erne Gaels 1-11
Derrygonnelly clinched their place in the last four of the Mannok SFC as they made it three wins out of three with a two point victory over Erne Gaels on Saturday evening in Garrison.
The result means that the Belleek outfit finish second and they will now face Roslea this Sunday at home in the quarter final.
The Harps had appeared to be well on their way to the victory as they led 1-13 to 0-09 with ten minutes to go but Erne Gaels produced a late rally to get back into contention.
Ryan Lyons bagged a goal and Barry Mccann and Shane Mimnagh popped over points to close the gap back to two points.
And the Belleek side had a chance at the death to take the win but Ultan Kelm was denied by Harps goalkeeper Jack Kelly as Derrygonnelly held on for the victory.
Derrygonnelly joint manager Mick Glynn was pleased to see his side book their spot in the last four but he feels that Erne Gaels could still have a big say in the latter stages of the competition.
“It was nice to get the win and qualify for the semi-final but Erne Gaels were missing a few key players and will still have a major say in proceedings,” said Glynn, who adds that they will now prepare for their semi-final.
“The championship is starting in earnest now with straight knockout and no back door and we’ll have to be ready for whoever we get after the quarter finals this weekend.”
Erne Gaels went into the game without a number of regulars, including Ultan Kelm amd Tommy Mccaffrey but they made a positive start to the game as they carved out an early 0-04 to 0-02 lead.
Aoaghan Kelm and Ryan Lyons landed the scores for Erne Gaels while Ryan Jones and Garvan Jones registered for the Harps.
Indeed, the Jones brothers were to have a major impact on proceedings as they contributed 0-11 from play of their sides tally.
Derrygonnelly started to take a degree of control after this with Ryan Jones (2) and Garvan Jones knocking over scores to edge them ahead before they plundered a goal through Shane Mcgullion. Ryan Jones and Garvan Jones this time turned provider for Mcgullion who finished with aplomb.
With Garvan Jones then adding another two points Derrygonnelly found themselves six points clear, 1-07 to 0-04.
Barry Mccann and Ryan Jones then swapped points before Aoghan Kelm landed the last point of the half to leave five between the sides at the break.
Erne Gaels started the second half well as they accounted for three of the first four points with Oisin Kelm, Ryan Lyons and Aoghan Kelm registering while Garvan Jones fired over for Derrygonnelly to leave the goal dividing the sides, 1-09 to 0-09.
However, Derrygonnelly seemed to regain the initiative as they rattled off the next four points through Ryan Jones, Conor Mcgovern (2) and Garvan Jones to make it 1-13 to 0-09.
Erne Gaels though hit back and Lyons took advantage of a mistake at the back by Derrygonnelly
to find the back of the net and Mimnagh and Mccann followed up with points to leave it a two point game.
Then came that chance for late substitute Ultan Kelm but he was denied by Kelly as it finished 1-13 to 1-11.