Faughanvale secure Intermediate status as Slaughtmanus relegated to Junior football

Faughanvale 0-11, Slaughtmanus 0-03

Slaughtmanus lost their Intermediate Championship status as Paddy O'Kane inspired Fauaghanvale to victory in a real parish war of attrition at Doire Trasna on Saturday.

'Vale were in charge from early on and never in any real danger of defeat against a Slaughtmanus side that failed to score from play across the 60 odd minutes. Not that it was plan sailing for the Greysteel men as three late red cards would testify to. However 'Vale's greater cutting edge meant they always had a big enough cushion to keep a battling Slaugtmanus team at arm's length.

That may have been different had Kevin Duddy's 12th minute penalty found the back of the net instead of the upright. St. Mary's were only three behind at the time and had the keeper's spot-kick flew six inches to the left, it may have been the spark they needed to get a foothold they never quite managed.

The Tamnaherin men weren't happy with the performance of referee Paddy Devlin and while they could argue a good case over a number of 50-50 calls that went against them, the referee wasn't the difference in the game. Faughanvale, now under the management of Kevin Jude-Bryson, were the better side and deserved the victory in a game that was far from a classic.

The sides managed only four points from play but this fixture wasn't about entertain. This was about championship survival so the result was all that mattered. To that end, Paddy O'Kane and Kevin Martin were the difference makers. The attacking duo contributed nine of Faughanvale's tally of 11, seven of those coming from frees, and Slaughtmanus had no equivalent.

The stakes meant passions were always going to be high and they spilled over late on with a melee that resulted in red cards for 'Vale's Caolan Cooper and Slaughtmanus' Meehaul Brolly, with Brolly's team-mate and fellow substitute Christopher Deery following him in injury time for dissent.

But for Slaughtmanus the damage had been done in the opening quarter. Faughanvale flew out of the traps and were 0-4 to no score up thanks to a brace of frees each from O'Kane and Martin. Caolan Hargan, Slaughtmanus' only scorer on the day, got his team's opener from a 12th minute free, the first of three from the forward who did well did with what possession he had but was too often left isolated against the 'Vale back line.

That early advantage meant the Greysteel St. Mary's were able to dictate the terms of engagement but it could have been different with the penalty which arrived only seconds after Hargan's opening Slaughtmanus score.

The opportunity came from a wayward Eoghan Cassidy shot which was superb broken down by Barry Lyons for David Quigg to burst on to. The midfielder was about to pull the trigger when he was pulled down and referee Devlin had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Forward came Duddy, who was otherwise excellent for his team. His shot was well struck, but inches too far right and it found the post instead of the net.

The let-off galvanised 'Vale further and by half-time they had built a 0-7 to 0-2 lead thanks to scores from Martin, Eoin McElhinney and another O'Kane free.

The second half was a tale of Faughanvale game management. Slaughtmanus, for whom Killene Thornton was excellent, saw plenty of the ball and did threaten late on to find the net but by that stage the game was gone.

The opening quarter of the second period saw only a Paddy O'Kane free trouble the scoreboard, the forward grabbing another on 48 minutes to take his side's lead out to 0-9 to 0-3 after Hargan had scored what would prove Slaughtmanus' final score of the game seconds earlier.

Slaughtmanus never stopped pressing but too many shots dropped short while trying to navigate a way through a very disciplined 'Vale rearguard in which Michael Sweeney was his usual composed self, was proving a non-starter. And the more 'Manus fought to give themselves a glimmer of hope in attack, the more they left themselves vulnerable at the other end with O'Kane's best point of the day, and one from substitute Jordan Curran was enough to secure their club's Intermediate status for another season.

It was never pretty and 'Vale will need to address what put them in this position in the first place, but the job was done.

For Slaugthmanus, it was a tough end to a difficult season. There was no faulting their effort nor the application. If they get the same level of both next season they'll have a decent chance of bouncing straight back.

Faughanvale scorers: Paddy O'Kane (0-6, 5f), Kevin Martin (0-3, 2f), Eoin McElhinney (0-1), Jordan Curran (0-1).

Slaughtmanus scorers: Caolan Hargan (0-3, 3f).

Faughanvale: Padhraic O'Neill, Shane McElhinney, Michael Sweeney, Kyle McGuinness, Connlaoth McGee, Oran McClenaghan, Ruairi Lynch, Mark Creane, Aaron McLaughlin, Shay Martin, Eoin McElhinney, James McCafferty, Kevin Martin, Conor McGuinness, Paddy O'Kane. (Subs) Caolan Cooper for S Martin, 33mins; Jordan Curran for S McElhinney, 51mins

Slaughtmanus: Kevin Duddy, Corin McMonagle, Mark Duffy, Eamon Deery, Eoghan Cassidy, Jude Mullan, Oran Carton David Quigg, Barry Lyons, Rian McCormick, Killene Thornton, Conor Lyons, Fergal Hargan, Eddie Devine, Caolan Hargan. (Subs) Meehaul Brolly for E Deery, 36mins; Christopher Deery for E Devine, 37mins; Cathal Deery for C Lyons, 37mins; Niall Barr for F Hargan, 51mins.

Referee: Paddy Devlin