Friday 16 November 2007
LOUGHMACRORY 0 - 06 ARDBOE 2 - 10
Under 21’s fall to Ardboe in bad tempered affair
The under 21 team bowed out of the under 21 championship at the first hurdle in this bad tempered tense affair played under lights at the Ulster Sports Arena in Cookstown tonight.
Exchanges were fairly even in the first half, Ardboe going three up before Loughmacrory registered their first score, a pointed free from Stephen Grimes after Stephen Donaghy had been hauled down going through. Grimes added a second from a placed ball within a minute and on eighteen minutes Joe McCracken brought the sides level with a well struck free from out on the right wing. Ardboe went one up again before Stephen Donaghy sent over to make it 4 apiece with ten minutes of the half to go. That was as good as it was to get for the Loughmacrory lads however as the East Tyrone boys posted a further two points before the break.
It was nip and tuck for the first five minutes of the second period but once Ardboe struck for their first goal the writing was on the wall for the St Teresa’s. In a bad tempered final twenty minutes there were a few nasty flare ups which saw Loughmacrory reduced to 13 men and their opponents reduced to 14 there was little in the way of constructive football. Once The O’Donavan Rossas struck for the first goal there was no way back for Loughmacrory and Ardboe went on to dictate matters and run out comfortable winners.
