Burren maintained their bid to dislodge Kilcoo from their proud perch in Down by getting the better of Carryduff in a dramatic Championship semi-final at Pairc Esler, Newry.
Carryduff, though, fired an early warning shot across Burren’s bows when their skipper James Guinness swept in a superb 11th minute goal that clearly invigorated the Belfast side.
By the halfway stage, they were only a point in arrears at 0-7 to 1-3 with Odhran Murdock, Danny Magill and Gerard McGovern beginning to pull the strings for Burren.
But a gritty Carryduff side stuck to their task only to concede a 56th minute goal which Ronan Kelly pilfered for Burren in a dramatic climax that saw his side secure their place in the Final against Kilcoo.
Burren have sustained their drive to displace Kilcoo from their throne in recent years and now they get another opportunity to be crowned Champions.
Meanwhile, Cargin, for so long the kingpins of Antrim football, survived a rare scare when they were tested to the limit by a hard-working St Brigid’s side in the second Antrim SFC semi-final.
It was not until the closing stages of the first-half that the opening scores were posted with Tomas McCann and Pat Shivers paving the way for Cargin’s 0-4 to 0-1 interval lead.
Midway through the second-half, the teams were deadlocked at 0-6 each with the Downey brothers Enda and Shea making an impact for St Brigid’s. Benen Kelly plundered another Cargin point before Paul McCann pounced for the only goal of the game to give his side a 1-7 to 0-7 victory and a place in the Final — again.
Sunday’s game, though, has provided Cargin with much food for thought as they contemplate an Antrim decider meeting with Casements Portglenone, who inflicted a heavy defeat on Lamh Dhearg in the first semi-final on Saturday.
In Fermanagh, meanwhile, Ederney just managed to squeeze past Kinawley by 1-13 to 0-15 in a tense SFC quarter-final encounter but only after extra-time.
Kinawley had carved out a substantial 0-8 to 0-1 lead during the first-half with Tómas Corrigan and Caolan Brennan paving the way in landing the scores that appeared to have taken their side into a comfortable position. Indeed, the duo kept the Ederney defence under pressure for much of the first-half.
But when Chris Snow cracked home a goal from a penalty for Ederney, Kinawley’s dominance became rather more subdued. Ex-Fermanagh county football ace Marty McGrath, Pol McKervey and Paul McCusker combined to keep Ederney very much in the reckoning, while the busy Corrigan along with Dylan Boyle helped to sustain Kinawley’s challenge.
When the end of normal time was reached with the score at 0-11 to 1-8, this paved the way for extra-time during which Shaun McCarron and McGrath fired over the last two points that took Ederney to a 1-13 to 0-15 victory.
The Championship now has an interesting look with Enniskillen due to meet Ederney in the semi-finals while Derrygonnelly Harps, the side that has dominated the Erne county landscape of late, will take on Erne Gaels, Belleek in the other last four contest — games that will hold huge appeal.