We booked our place in the McElvaney Recycling Intermediate Football Championship semi-finals with a hard-earned win over Corduff in Aughnamullen last Saturday. Like last year’s clash between the teams, this game went down to the wire, with our lads recovering from a slow start to eventually go through this time by the narrowest of margins (3-8 to 1-13). A team showing five changes from a similarly hard-earned win against Emyvale took time to settle, with Corduff using the wind at their backs well to build up a six-point lead before a Gary White goal gave us a boost. Éimhín Morahan also found the net to send us in level at 2-3 to 0-9 and we pushed on after the restart, helped by a third goal from Shane Smyth. With Éimhín adding to his tally and Conn O’Hanlon and Aodhán Óg McAnespie driving forward to kick points, we led by five heading into the final quarter, but having been reduced to 14 men, we had to hold off a strong finish by Corduff to set up another meeting with Emyvale. The semi-final has been set for Scotstown this Saturday at 3.30pm. This is again unfortunately due to be played behind closed doors.

Team and scorers: Dylan McAree; Conn O’Hanlon (0-1), Aodhán Óg McAnespie (Capt., 0-1), Kevin Loughran; Nicholas Scott, Brendan Óg Ó Dufaigh, John Mulligan; Stephen Driver, Neil McAdam; Michael Galligan (0-1f), Conor Galligan (0-1), Thomas Croarkin; Conor McCrystal, Gary White (1-0), Éimhín Morahan (1-3, 0-2f).

Subs: Dean Doherty for Mulligan, Shane Smyth (1-1) for White, Shane McMahon for M Galligan, Jamie Shields for McCrystal, Lochlainn Power for Morahan.