Stars and Crosserlough to vie for senior title

Exciting day of action

Kingscourt and Crosserlough will contest next Saturday evening’s Senior Championship final after both came through tense semis yesterday at Kingspan Breffni.

A goal six minutes into the second half from captain Pierce Smith gave Crosserlough a foothold but the two-time defending champions Castlerahan came storming back and a 50-metre free from Oisin Kiernan at the death forced extra time.

At half-time in extra time, the sides were level but points from Stephen and James Smith and a penalty from Mark Stuart saw Jimmy Higgins’ side return to the final for the first time since 2018 on a 2-16 to 0-16 scoreline.

Meanwhile, underdogs Kingscourt proved once again that they should never be written off as they picked up a sixth successive championship win, stunning favourites Cavan Gaels with a 2-12 to 0-10 victory.

Kingscourt lost captain Padraig Faulkner to injury midway through the first half but a goal from Paddy Meade gave them a 1-5 to 0-4 interval lead and a brilliant three-pointer from Peter Corrigan proved crucial, along with Barry Reilly’s dead ball striking, as they saw off their old rivals comfortably.

The sides will meet in the final, televised by RTE, next Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, the following afternoon, Butlersbridge and Ballinagh will contest the intermediate decider after they saw off Bailieborough and Ballyhaise respectively.

After a frenetic first half, the Bridge pulled away in the second, with a haul of 1-4 from Fionntáin O’Reilly helping them win by 3-12 to 2-6 and advance to their first-ever final in this grade.

Ballinagh, meanwhile, were excellent as they saw off a fancied Ballyhaise outfit, with danger men Niall McDermott and Kevin Smith to the fore in a 1-17 to 1-13 victory.

Full reports, reaction and final previews in this week’s print edition.