St Finian’s Newcastle saw off Wanderers in the Junior One semi-final
St Finian’s book a final spot
THE Junior One semi-finals took place over the weekend with St Finian’s Newcastle finding themselves up against Wanderers GAA.
The two had previously met in the group stages of the championship with St Finians picking up the win in their first game.
Finians would prevail on top of their group as they went undefeated with big wins over St Marks as well as St James Gaels an Caislean.
Going unbeaten in the group stage would secure them a place in the quarter finals as they took on Civil Service Football and would pick up a five point victory after a close game saw the final score end at 2-13 to 2-08.
Wanderers found themselves on a more complicated route to the semi final as they were also in the same group as St Finians with the two playing each other in the group stage.
It was a very close game with Finians picking up a narrow two point victory, far closer than their other games.
Still Wanderers were unable to get a win against St James Gaels An Caislean and had to settle for a draw with a 0-08 to 0-08 scoreline.
They were able to get a big seven point victory over St Marks however which assured them a spot in the quarter finals.
Once in the quarter finals they came up against Stars of Erin and a very scrappy game saw Wanderers get the win by two points with a final score of 0-06 to 0-08.
This led them to a semi final against St Finians.
It proved equally tight as their first game in O’Toole Park as St Finian’s Newcastle recovered from an eight-point deficit with twenty minutes remaining to defeat Wanderers by 2-13 to 3-8.
One of the key performers for the winners was Aidan Burke, who joined the attack from wing-back to telling effect with a personal tally of 1-2.
His scores and those of midfielder Sean O’Reilly who managed 1-1, allowed St Finian’s to close the gap as the contest evolved with Mark Molloy and Aaron Molloy chipping in with points in the final quarter to secure their final berth.
St Finian’s Newcastle will now take on St Finnian’s Swords in the championship final which will be held on Sunday October, 19 in Parnell Park.
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