Bridie McMenamin Shield - Semi-Final
St John's 3-11
St Enda's OMAGH 2-13
At Corrigan Park
St John’s booked their place in the final of the Ulster Bridie McMenamin Shield after edging out Omagh in a thrilling encounter at Corrigan Park on Sunday, with veteran Úna Simpson delivering a dramatic winning point in the dying moments.
The Whiterock Road side showed tremendous character and attacking quality to overcome a determined Omagh challenge, with Ellie Sweeney producing a superb individual display, finishing with an outstanding tally of 3-8.
St John’s had to dig deep throughout an entertaining contest, particularly after Omagh threatened to take control during the second half, but the Belfast side refused to let the game slip away and finished strongly to secure their place in the decider.
Omagh made the perfect start when Cara McCrory found the net in the third minute, but Sweeney soon took centre stage, firing home twice inside the opening ten minutes, including from the penalty spot, to put St John’s ahead with a goal separating the sides at that stage.
St John's battled hard for their victory on Sunday afternoon
The Tyrone champions responded with a strong spell, Áine Cunningham leading their scoring charge before Sorcha Hughes found the net in the 26th minute. Despite St John’s efforts, Omagh held a narrow advantage at the interval with just the minimum separating the sides.
Cunningham added three points shortly after the restart to stretch Omagh’s lead to four, but St John’s remained in contention, with Sweeney raising three white flags in succession to bring her side back into the contest.
Omagh continued to threaten through Cunningham, who added two more points to leave the visitors three points to the good ahead with three minutes remaining.
However, St John’s produced a superb late response. Sweeney struck her third goal of the afternoon to bring the sides level before Cunningham edged Omagh back in front.
With extra-time seemingly inevitable, Sweeney converted a free to draw the sides level once more, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
And there was one final twist as Una Simpson, showing all her experience, popped up with the decisive score in the final play to send St John’s through to the final after a hard-fought and memorable victory.
The win is a testament to the strength in promotion of the ladies games within Corrigan Park, with a large portion of the camogie panel also togging out a few weeks prior as the Johnnies embarked in an Ulster football campaign.
The development and hard work going on behind the scenes and emphasis on developing youth is proof with the recent success in the senior squads over the past number of years at St John's.
The Belfast side's task is not done yet and will face a tough Ballerin side in the next round with the final date and venue to be confirmed.
