McComb's Coach Travel Intermediate Cup, semi-final
St James' Swifts 2-1 Immaculata

THERE will be a fresh name on the Intermediate Cup as Ciaran Hyland was the match-winner for St James' Swifts against holders, Immaculata in Wednesday's semi-final.

Hyland struck 11 minutes from time to restore the lead for his team that started and finished this semi-final well, but had to work for the win as the holders didn't go down without a fight.

In front of a large crowd at Blanchflower Stadium, the St James' contingent went home happier and in truth, they were deserving winners as they carved out the better opportunities on the night but did have to dig in when pegged back early in the second half as the Divis side grabbed the momentum.

But Swifts rallied and having gone close on a couple of occasions, Hyland popped up with the winner to send his side to Windsor Park for the final.

"We scored after early on and then I thought for 20 minutes they were getting the better of us, and we just wanted to sit in and be a bit more compact," Swifts' manager, Eamonn McCarthy reflected.

"We knew Jude Winchester was causing major problems, so we sat in and asked him to attack in behind. We sat too deep, invited them in a wee bit and they got their goal.

"When we squeezed them back up, I thought we took over again. For the last 20 minutes, we were the better side and had enough chances to win the match twice over, but I'm delighted."

Swifts were straight up to the pace of the game with an early sight of goal for Hyland, but he shot straight at Ruairi Murray.

The St James' side was sharp and playing with a good tempo which put pressure on an Immaculata defence and Ciaran Hyland was to cut in on his left with the shot not far away.

The goal would come after 11 minutes and was preventable from an Immaculata point of view as Michael Mervyn's pass back didn't have enough on it. Connor Farrelly pounced with goalkeeper Murray charging off his line and although he got a boot in, it rebounded off the Swifts man and into the net.

Gradually, Immaculata began to come into it and Brian Kennedy forced a good save from Paul McLaughlin.

The closest they came to an equaliser in the first half came from a free-kick on the edge of the box as Brendan Shannon curled over the wall but just over the crossbar. Another free-kick was stopped low with the rebound falling to Cian Dynes but he was charged down.

However, Swifts remained a threat and had a great chance to double their money as Ciaran Hyland did well to get on the ball and play in Jude Winchester, but Murray got down to make a fine stop and ensure it remained 1-0 at the break. 

The onus was on Immaculata to find a response after the break and they opened well, probing and playing higher up the field but the final ball was missing until the 57th minute when they got back on terms in slightly fortuitous fashion.

Mark Sloan did well to keep the ball in play as Kennedy thumped across goal with Swifts' defender Daniel McHugh's unlucky to turn it into his own net.

Immaculata had seized the momentum and were now looking more likely, but the Swifts grabbed it back as Ciaran Hyland forced a low save from Murray.

Farrelly really ought to have done better when shooting well over from close range but was then unlucky to see a low effort from inside the box come back off the post.

It was now Swifts with the wind in their sails and they piled on the pressure but were almost caught on the breakaway as a collision between defenders saw Cian Dynes through, but Dean Youle got back to recover. 

Swifts' manager Eamonn McCarthy said he was delighted to get over the line
2Gallery

Swifts' manager Eamonn McCarthy said he was delighted to get over the line

Nevertheless, moments later, Swifts did get back ahead as Winchester got in on the left and he sent an inviting low ball across goal with Hyland steaming onto the box to turn it home.

A third almost came in similar circumstances as again, Winchester got in on the left but this time his cut-back was fired wide by Farrelly. 

The Mac were still in it and they would get their chance as the game ticked into added time as Brian McCaul clipped in a free-kick, which caused panic in the Swifts' defence with Ryan McAuley getting a head on the ball to direct it goalwards with goalkeeper Paul McLaughlin just about getting to it, but his punch out fell to Kevin McGovern who let fly with his effort cleared off the line.

That was that as Immaculata's grip on the trophy ended with Swifts now heading to represent the west of the city in the final for the first time in the club's history.

"I said to them today: 'I don't care the result - we just want through'," McCarthy added.

"Nobody remembers a beaten semi-finalist. It's just about getting there, so we've into a final to look forward to."

Star defeat Queen's

In the final, they will face 2023 winners Crumlin Star who are through to their third-straight final as they were 2-0 winners in Wednesday's other semi-final against Queen's University at Seaview.

Aidan Lillis gave the Ardoyne men the lead at the break and they sealed a return to Windsor for yet another North vs West decider as Stephen Smyth sealed it for them in the second period.

IMMACULATA: R Murray, M Mervyn (K McGovern 84), P Adams, C Slane (E Fallon 75), Ben McCaul, L Brady (N O'Hanlon 87), C Dynes (R McAuley 87), M Sloan, B Kennedy, B Shannon, Brian McCaul
Goal: D McHugh (OG) 57

ST JAMES' SWIFTS: P McLaughlin, M Feerick, D McDiarmid (C Adams HT, replaced by O McManus 80), D McHugh, D Youle, E Gallagher, A Martin, C Rooney, C Hyland, J Winchester, C Farrelly
Goals: C Farrelly 11; C Hyland 79

REFEREE: Finton Coyle