St. Mary's book their place in Louth SFC semi-final

Reigning champions Ardee St. Mary's are a step closer to claiming their third straight Joe Ward Cup after a commanding win over St. Patrick's in Sunday's quarter-final at Dowdallshill.

In a repeat of last year's semi-final, it was once again Ardee who came out on top to book a place in the final four with a ten-point victory. St. Mary's set the tone early with Karl Faulkner opening the scoring in the 5th minute.

Moments later Ciarán Keenan was fouled in the area before Liam Jackson calmly converted the penalty to make it 1-1 to no score. St. Patrick's fought back quickly with Eoin O'Connor getting their first point in the 9th minute.

Leonard Grey added another for the Lordship side shortly after, but Ardee kept the scoreboard ticking over, with goalkeeper Tiernan Markey and Carl Gillespie adding points to maintain the lead.

St. Patrick's stayed in touch through Danny O'Connor, who added a point from a free, and goalkeeper Martin McEneaney, who slotted over a '45 before the break. 

Liam Jackson's early goal still separated the sides at halftime, with St. Mary's leading 1-5 to 0-5.

Despite the narrow gap, Ardee looked the more comfortable team heading into the second half. O'Connor narrowed the gap after the restart with another free.

But just when it seemed the Pats might challenge, Markey struck again with a '45 to restore Ardee's two-point cushion.

O'Connor’s free-taking was keeping St. Patrick's in the game, and his 42nd-minute free left just one point between the sides.

However, that was as close as the Lordship men would get. Shane Matthews added a fine point for St. Mary's, sparking a run of scores that would see Ardee pull away decisively.

Substitute Jonathan Commins made an instant impact, contributing two points as Ardee took control.

Dáire McConnon also chipped in with two more points, and with Ardee’s forwards now in full flow, St. Patrick's had no answer.

St. Patrick’s hopes of a comeback were dealt a major blow when Eoin O'Connor was sent off in the 56th minute after picking up a second yellow card.

With their numbers reduced and time running out, the Pats struggled to mount any serious threat, and Ardee capitalized.

Dáire McConnon put the final nail in the coffin by scoring a close-range goal in injury time to seal the win for St. Mary's.

His late strike capped off a dominant second half for Ardee who outscored their opponents 1-7 to 0-3 in the second half.

The victory sends St. Mary's into the semi-finals, where they will join Naomh Mairtin and Newtown Blues. St. Patrick's fought bravely, but Ardee’s superior depth and firepower proved too much in the end.

St. Patrick's: Martin McEneaney (0-1, 1 45); Daniel Tumilty, Kevin Toner, Darren Connor; Conor Grogan, Leonard Gray (0-1), Alan O'Connor; Ciarán Murphy, Matthew Pagni; Joe Connor, Eoin O'Connor (0-1), Aidan McCann; Tadgh O'Connor, Danny O'Connor (0-5, 3f), Tom McCann.

Subs: Jack Murphy (21'), Sean Fearon (49'), Conor McGuinness on for Aidan McCann (53'), Ross Murphy.

St. Mary's: Tiernan Markey (0-3, 1f, 2 45), Jay Crawley, Éimhín Keenan, Shane Matthews (0-1); Karl Faulkner (0-1), Liam Jackson (1-0), Carl Gillespie (0-2, 2f); Ryan Rooney, Seán Callaghan; Páraic McKenny, Andy Murphy, Kian Moran; R.J. Callaghan, Dáire McConnon (1-2), Ciarán Keenan.

Subs: Rónán Carroll on for Ryan Rooney (40'), Tom Jackson (44'), Jonathan Commins (0-2) on for Shane Matthews (44'), Robert Leavy on for R.J. Callaghan (49').

Referee: Ultan McElroy (Kilkerley Emmets).