Super Joes dump Ardee out of the championship

Senior Football Championship play-off

St. Joseph's 0-17 Ardee, St. Mary's 0-14

From the moment Alan Quigley’s free from right touchline raised a white flag, you could feel it was going to be yet another famous night for the Joes.

The free left one in it, but Quigley was magic from deadballs in the second-half as he single-handedly reeled in last year's senior finalists, St. Mary's.

Ardee, it must be said, were the creators of their own downfall though. Kicking seven wides in each half was unforgivable, on top of the energy they had to expend to recover from Jamie Rooney's fifth minute sending off.

Dáire McConnon drove Hugh Durrigan’s side on and the deep-lying Darren Clarke obliged with frees as the 1995 championship winners led by three at half-time.

However, the Joes' man advantage told as the game wore on as Wayne McKeever's side calmly set about their business by soaking up the wasteful Marys' pressure and crushing their morale by frequently scoring on the breakaway.

Dáire Smyth reveled as Conal O’Hanlon landed three sky scraping frees and suddenly there was a six-point swing in the Dromiskin men's favour.

Kian Moran tried in vain to pull Ardee back into contention, yet once the Joes parked the bus, combined with Quigley’s form, you knew a shock exit for the Marys was a certainty.

And on the basis of play over the hour, the Deesiders can have no complaints.

St. Joesph's: Robert Samson; Alan Lynch, Shane McQuillan, Stefan Potts; Cian McGuinness, Ben Mulligan, David Kiernan; Killian Staunton (0-1), Thomas Smyth; Craig Doherty, Conal O’Hanlon (0-3, frees), Dáire Smyth (0-3); Conall Smyth (0-1); Alan Quigley (0-6, five frees),Derek Mulligan (0-1)

Subs: Alan McKenna (0-2) for Potts (25), Jack Mulligan for Derek Mulligan (HT), Peter Brennan for Ben Mulligan (47)

Ardee, St. Mary's: Peter Duffy; Brendan Matthews, John Bingham, Conor Keenan; Niall Eccles, Eimhin Keenan (0-1), Kian Moran (0-2), Dáire McConnon (0-1), Robert Leavy; Dean Matthews (0-1), Rónán Carroll (0-2), Mark Fay; Darren Clarke (0-7, five frees and one '45), Jamie Rooney, Alan Kirk

Subs: Karl Faulkner for Dean Matthews (47), Shane Carroll for Fay (58) 

Referee: Stephen Murphy (Naomh Máirtín)