Castleblayney (Monaghan) 2-11

John Mitchels (Warwickshire) 1-10

Fergal Rafter helped himself to 1-8 as Castleblayney came from five points down with 12 minutes remaining to beat John Mitchels in a thrilling All-Ireland club JHC quarter-final in Birmingham's Pairc na hEireann.

Emmet McCabe scored the only goal of a low-scoring first half which ended with the hosts holding a 1-4 to 0-2 lead. With Domhnaill Nugent and Niall McKenna in fine scoring form, the Exiles remained in the driving seat before a goal from 'Blayney centre back and captain Paddy Finnegan levelled the scoring at 1-8 apiece with 10 minutes remaining.

With the momentum behind them, Rafter grabbed a second goal three minutes from the end to send the Monaghan men through to an All-Ireland semi-final meeting with surprise Connacht champions Carrick-on-Shannon in the New Year.

Castleblayney - P Collins; C Merrick, J McHugh, E Leonard; B Connor, P Finnegan (1-1), C McNally; B Flanagan, M Treanor (0-1); H Byrne (0-1'65), A Kenny, F Finnegan; F Rafter (1-8, 0-7f), B McGuigan, C Callan. Subs: N Adair for F Finnegan, J Deasy for E Leonard.

John Mitchels - P Crean; R Curley, D Bruen, M O’Regan; P Scally, W Allen, D Kelly; G Lennon (0-1), N McKenna (0-3f); I Dwyer, D Nugent (0-4, 2f), B Fallon; E McCabe (1-0), N Kennedy (0-2), K Magee. Subs: K Courtney for I Dwyer, O Long for B Fallon.

Referee - R McGann.

 

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