Belturbet 1-8
Swanlinbar 0-10

A late point from Enda Henry proved just enough for Belturbet to overcome Swanlinbar's challenge last night and move into the semi-finals of the intermediate football championship.

Truth be told, there was little to separate these sides over the hour at Kingspan Breffni Park, with Belturbet, who lost county man Damien O'Reilly to a black card early in the second-half, timing their 38th minute goal via Cian Vaughan to perfection just when Swad looked to be building a head of steam in the contest.

Vaughan's major really knocked the stuffing out of Kevin Prior's men, but they resolved in the remaining minutes to pull level thanks to scores from star man Gearoid McKiernan and Mark Cunningham, who top scored with 0-5, before Henry's late intervention.

It pits the Rories in a semi-final against junior champions Arva in two weeks' time, with winners playing either Ballyhaise or Drumlane in next month's final.

Incredibly, Belturbet could afford to register 17 wides and still win this quarter-final, but it was Henry whom had them up and running after the first minute with a free, which was backed up by a Niall Lawlor 45 before Henry stroked over the town side's first from play with the help of the upright.

Swad were let off the hook moments later when ace attacker Brendan Fitzpatrick shot a decent goal chance wide of the post, which allowed the westsiders to get right back in contention with scores from Michael Cunningham, Mark Cunningham and McKiernan.

Swanlinbar's Greg McGovern gets airborne to avoid Belturbet's Jason O'Reilly and Brendan Fitzpatrick. 

Fitzpatrick hit back with a fine score for the men in maroon but Swad would be level through Conor Walsh by the 17th minute, before arriving at their first lead via a Mark Cunningham free.

There would be a downside in all this for the St Mary's outfit however, as they were forced to replace Michael Cunningham at centre-field after he'd picked up injury. His replacement Michael Curran ensured his side the lead at half-time however, looping over a beauty to cancel out Jason O'Reilly's leveller a minute from the break.

Wides had been the story of the first-half for the would-be winners, as they trailed 0-6 to 0-5, and could well have been in double figures had they taken half their chances. Instead it was Swad whom stayed in front with Curran notching his second after the reliable combo of Fitzpatrick and O'Reilly saw the latter stroke over at the other end.

For the last 20 minutes, Belturbet would have to make do without Damien O'Reilly, who had been shadowing McKiernan up until now, after the Cavan midfielder saw black for a pull down on an opponent but they responded to his loss in the best possible manner.

Stuart Dunne's mazy run from the right flank saw cut him through in space and it afforded Vaughan the time and space to bury the ball to the back of Gerry Scollan's net just as he hit the deck.

The goal came at the right time so far as the Rories' contingent was concerned and it left Swad with work to do as the final stretch neared closer.

To their credit, Prior's charges endeavoured with some fine work from soccer ace Chris Curran sending through Mark Cunningham for an over before McKiernan galloped forward to locate the corner-forward at the top left again to draw them level.

A trade mark score from McKiernan along the left wing handed the initiative back to Swad with seven minutes to go, putting the heat on their opponents.

Belturbet's go to men stood up big time for them in those remaining minutes, as Jason O'Reilly found himself in a 3 v 1 position against defenders and still earned the free in an ideal position for Henry to convert and even the teams.

From the resultant kick out Mark Monaghan's men applied the pressure and got the ball back to their last line it attack, where their opponents looked to have the danger cleared until possession fell to Henry in space and he was able to do the rest as Swad ran out of time in their last attack.

The evening's earlier game saw Cootehill and Killygarry play out a thriller in extra-time, where the teams still couldn't be separated, finishing on a 0-24 to 3-15 score-line, as they get set to meet again for a place against Mullahoran in the SFC quarter-finals.

Belturbet: Danny Anscombe; John Cahill, Peter Shannon, Mark Lawlor; Shane Fitzpatrick, Kevin McConnell, Stuart Dunne; Enda Henry (0-4, 2f), Eoin McGuigan; Cian Vaughan (1-0), Damien O'Reilly, Niall Lawlor (0-1, 45); Niall O'Reilly, Brendan Fitzpatrick (0-1), Jason O'Reilly (0-2). Subs: Conal McGinley for D O'Reilly (36mins, BC), Donald McDonald for N O'Reilly (44).

Swanlinbar: Gerry Scollan; Cathal O'Sullivan, Greg McGovern, John Joe McGovern; Conor Walsh (0-1), Chris Curran, Damien Leydon; Gearoid McKiernan (0-2), Michael Cunningham (0-1); Paul McGovern, Tommy O'Brien, Paul O'Brien; Joey O'Brien, Breffni McKiernan, Mark Cunningham (0-5, 1f). Subs: Michael Curran (0-2) for M Cunningham (20, inj), Robbie Prior for P McGovern (42), Rory McBarron for J O'Brien (57).

Ref: Noel Mooney (Cavan Gaels)

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