Hunterstown Pull Off Stunning Championship Upset Against Ardee St Marys

Played under high stakes at the Cullen Autoparts Louth GAA Training Centre in Darver, Group 2 delivered an absolute thriller. Driven by a sensational 0-9 tally from Man of the Match Ryan Burns and a vital second-half goal from impact substitute Sam Scott, Hunterstown withstood a ferocious late comeback from Fergal Reel’s Ardee side to claim local bragging rights.

Hunterstown signalled their intent right from the opening whistle. Only two minutes had passed when St Marys goalkeeper Tiernan Markey was forced into a sharp save to deny Ryan Burns an opening goal. Undeterred, Burns quickly opened the scoring from a placed ball before Dean Burns added a fine point from play. Though Ardee fought back through Daire McConnon and Tom Jackson, Hunterstown maintained control, with Ciaran Russell landing a magnificent two-pointer and Burns converting a late two-point free to leave the half-time score at 0-09 to 0-06 in favour of the underdogs.

The Defining Goal and St Marys’ Fightback

The game turned decisively in the 40th minute. Just three minutes after being introduced from the bench, Sam Scott capitalised on clever work from Ryan Burns in the corner to fire a clinical finish past Markey, blowing the game wide open.

St Marys refused to lie down. Sparked by points from Tom Jackson, Carl Gillespie, and Liam Jackson—alongside a massive two-point free from goalkeeper Markey—Ardee clawed their way back into contention. However, Hunterstown keeper Donovan Sheridan produced an exceptional, match-winning save to deny Tom Jackson a certain late goal. In the 62nd minute, Ryan Burns slotted over his final pressure free to seal a famous and fully deserved victory for Hunterstown.

Mattock Rangers Edge St Kevins in Intermediate Clash

Over at DEFY Páirc Mhuire in Ardee, there was plenty of championship drama in the CTI Business Solutions Intermediate Football Championship Group 4 opener as Mattock Rangers edged out St Kevins 1-12 to 0-13.

St Kevins started brightly through Cameron Maher and Lee Crosbie, but Mattock found their stride when Sean Flynn netted a crucial goal on 22 minutes. Despite a spirited second-half comeback from St Kevins—sparked by brilliant two-pointers from Cian Callan—Mattock held their nerve down the stretch, with disciplined scores from Tom Grimes, Rob Holmes, and Ben McKenna securing a hard-fought two-point victory.

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