21/06/04 Senior footballers earn a late draw against Glenavy in Championship

St. John's 1-12
Glenavy 3-6

Brian McFall surely saved his senior footballing colleagues a few blushes as he converted his late penalty, four minutes into injury time, to earn St. John's a draw against their Division 2 opponents on Saturday night in Casement Park. And, whilst there may have been some dispute over a disallowed Gary Rafferty last gasp point, which would have seen the Corrigan Park men safely into the next round, there is no doubt a feeling within the camp of being let off the hook against a lower division side.

Glenavy romped into an audacious 2-4 to 0-0 lead after 12 minutes of play and the Johnnies' shock turned to dismay by the 18th minute as Glenavy had added a third goal. It wasn't until 17 minutes of play that St. John's rising star Adrian Oliver sent over the first blue and white point of the game. St. John's went in at halftime 3-4 to 0-4 down.

Thankfully, the St. John's footballers showed some of their true pedigree in the second half as they fought their way back into contention. John Kelly steadied the full back line when introduced and Gerard McFall and Liam Boyle put their team's best foot forward with a series of well taken frees with Anto Press, Joe Hand and Brian McFall also scoring points.

With Brian McFall, Gerard McFall, Joe Hand and a host of other regulars missing in the replay the Senior Footballers have it all to do.

The replay takes place at 7.30pm on Wednesday evening in Creggan's pitch. All supporters are asked to be in attendance to support the footballers.