After a swift return to the football championship via the back door system St. John's footballers were shown the door just as quickly by a rampant Lamh Dhearg outfit on Sunday evening. However it was the way in which the footballers exited that caused so many blue and white eyebrows to be raised and cheeks to blush in Casement Park.

St. John's senior footballers

In Monday's Irish News the loss was described as "the lowest point in the illustrious history of the St. John's club" and it would be hard to argue against it given the scoreline.

Simply put, nothing worked on Sunday night for St. John's but who would have thought that Brian McFall's single solitary 3rd minute point would be the last and only time the ball would make it over the Lamh Dhearg crossbar?

Footballers prepare for the game but who could have predicted that scoreline?

The Hannaghstown Hill men led 0-08 to 0-01 at half-time with Cunningham and Frankie Wilson their target men. Michael Herron dominated at midfield and unfortunately for St. John's the same could be said generally of all the Lamh Dhearg men all over the park. The second half scoreline was 0-09 to 0-00, ending overall 0-17 to 0-01.

Perhaps the result showed up only too obviously how much the absence of the likes of team regulars Graham Clarke, Stephen Miller and Donal Kennedy (to name but a few) made to the team. There is no doubt that the team has been unsettled this year plagued with absences and injuries (a number of the players who lined out on Sunday carrying or returning from injuries) however, with a number of highly talented youngsters coming through there is no question that the team is in transition and will improve. How soon the improvement brings another senior football title back to the club is a far more difficult question to answer.

St. Johns: 1. R.Tipedeau 2. D. Rafferty 3. R. McHugh 4. C. Clarke 5. A. Douglas 6. G. Adams 7. A. Oliver 8. J. Hand 9. C. McLarnon 10. E. McKenna 11. D. Reynolds 12. L. McCurdy 13. G. McFall 14. B. McFall 15. C. McKnight

Manager: Gerry McCann
Mentors: Conal Heatley, Stephen McCann