Mayo champs Ardagh power forward in Connacht

Ardagh's first foray into Connacht was a successful one as they defeated St. Aidan's of Roscommon in the AIB Connacht GAA Junior Football Championship quarterfinal on a 2-10 to 0-10 scoreline, writes Brian Gillespie.

The first half in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park was tense and tight, with two evenly-matched teams cancelling each other out.

St. Aidan's settled quicker against an Ardagh team minus the services of county star James Carr, and were two points up inside four minutes thanks to a free by Rory Coyle and a fine score from play by Keith Waldron following a patient move.

Ardagh got off the mark in the seventh minute with a pointed free courtesy of Lee Traynor, set up by Tony Carey.

While St. Aidan's went 0-5 to 0-2 ahead at the start of the second quarter, Ardagh were slowly getting to grips with the challenge. A Traynor free and a Carey two-pointer had them level on 26 minutes, though the Roscommon men took an advantage into the second half thanks to a Coyle free before the break.

Ardagh were out quickly for the second half and had a spring in their step. Inspired by the likes of Stephen Rochford, Brendan Carr, Enda O'Hora and Adam Foody, and with Carey pulling strings up front, the Mayo champs turned the screw.

Goals from Adam Naughton, who had a fine game despite an early booking, and Traynor, who scored from the spot after a black card penalty was awarded for a foul on Dylan Murphy as he attempted to break through on goal, saw Ardagh over the line.

The six-point winning margin might have distorted the story somewhat as St. Aidan's enjoyed dominance for portions of the second half and left chances behind them. Still, the better team won on the day and now advance to the Connacht semi-final.

See the print edition on Tuesday for a full report on the match