Late drama as injury time winner sees Ballinaglera into quarter-finals while heavy Melvin Gaels defeat knocks Annaduff out of top two

A point four minutes into injury time saw Ballinaglera swap places with neighbours Drumkeerin to grab the final playoff place in this year's Smith Monumentals Intermediate Football Championship while Melvin Gaels dumped long time leaders Annaduff out of the top two with an impressive victory in Annaduff on Saturday.

With so much at stake at all five venues this evening, the conclusion to the group stages of this year's Intermediate Championship literally came down to the final minutes as Kiltubrid recovered from a four point deficit to snatch a draw with neighbours Allen Gaels, a draw that confirmed a semi-final place for the Drumshanbo side and a playoff spot for the home team.

The results means Melvin Gaels top the table ahead of Allen Gaels whose superior scoring difference of plus 23 points to Annaduff's plus six, most of which was accounted for in Melvin Gaels' 2-15 to 0-8 victory this evening, giving the Drumshanbo men second place.

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Annaduff will now face Ballinaglera and Carrigallen will take on Kiltubrid in next weekend's Quarter-Finals with Carrigallen grabbing fourth spot by one point on scoring difference ahead of Carrigallen after their 3-18 to 0-11 derby victory over Aughavas.

In the relegation semi-finals, Drumkeerin will face Drumreilly while Aughavas will take on Bornacoola who defeated Drumreilly 1-15 to 2-9 in the final game in the group.

Nowhere was the drama more evident than in St Hugh's Park in Ballinaglera where the home side needed a win but a draw would be enough for Drumkeerin to go through to the quarter-finals. In a tight and tense match, Drumkeerin led by two points after 24 minutes but a strong finish to the half meant Glera went in with a 0-7 to 0-5 halftime lead.

The second half was equally dramatic - Drumkeerin hit two to level early into the second period but the home side went two clear again. However, Drumkeerin fought back to level at nine points apiece. Ballinaglera edged one in front but a Drumkeerin point two minutes from time seemed to suggest the men in maroon would take the final playoff spot. However, four minutes into added time, Ballinaglera grabbed the all-important winning point.

In Annaduff, a tight and tense match finally saw Melvin Gaels opened some daylight with a first half goal, Caolan Quigley saving a penalty but the Kinlough men forced the rebound home. Annaduff responded well to draw level but four points on the bounce from the Gaels before halftime put the visitors into a 1-7 to 0-6 halftime lead.

A second Gaels goal two minutes after the break seemed to take the wind out of Annaduff's challenge as the Kinlough men hit an unanswered 1-4 on the resumption. Annaduff would only manage two points in the second half with Melvin Gaels adding four more points to run out 13 point victors.

In Pairc Cil Tiobraid, Kiltubrid made most of the early running in a fiercely competitive game - Stephen McLoughlin, Barry McWeeney (free) and the O'Brien brothers were all on target with Allen Gaels' Martin Raftery and Ciaran Walsh scoring in response but a Ciaran McMorrow goal, cleverly fisted to the net after Kevin Moran saw his shot rebound hit off the crossbar, put the Gaels in command.

James Flynn's team led 1-4 to 0-4 at the break as the Drumshanbo men three times opened up four points gap as their impressive physical conditioning and excellent team work seemed to drain the energy out of Kiltubrid. But the home side refused to give in and they staged a remarkable recovery, sparked when Jack Foley scored a lovely point from the corner.

Gaels keeper Conor Flood made a spectacular save from Fionn O'Brien but with the Drumshanbo men missing good good chances, Barry McWeeney's free from the corner was followed by a brilliant effort from play in the dying seconds of normal time to leave the game up from grabs. And Fionn O'Brien ensured a draw when he fired over a mark over two minutes into added time as it ended up Kiltubrid 0-13 to Allen Gaels' 1-10.

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Carrigallen ensured their passage into the playoffs with an impressive 3-18 to 0-11 win over their Aughavas neighbours - Aughavas actually started the best and led 0-4 to 0-1 when Jake Hackett struck for the first of two first half goals from Carrigallen.

Aughavas would failed to score until David Charles pointed in added time but by then the damage had been done as Carrigallen added a further 1-9 to their tally. Leading 2-10 to 0-4 at the break, Carrigallen made sure of victory when Derek Reilly converted a 42nd minute penalty and from there to the finish, they were never in any danger of being caught.

In the final Group game, Bornacoola picked up their first victory of the campaign when they held off a determined Drumreilly 1-15 to 2-9. Drumreilly ended up with 13 players but had trailed 1-8 to 0-3 at the halftime break. However, two second half goals got Drumreilly back into contention but Bornacoola were able to hold on for the victory.