Universal Graphics Junior Football Championship Final
Drumhowan 1-11 Emyvale 3-4 30/9/12
Drumhowan won the Universal Graphics Junior Football Championship with a deserved one-point win over Emyvale in Sunday’s final at Scotstown. Colm Lambe scored 1-5 for Drumhowan, who overcame the concession of three goals, including two in the space of a minute, towards the end of the third quarter to secure a quick return to intermediate football. It wasn’t a one-man show, however, as Kevin and Kieran Mooney, Kieran McElroy, John Paul O’Neill and David Millar also played central roles. Martin McAree, Daniel McMahon, Ryan McAnespie and Seán McMeel led the way for Emyvale, but they were hit by the injury-enforced absences of John and Michael Flannery and Gerard McCaffrey.
Emyvale were the first team to settle and they got the first score when Martin McAree linked up with Robbie McHugh to kick a point from play. McAree then fired home the game’s opening goal in five minutes after a good ball in from Daniel McMahon to Gavin McKernan, but Drumhowan got their first score in the tenth minute when Colm Lambe converted a 20-metre free for a foul on David Millar. Kieran Mooney took a pass from Kevin Mooney to kick Drumhowan’s first point from play, before Michael Atkinson tapped over at the end of a patient build-up.
Kevin Mooney won the break from the following kick-out to set up Millar for a fine point, before adding an equally good point of his own after being well placed by Millar to edge Drumhowan ahead for the first time. Atkinson doubled the gap after good approach play by Kieran Mooney and Paddy Mulligan and although McMahon ended 17 scoreless minutes for Emyvale when he converted a 20-metre free for a foul on McAree, Drumhowan struck for their only goal on 26 minutes.
The move started on their own end-line, built forward through the pace of Darren Duffy and Kevin Mooney, before Kieran McElroy sent a long ball in for Lambe, who turned inside and drilled a low shot home. James Bellew got on the end of a high ball from Darren McKernan to get a point back for Emyvale, but they still trailed by 1-6 to 1-3 at half-time.
McAree kicked the first point after the restart (Emyvale’s only white flag of the second half) from a 30-metre free, following a foul on McMahon, but a Kevin Mooney free released Ciarán Deery to restore Drumhowan’s three-point lead. A foul on Deery allowed Lambe to add a point from a 20-metre free, but Emyvale were on top at this stage and they went close when Ryan McAnespie raced through from a Michael Flannery pass, only to blaze the ball wide. Within two minutes of that miss, Emyvale had scored two goals, the first coming when McAnespie won the breaking ball and sent in an accurate pass to McMahon, who turned and sent a clinical shot into the net.
McAnespie again won the following kick-out and found McMahon, who sent a clever cross-field pass for Robbie McHugh to blast beyond Enda Duffy. Drumhowan refused to give up, though, and they were rewarded when Lambe converted a brace of close-range frees – the first after Colin Hughes had touched the ball on the ground and the second following a foul on Deery – to level it up. Lambe landed another point from a 40-metre free after a foul on Kieran McElroy three minutes from time and that proved to be the decisive score.
Emyvale did have a late chance to snatch victory when a clever ball from McMahon picked out Jonathan Morrough, but Bellew could only direct his pass wide of the post. Time ran out and Drumhowan were Junior champions for the fifth time and the third time since 2006, taking them level with Cremartin at the top of the roll of honour. Their captain Kieran Mooney accepted the Packie Boylan Cup from County Chairman Paul Curran, while Colm Lambe took the Man-of-the-Match award.
Drumhowan: E Duffy; M McElroy, JP O’Neill, N Mooney; D Duffy, P Mulligan, Dermot Mooney; K McElroy, A Mulligan; M Atkinson (0-2), Kevin Mooney (0-1), D Millar (0-1); C Deery (0-1), C Lambe (1-5, 0-5f), Kieran Mooney (Capt., 0-1).
Sub: A Duffy for Atkinson (51 mins).
Emyvale: Matthew McAree; S McMeel, G Devlin, C Hughes; R McHugh (1-0), J Morrough, B O’Brien; J Bellew (Capt., 0-1), D McKernan; J.T. Treanor, D McMahon (1-1, 0-1f), R McAnespie; M McAree (1-2, 0-1f), G McKernan, J McAlister.
Subs: G McQuaid for McAlister (34), M Flannery for O’Brien (38), B Askin for McQuaid (56), D McAreavey for D McKernan (inj., 61).
Referee: M McNally (Corduff).
