MC GUIGAN BUILDERS INTERMEDIATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI FINAL.
Drumhowan 1-11, Rockcorry 0-4.
Despite not producing their best form Drumhowan still experienced little difficulty in booking their place in the final of the intermediate football championship with a comfortable victory over Rockcorry in Pearse Park, Ballybay on Saturday afternoon last. The victory sees Drumhowan on track to complete a unique championship double of adding an intermediate football championship title to the junior title they won last year and if that is achieved it would see them make the transition from junior to senior ranks in successive seasons. Standing in their way though is a Monaghan Harps side who also have aspirations of playing senior football next season and they booked their place in the final on Friday night with victory over Eire Og. Conditions on Saturday evening were ideal but this was a game that never rose to any great heights as a contest as it was littered with errors, forced an unforced, and passages of scrappy play as both sides failed to produce their best form. Drumhowan though were always holding an edge in proceedings and with Dermot McDermott again in fine form in midfield and James McElroy along with Kevin Mooney and Ciaran Mooney working hard up front they had Rockcorry on the back foot from the early stages. Rockcorry though will be disappointed and not only with the outcome but with their own performance as they failed to produce anything like the form that had seen them deservedly advance to the last four. Drumhowan were only headed once in the entire contest and that after two minutes when Barry Patterson opened the scoring but for the remainder of the game they struggled to find the target and Drumhowan, despite not being at their best in that regard either, wear still that much more adept at converting their chances. Keith Daly was always in the thick of the action for Rockcorry and Barry Patterson did all that one man could but ultimately they lacked the support needed. Barry Patterson opened the scoring when he fisted over the Drumhowan bar at the end of a quick move in the second minute but that was to be the only time that Rockcorry were in front in the entire contest. It took Drumhowan seven minutes to equalise when Colm Lambe converted a free for a foul on Ciaran McElroy. That point galvanised Drumhowan and a minute later they took the lead when James McElroy released Kevin Mooney from a quick free and he finished well to give Drumhowan a lead they never subsequently relinquished. Drumhowan were now building in momentum and James McElroy was causing problems. Another attack saw him fouled by Owen Fitzpatrick and Colm Lambe obliging to put Drumhowan two points in front. The Rockcorry goal was to lead a charmed life on a couple of occasions in this contest, the first after 16 minutes when a high centre broke in the Rockcorry area and Gary Calvert made a last-ditch block to deny Ciaran Mooney from close range. Three minutes later Drumhowan could well have found the Rockcorry net again when Niall Mooney broke of a promising Rockcorry attack to release James McElroy but Drumhowan still failed to find the net despite having three chances, McElroy’s first attempt coming back off the upright, his second blocked on the line by Keith Daly and while he regained possession he blasted wide from close range. Rockcorry’s tale of woe continued when a thirteen metres free by Mark Daly came back off the upright but almost immediately Drumhowan extended their lead to three points with an excellent score from Kevin Mooney after he had been well placed from a quick free by Christopher McGuinness. The woodwork intervened a second time to deny Mark Daly from another free but Rockcorry were still in the contest when Niall McKeown set up a good chance for Barry Patterson to reduce the deficit to two points approaching the halfway mark. A minute into injury time Colm Lambe picked off another point to leave Drumhowan three in front at the break on a half-time score of Drumhowan 0-5, Rockcorry 0-2.
Rockcorry, now playing with the advantage of the breeze, needed a good start to the second-half but it was Drumhowan who picked up the pace on the resumption with Dermot McDermott winning good possession to set up David Millar who put Drumhowan four points in front with less than a minute played. At this stage Drumhowan were dominating play and should have extended their lead but were off target on three successive occasions before Rockcorry’s tale of woe with the woodwork continued when an upright denied Michael Conlon what looked a certain point. Approaching the end of the third quarter Ciaran Mooney extended Drumhowan’s lead to seven with a good point and as the game entered the final quarter Colm Lambe converted a free for a foul on Christopher McGinnity and David Millar capitalised on a poor clearance by a Rockcorry defender to put Drumhowan into an almost unassailable position even at that stage as they enjoyed a nine points lead. If there was any doubt that this was not Rockcorry’s day it was proven completely when the upright intervened for a fourth time in the match this time to deny Stephen McGuirk from a free and 21 minutes had elapsed before they opened their second half account with a point from a free by Dwayne Rooney. The possibility of a late Rockcorry revival was hinted at when Mark Daly followed Rooney’s score with a point from a free following a foul on Niall McKeown but those thoughts were quickly dispelled when Drumhowan struck for the only goal of the game with seven minutes of normal time remaining. It was one of the few times too that Drumhowan looked their best when Christopher McGinnity, James McElroy and David Millar all conspired to release Kieran Mooney who gave Anthony Tate no chance to completely seal the issue and two points from Christopher McGinnity underlined Drumhowan’s superiority on the day to leave them winning with 10 points to spare at the end of a most disappointing encounter.
Teams and Scorers: Drumhowan: Enda Duffy; Liam McGuirk, Darren Duffy, Martin McElroy; Kevin Mooney (0-2), Damian Duffy, Niall Mooney; James McElroy, Dermot McDermott; Kieran McElroy, Christopher McGinnity (0-2, 1f), Kieran Mooney (1-1); Colm Lambe (0-4, 3f), Stephen McGinnity, David Millar (0-2). Subs: Kieran Deery for K McElroy, Paddy Mulligan for D Millar, Enda McElroy for C Lambe, Michael Mooney for K Mooney, Damien Mooney for M McElroy.
Rockcorry: Anthony Tate; Garry Calvert, Owen Fitzpatrick, Pauric Reilly; Noel Carroll, Keith Daly, Stephen McGuirk; Niall McKeown, Mark Daly (0-1f); Seamus Carroll, Barry Patterson (0-2), Cormac McFadden; Dwayne Rooney (0-1), Paul McKeown, Michael Conlon. Subs: Colin Quinn for C McFadden, Jamie Smith for S Carroll, Liam Connolly for O Fitzpatrick. Referee: Dermot Boylan (Killanny)
