WESTENRA HOTEL JUNIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP.
Drumhowan 1-15, Blackhill 0-9.
A more experienced and cohesive Drumhowan deservedly booked their place in the semi-final of the junior football championship with a double scores victory over Blackhill in this entertaining if never spectacular contest that was played in ideal conditions in Clontibret on Saturday evening last. Drumhowan led from the outset with James McElroy again in superb form and when he hit the Blackhill net in the eighth minute Drumhowan never really looked back. Along with McElroy Drumhowan had first-class performances from centre back Enda Mooney, Damien Duffy in midfield and Dermot McDermott whose roving commission saw him in the role of playmaker in chief at vital times. Blackhill to their credit put in a sterling effort and none more so than Brian McGuinness who operated at both centre back and midfield but it was in the finishing stakes where they lacked the quality that Drumhowan possessed. Drumhowan led by eight points at half-time with Blackhill struggling to contain Drumhowan’s all round momentum and while they improved considerably in the second half Drumhowan always had the capacity to respond to keep the margin wide enough so that they were never in any danger.
James McElroy opened the scoring after a mere 30 seconds when he ran through from midfield and fisted over. It was practically one-way traffic in the opening 10 minutes with points by Niall Mooney, David Caulfield, free and Dermot McDermott at the end of a strong run. In between the latter two points James McElroy crashed to the Blackhill net after excellent work by Padraig Atkinson and there was the feeling that it was going to be Drumhowan’s day. Blackhill had created a number of chances in that time but good defending and poor finishing saw them scoreless until the 13th minute when Mark Duffy opened their account. Colin Woods pulled back a point from a free in the 16th minute but Drumhowan now hit another purple patch and in a blistering three minutes spell they rattled over four points without reply, two by David Caulfield and one each by Ciaran McElroy and Padraig Atkinson to open a nine points gap after 21 minutes. There was only one further score before half-time, a point from a free by Blackhill substitute Darragh McDonagh with both sides guilty of poor finishing and if Drumhowan are entertaining thoughts of winning the junior championship outright, which after their last two performances they are justified in doing, they will have to improve on the 14 wides they hit over the hour. Half-time score Drumhowan 1-8, Blackhill 0-3.
The start of the second half saw standby referee Dermot Boylan taking over from Gerry McCarron after the Emyvale official had aggravated a hamstring injury. In the second-half Blackhill’s form improved considerably and they pulled back scores at regular intervals but crucially each time they did Drumhowan responded immediately to always leave a substantial margin and in truth their dominance was never really threatened. In the third quarter the sides exchanged points on four occasions to still leave eight points between them entering the final phase. The final quarter followed a similar pattern with points by Darragh McDonagh and Colin Woods cancelled out by efforts from David Caulfield and Dermot McDermott. McDermott along with substitutes Dermot Mooney and Gerard Duffy had a hand in Drumhowan’s final point two minutes from the end of normal time to leave nine points between the sides at the final whistle and Drumhowan able to afford the luxury of three further wides in injury time.
Teams and Scorers: Drumhowan, Michael Mooney, Gavin Sheridan, Patrick Duffy, Damien Mooney, Niall Mooney, Enda Mooney, Dermot McDermott 0-2, James McElroy 1-3, Damien Duffy, David Caulfield 0-4, Kieran McElroy 0-1, Padraig Atkinson 0-1, Ciaran Mooney, Enda McElroy, Colm Lambe 0-2. Subs: Darren Duffy 0-1 for P Atkinson, Dermot Mooney for E McElroy, Patrick Mulligan for K McElroy, Aidan Duffy for C Lambe, Gerard Duffy for C Mooney.
Blackhill: Patrick Caulfield, Peter Walsh, Ciaran Woods, Michael Woods, Shane Courtney, Brian McGuinness, Pat Merrick, Noel Howley, Mark Duffy 0-1, Colin Woods 0-5, Mick O’Connell, Stephen Duffy, Martin Cumiskey, Tony Cumiskey, Stephen Courtney. Subs: Darragh McDonagh 0-2 for S Courthey, Darren Woods 0-1 for M Cumiskey, Niall Loughran for P Merrick.
Referees: Gerry McCarren (Emyvale) and Dermot Boylan (Killanny).
