Drumragh seniors ahead of their win over Killeeshil on Friday night
Drumragh……………….2-12
Killeeshil…………………0-14
Drumragh seniors are through to the championship quarter-final following a fully-deserved four-point win over Killeeshil in Garvaghey on Friday night.
Drumragh made light of their pre-match underdog status and played really well and had good performances throughout the field.
Shane Cleary opened the scoring from a free and Tommy Mullin doubled the lead not long after with a terrific point from play following a move involving Lee Brown and Paddy Colgan.
Killeeshil had their chances early on including smashing a shot off the post. Good defending from Eoin McGread and Barry Fitzgerald frustrated them even further.
They did eventually get their first score and were soon ahead with two quickfire points. But Drumragh got on level terms before the first water break with a point from Ronan Maguire after his strong run through the middle.
Drumragh then got in for their first goal. And what a goal it was. Having taken possession just outside the 45, Shane Devine took off for goal. No Killeeshil defender could get near him as he drove through the defence and when at the end of the run, he fired the ball brilliantly past the goalkeeper into the bottom corner of the net. Shane then stretched out the lead with a point following another strong run from Ronan Maguire.
Killeeshil responded with a free but Eoin Montgomery kicked over an excellent point after Cormac Norris found him with a good pass. Again Killeeshil converted a placed ball but Drumragh really took control of the game with their second goal on the stroke of half-time. It came from Tommy Mullin who did really well to win an inside pass from Cormac. Once in possession, Tommy drove past his marker and gave the goalkeeper no chance with a great near-post finish.
Gareth Haughey on the ball for Drumragh against Killeeshil
A strong start to the second half saw Killeeshil reduce the gap to four points after only a few minutes. But Ronan Maguire settled Drumragh nerves when he took a mark from Eamonn McCann’s pass which he converted. Killeeshil struck another couple of frees but Shane Cleary scored a brilliant mark from a difficult angle as Drumragh kept a grip on the game.
As the game wore on, Killeeshil became in need of a goal and it took a fantastic save from James Colgan to deny them one in the final 10 minutes. The full-back line of Eamonn Kerrigan, Eoin McGread and Micheal Mullin also came up with a number of important clearances while Gareth Haughey took a brilliant catch on the edge of the square from a high ball in.
Shane Cleary scored two good points from play as the game approached its end following good play from Ronan Maguire, Paddy Colgan and Eoin Montgomery. But three points in-a-row from Killeeshil left it a one-score game entering injury time. However, Drumragh finished the game out strong and points from Shane Cleary and Shane Devine ensured Drumragh progressed to a quarter-final meeting with Castlederg this Saturday.
Scorers: Shane Cleary 0-6, Shane Devine 1-2, Tommy Mullin 1-1, Ronan Maguire 0-2, Eoin Montgomery 0-1
Team: James Colgan, Eoin McGread, Eamonn Kerrigan, Micheal Mullin, Barry Fitzgerald, Paddy Colgan, Lee Brown, Cormac Norris, Eamonn McCann, Gareth Haughey, Ronan Maguire, Eoin Montgomery, Tommy Mullin, Shane Devine, Shane Cleary
Subs: Ronan McGale, Benny Drumm,Eamon Rea, Martin Taggart, Malachy McManus
Shane Devine scored Drumragh’s first goal on Friday
