Drumragh U16 boys drew with Stewartstown on Sunday afternoon
Drumragh U16 boys drew their opening league game, away to Stewartstown on Sunday afternoon.
There was never much in the game with both sides battling well throughout the 60 minutes.
It was Stewartstown who opened the scoring with a point, but Drumragh answered back quickly with a super score from Aidan McCarney, after good build-up play from Oran Barrett and James Fyffe.
Both sides had chances but tenacious defending at each end of the pitch, saw the score remain the same for a while.
Frankie Monk did well to win a kickout and from there the ball went through the hands of Turlough Collins, Oran Barrett and Aidan McCarney. Aidan was fouled and that allowed Conor Gormley to convert a free, to give Drumragh its first lead.
A well-worked goal for the home side put them back in front, but Drumragh responded well. The defence was turning the ball over a lot more with Matthew Barrett, Connor McLaughlin and Lorcan McGrath prominent in this regard. Ryan Baxter burst through a couple of tackles before kicking an inspirational score while a foul on Dara Cox allowed Conor Gormley to brings the teams level once again before the half-time whistle.
Drumragh captain Lorcan McGrath with the Stewartstown captain and referee ahead of throw-in
Drumragh were now playing against the wind, but made a confident start to the second half with Aidan McCarney pushing them ahead with a free after Frankie Monk had been fouled.
Stewartstown equalised with a good point and they had other chances, but the Drumragh full-back line of Matthew Barrett, Ronan Bresnahan and Shea Mullin were playing well and shut down a number of attacks from the home side.
Aidan McCarney then sent over a free while Conor Gormley soon added another. But back came Stewartstown. First with a point, and then a goal from their midfielder.
Drumragh refused to give in, however. Lorcan McGrath made a strong run forward and he was fouled. But his quick thinking from the free kick sent Shea Donnell through on goal, and he made no mistake with an excellent finish to the top corner of the net. Conor Gormley soon after kicked a fantastic point from distance adding to Drumragh’s tally.
Two Stewartstown points on the bounce brought the game back to all square, and set up an exciting finish. Both sides had chances with Drumragh’s subs all having an impact. Drumragh goalkeeper Matthew O’Doherty dealt well with a couple of tricky high ball into the square, while Dara Cox and Conor Gormley were unlucky not to score goals at the other end of the field.
But there was to be no further score with each side settling for a point at the end of an entertaining game.
SCORERS: Aidan McCarney 0-4, Shea Donnell 1-0, Conor Gormley 0-3, Ryan Baxter 0-1
TEAM: Matthew O’Doherty, Matthew Barrett, Ronan Bresnhan, Shea Mullin, Ryan Baxter, Lorcan McGrath, Connor McLaughlin, Conor Gormley, Turlough Collins, Frankie Monk, Aidan McCarney, Oran Barrett, James Fyffe, Dara Cox, Shea Donnell
SUBS: Ben McCullagh, Ronan Baxter, Sean O’Donnell, Sean Boyle, Oisin Walsh, Mark O’Neill, Tiernan O’Donnell, Niall Gormley, Joseph Taggart, Tom Barrett
Conor Gormley drives forward for Drumragh with team-mates Frankie Monk and Matthew Barrett in support during yesterday’s game
