Drumragh U16 boys won their second game in-a-row against Rock on Saturday morning
Drumragh U16 boys recovered from the concession of an early goal to defeat Rock on Saturday morning. It was another very good performance from the team, who remain unbeaten in the league.
Drumragh opened the scoring with a point from Dara Cox, but soon fell behind with Rock tagging on a goal and a point in quick succession.
However, the away side soon settled. Conor Gormley took a midfield mark, exchanged passes with Shea Donnell and fired over with his left foot. Midfielder Dylan Lowry then forced a save from the Rock goalkeeper, but Drumragh did not have to wait long for their opening goal.
Ryan Baxter won the ball back in the half-back line and immediately started a counter-attack. Oran Barrett, Aidan McCarney and Dara Cox were all involved in the move that led to a Lorcan McGrath goal, who reacted quickest to a loose ball in the square and kicked the ball to the back of the net.
Drumragh took great confidence from that and went about extending their lead. Lorcan McGrath set up Frankie Monk for a good score, while Oran Barrett and Shea Donnell combined to create a chance for Conor Gormley, who made no mistake.
Frankie Monk added a terrific point while Shea Donnell scored as well after profiting from a strong run and pass from Oran Barrett.
Rock responded with a point from play, and could have eaten further into the lead only for diligent defending from Connor McLaughlin and Ryan Baxter. Matthew O’Doherty also made a good save in the Drumragh goal.
Dylan Lowry put the ball over the bar in a move started by a Matthew Barrett turnover, while Dara Cox and Dylan again stretched out Drumragh’s advantage before the break.
Dylan Lowry, Drumragh’s captain, with the referee and Rock captain
It was Rock who made the fast start in the second half and were on target with a nice point from play.
But Drumragh answered back really well with two Shea Donnell goals inside the space of a minute. For the first he showed great composure to take the ball past a defender on the ground and slot it past the goalkeeper. For the second, he reacted first when Conor Gormley’s shot came back off the post to find the net again.
Rock looked to get back into the game and put the pressure on. But Drumragh held out well with Shea Mullin, Ronan Baxter and Matthew Barrett making some important clearances.
Connor McLaughlin scored Drumragh’s fourth goal, while Turlough Collins showed great determination to burst past a few defenders and fire low to the net.
Drumragh introduced a number of subs and they helped ensure Drumragh saw out the game. A well-worked team move saw Conor Gormley clip over a point while Ryan Baxter’s smart pass put Joseph Taggart in for a score.
Rock added two excellent scores before the full-time whistle, but it was Drumragh who took home the two points once it was blown.
SCORERS: Shea Donnell 2-1, Conor Gormley 0-3, Connor McLaughlin 1-0, Turlough Collins 1-0, Lorcan McGrath 1-0, Frankie Monk 0-2, Dylan Lowry 0-2, Dara Cox 0-2, Joseph Taggart 0-1
TEAM: Matthew O’Doherty, Matthew Barrett, Shea Mullin, Ryan Baxter, Lorcan McGrath, Connor McLaughlin, Conor Gormley, Dylan Lowry, Frankie Monk, Aidan McCarney, Oran Barrett, Shea Donnell, Dara Cox
SUBS: Turlough Collins, Joseph Taggart, James Fyffe, Conor Fyffe, Ryan Colgan, Ben McCullagh, Sean O’Donnell, Mark O’Neill, Aaron Duncan, Ronan Baxter, Tiernan O’Donnell, Padraig Gormley, Oisin Walsh
Drumragh’s Connor McLaughlin drives out of defence against Rock
