Drumragh U15 boys played some great football to qualify for the Féile finals on Monday
Drumragh U15 boys are through to the Tyrone Féile finals after a great mornings football at Clanabogan Park on Monday.
Victories over Tattyreagh, Strabane and Castlederg secured Drumragh’s passage to the finals, which will take place this Monday at Garvaghey.
Drumragh captain Padraig Gormley with the Strabane captain and referee before the start of the group stages final at Clanabogan Park last Monday
Drumragh faced Tattyreagh in their opening game, and a strong first-half performance set them up to get the win.
Ryan Baxter opened the scoring with a good point, which was quickly followed up by a goal from Ronan Baxter after Dara Cox’s initial shot had been saved.
Tiernan O’Donnell and Matthew Barrett combined to set up an excellent score from Connor McLaughlin, while Ryan Baxter (2) and Dara Cox were also on target.
Shea Mullin powered through the Tattyreagh defence and fired over the bar, Ryan Baxter added another while Niall Gormley pointed, having won a kickout.
Tattyreagh made a strong start to the second half, kicking a couple of nice points. Drumragh hit back though with Mark O’Neill and Niall Gormley creating a chance for Ryan Baxter, who made no mistake. A strong run from Dara Cox then allowed Niall Gormley to send the ball over the bar.
Drumragh put in a strong defensive display all throughout the game, with Sean O’Donnell and Padraig Gormley impressing in the backline.
Matthew O’Doherty went on to make a brilliant save in the Drumragh goal, with Tattyreagh putting the rebound over the bar, and they added a goal as the game neared its end.
It was a great performance from Drumragh and a good start to the group stages.
Drumragh’s Conor Fyffe drives forward during the group stages game against Tattyreagh on Monday
Next up was Strabane in game two. Strabane exerted a lot of pressure at the start of the first half with Sean O’Donnell, Luke Hagan and Matthew Barrett stopping a number of dangerous attacks.
Strabane did get in for a goal, but Drumragh responded with a point through Dara Cox with James Fyffe and Sean Boyle involved in the build-up. Shea Mullin was also on target after a bit of smart thinking from Ryan Baxter, who took a quick free. Drumragh then took the lead with a fantastic goal from Dara, who finished to the net brilliantly after Conor Fyffe had won the ball back.
However, Strabane answered back with their second goal of the game to lead by the minimum at the break.
Strabane increased their lead with a point early in the second half, but Drumragh took control of the contest from then on. Ryan Baxter kicked a wonderful point, and then Shay Donnell gave Drumragh the lead again with a goal after he reacted quickest to send the ball to the back of the net when Conor Fyffe’s shot was saved.
Niall Burt and Matt Gallagher set up Connor McLaughlin for a good score while Ryan Baxter added another, which proved to be the final score of the game, with Drumragh securing another impressive victory.
Niall Burt of Drumragh during the Féile game against Strabane at Clanabogan Park
The final group stage game was against Castlederg.
A brave block from Tiernan O’Donnell stopped Castlederg from getting off to the perfect start when they created a goal chance. Drumragh took advantage of that and went ahead with a Ryan Baxter point after a good team move involving Shea Mullin, James Fyffe and Ben McCullagh.
A foul on Connor McLaughlin allowed Ryan Baxter to double the lead with a free, Ronan Baxter set up Mark O’Neill for a point, while Niall Gormley split the posts as Drumragh continued to play in a confident manner.
Conor Fyffe scored a point early in the second half, while Shay Donnell added two more in quick succession as Drumragh increased their lead.
Castlederg had a number of good attacks with Matthew Barrett, Joseph Taggart and Shea Mullin having to be alert to stop them scoring goals.
A late point from Connor McLaughlin and a goal from Shay Donnell helped make it three wins from three for Drumragh.
Drumragh’s Shay Donnell on the attack for Drumragh against Castlederg
That set up a final against Strabane and Drumragh saved their best performance on the day for this game.
Ryan Baxter opened the scoring from a placed ball after Shea Mullin had been fouled, while Niall Gormley added a wonderful point from distance. Ryan did well to win the ball back and pop the ball over the bar as Drumragh opened up a lead.
Joseph Taggart set up Dara Cox for an excellent point, with Ryan Baxter winning the kickout that followed, drove through the Strabane defence before firing over.
Two goals in as many minutes from Ronan and Ryan Baxter put Drumragh in control and another point from Ryan capped off a brilliant first-half display from Drumragh.
It was Strabane who began the second half on the front foot, and they hit a couple of great points. But Drumragh responded brilliantly with a Ryan Baxter goal after good build-up play from James Fyffe, Ryan Colgan and Ronan Baxter.
Conor Fyffe stretched out Drumragh’s lead with a point, Dara Cox scored and then turned provider with an excellent pass inside to Shay Donnell who put the ball over the bar.
Strabane added a point from play and another from a free, with Dara Cox and Connor McLaughlin answering back for Drumragh.
A final point from Ryan Baxter ended what was a great day for Drumragh. They now move on to the Féile finals in Garvaghey this Monday alongside Moortown, Drumquin and Stewartstown.
DRUMRAGH PANEL: Matthew O’Doherty, Ben McCullagh, Matthew Barrett, Sean O’Donnell, Shay Donnell, Ryan Baxter, Dara Cox, Luke Hagan, James Fyffe, Conor Fyffe, Mark O’Neill, Niall Gormley, Shea Mullin, Ronan Baxter, Joseph Taggart, Tiernan O’Donnell, Padraig Gormley, Matt Gallagher, Niall Burt, Sean Boyle, Ryan Colgan, Connor McLaughlin
Drumragh player Dara Cox looks to make a pass during the group stage final against Strabane on Monday
