Drumragh U16 boys win league title

Drumragh U16 boys, league winners 2023

Drumragh U16 boys are Tyrone Grade 3 league champions after a wonderful win in the final over Stewartstown at Garvaghey on Saturday.

In what was a great game, Drumragh played brilliantly, with every team member playing their part.

Drumragh got off to the perfect start. Conor Gormley won the ball from the throw-in, drove through the Stewartstown defence and finished to the back of the net. Conor’s midfield partner Turlough Collins then doubled the lead with a goal of his own after Frankie Monk had won the ball back.

Conor Gormley then kicked an excellent score, after he won a mark at midfield and had exchanged passes with Oran Barrett, as Drumragh continued their confident start.

Stewartstown came back into the game getting the next three scores. The full-back line of Matthew Barrett, Shea Mullin and Ronan Bresnahan also needed to be alert to snuff out a few goal chances. Drumragh answered back with a Conor Gormley free after Ryan Baxter had been fouled, following a strong run upfield from half-back.

Again, Stewartstown scored three times in-a-row and could have been level, only for Matthew O’Doherty making an excellent save in the Drumragh goal.

Good play from Matthew Barrett, Lorcan McGrath and Aidan McCarney gave Conor Gormley another opportunity from a placed ball, and he made no mistake with a composed finish from distance.

Stewartstown had the final say of the half with a free, leaving Drumragh with a two-point lead at half-time.

Drumragh captain Dylan Lowry receives the Tyrone Grade 3 League shield from Fabian McGlone

It didn’t take long for Stewartstown to draw level at the start of the second half. They hit two quick points – one from a penalty – in the opening two minutes.

But Drumragh didn’t panic and worked to take back control of the game. And they did. Dara Cox, Connor McLaughlin and James Fyffe combined to set up a point for Turlough Collins to go back in front.

And then came a key moment, with Frankie Monk scoring Drumragh’s third goal. It was a great team move, with players involved always taking the right option. A kick-out from Matthew O’Doherty found Ryan Baxter in space. The ball then went through the hands of Lorcan McGrath, Turlough Collins and Dylan Lowry and eventually to Frankie. He still had work to do but carried the ball through and finished expertly to the back of the net.

The sides swapped frees – Aidan McCarney on target twice for Drumragh after fouls on James Fyffe and Frankie Monk – as the game entered its final quarter.

Drumragh continued to defend superbly and Shea Mullin, Connor McLaughlin and Ronan Bresnahan came through with some important turnovers.

Drumragh introduced a number of substitutes and each one had an impact in the last 10 minutes.

Frankie Monk set up Conor Gormley to punch the ball over the bar and Conor soon added another quality effort after good play from Conor Fyffe and Oran Barrett.

Stewartstown replied with two scores, but Drumragh went up the field and pointed through Dylan Lowry.

And not long after, the referee blew the full-time whistle. Drumragh were league champions. It was a brilliant performance from Drumragh and a league title is a fitting reward for the team given how terrific they have been all season.

Congratulations to all the players and management.

SCORERS: Conor Gormley 1-5, Turlough Collins 1-1, Frankie Monk 1-0, Aidan McCarney 0-2, Dylan Lowry 0-1

TEAMS: Matthew O’Doherty, Matthew Barrett, Shea Mullin, Ronan Bresnahan, Connor McLaughlin, Lorcan McGrath, Ryan Baxter, Turlough Collins, Conor Gormley, Frankie Monk, Aidan McCarney, Oran Barrett, James Fyffe, Dylan Lowry, Dara Cox
SUBS: Callum McNamee, Conor Fyffe, Shay Donnell, Oisin Walsh, Sean O’Donnell, Aaron Duncan, Ryan Colgan, Niall Gormley, Joseph Taggart, Mark O’Neill, Tiernan O’Donnell, Ben McCullagh, Luke Hagan, Ollie Hagan, Padraig Gormley, Niall Burt, Sean Boyle, Matt Gallagher, Ronan Baxter, Connor McGale, Che Corry, Michael Forde