Drumragh U14 boys withstood a second-half rally from Coalisland to land another league win at Clanabogan Park on Saturday morning.
Drumragh made a quick start to the game with Eamon Barrett scoring a goal after a quick exchange of passes between Conor Fyffe, Cahir Keyes and Lorcan Starrs. Drumragh applied a lot of pressure in the early stages with the Coalisland goalkeeper making a number of wonderful saves, including from Ollie Hagan, who did well to get a shot off having caught a high ball into the square among a host of players.
The Drumragh defence kept it tight, led by Peter McGuigan, Conor Murray and Mark Walsh in the full-back line. And with the half-back line of Tom Barrett, Conor Fyffe and Cayal Cafferkey getting forward to support the attack, Drumragh soon increased their lead. Matt Gallagher sent a free over the bar after he was fouled, while Lorcan Starrs’s precise pass allowed Ollie Hagan to send the ball between the posts. Matt’s long ball inside was then brilliantly caught by Lorcan who turned and fired over a point.
The good start continued for Drumragh with Eamon Barrett scoring his and Drumragh’s second goal, and Matt Gallagher adding a point from play.
Coalisland struck a nice point from play, but Drumragh responded immediately. Good play from Arthur Barrett, Tom Barrett and Cahir Keyes allowed Matt Gallagher to race along the endline before blasting over the bar. Conor Fyffe and Ollie Hagan both hit excellent points from play, while a brilliant cross-field pass from Lorcan Starrs found Cahir in space and he drilled the ball low and hard to the back of the net. Lorcan won the kickout that followed and kicked a lovely point and Ollie Hagan converted a free after he had been fouled.
The visitors ended the half on the front foot, scoring 1-2, but it was Drumragh who were in a strong position at the break.
Drumragh captain Conor Fyffe with the referee and Coalisland captain before the start of the game
Coalisland opened the scoring in the second half with a point, with Niall Gormley quickly replying for Drumragh after good play from Ronan Barton and Cahir Keyes. Matt Gallagher was also on target with a free after he himself had been fouled.
The visitors enjoyed a sustained period on the front foot and were able to bring it back to a one-score game. They had all the momentum. In light of this, Drumragh’s response and manner in which they finished the game was extremely impressive.
Niall Gormley and Cahir Keyes hit important points before Niall added another, an excellent effort with the outside of his right foot.
Coalisland were still battling and forced Drumragh goalkeeper Lorcan McDevitt into a good save. The defence stood up well in the last 10 minutes with Conor Murray, Cayal Cafferkey and Peter McGuigan coming through with some vital clearances. Substitutes Eoin Clarke, Fergal Pearson, Eoin Boyle, Ruairi Doherty, Aaron O’Doherty, Ethan Montague, Daniel Baxter also played their part when introduced.
Drumragh then really took back control of the game with two goals in quick succession, with Ronan Barton playing a big role in both. First, Ronan had a chance of a point, but displayed fantastic vision to pick out Ollie Hagan with a good kick pass. Ollie then took the ball past the goalkeeper and kicked it to the net. Then, in the next attack, a quick hand-pass under pressure from Ronan sent Eamon Barrett through on goal and he stylishly completed his hat-trick with a good finish to the top corner.
Arthur Barrett set up Conor Fyffe for a point with a nice pass, and although Coalisland hit an injury-time goal, Drumragh were able to come away with the win after a very entertaining game.
SCORERS: Eamon Barrett 3-0, Ollie Hagan 1-3, Cahir Keyes 1-1, Matt Gallagher 0-4, Niall Gormley 0-3, Lorcan Starrs 0-2, Conor Fyffe 0-2
TEAM: Lorcan McDevitt, Peter McGuigan, Conor Murray, Mark Walsh, Tom Barrett, Conor Fyffe, Cayal Cafferkey, Niall Gormley, Matt Gallagher, Cahir Keyes, Ollie Hagan, Arthur Barrett, Ronan Barton, Lorcan Starrs, Eamon Barrett
SUBS: Eoin Clarke, Fergal Pearson, Eoin Boyle, Ruairi Doherty, Aaron O’Doherty, Ethan Montague, Daniel Baxter
Ronan Barton of Drumragh on the attack for Drumragh during Saturday morning’s game
