The Drumragh U16 boys side that beat Fintona in the league on Tuesday
Fintona…………………….2-13
Drumragh………………..1-17
Drumragh U16 boys emerged winners over Fintona following a superb game of football on Tuesday evening.
They showed plenty of perseverance and no little skill to come back from a five-point deficit midway through the second half to win by a point. It was a great display from Drumragh with every player involved contributing to the victory.
Drumragh made a confident start to the game and soon led 0-3 to 0-0. Niall McCarney opened the scoring after a good pass forward from Brendan Quinn, Cormac Dolan pointed after a move involving Ryan Montgomery, Ben Monk and Cormac McCann, and that had started with a turnover by Carraig McKenna in the full-back line, and Niall scored another brilliant point from play.
Fintona registered their first score of the game but Drumragh answered that with a Niall McCarney free after a foul on Ben Monk.
A point and then a goal put Fintona ahead but three points on the spin from Drumragh had them back in the lead. Fouls on Cahir McAnenly and Cormac Dolan allowed Niall McCarney to convert a couple of frees and he then added a good score from play.
The teams shared six points in the remainder of the half. Good play from Ethan Maguire, Cormac Dolan and Sean O’Kane allowed Niall McCarney to kick a point from a dead ball while further fouls on Aaron Lynch and Cormac Dolan meant Niall was able to put the ball over the bar two more times. None of those frees were in easy positions but it made no difference.
Oran Devlin started at full-back against Fintona on Tuesday
Two points at the start of the second half soon had Fintona level but Kian Murphy gave Drumragh back the lead with a great point from play.
Fintona kicked three points in-a-row but Niall Maguire set Kian Murphy up for a score in response. Ryan McCrystal made a good save in the Drumragh nets but Fintona did get in for their second goal of the game not long after to go five points clear.
A foul on Cormac Dolan gave Kian Murphy an opportunity from a free, which he took, and Kian then made it a one-point game with a goal, showing good strength and determination to create the opportunity for himself.
Frees from Niall McCarney and Kian Murphy and a good point from play by Kian saw Drumragh reclaim the lead nearing the end of the game.
But back came Fintona, who drew level with a couple of good points from their midfielder. The game was end-to-end at this stage. Alert defending from Oisin Kerlin, Brendan Quinn and Oran Devlin stopped Fintona from going ahead while the strong running of Blaine Feeney, Eoin Coyle and Cormac McCann created a few chances for Drumragh.
But it was Drumragh who managed to get the go-ahead score through Kian Murphy who had been found by a good pass from Cormac Dolan. Drumragh still had to withstand a few Fintona attacks but they did and held on for a wonderful victory.
Scorers: Niall McCarney 0-10, Kian Murphy 1-6, Cormac Dolan 0-1
Team: Ryan McCrystal, Brendan Quinn, Oran Devlin, Carraig McKenna, Cahir McAnenly, Matthew O’Donnell, Ryan Montgomery, Niall McCarney, Blaine Feeney, Ben Monk, Cormac Dolan, Cormac McCann, Sean O’Kane, Ethan Maguire, Aaron Lynch
Subs: Eoin Coyle, Oisin Kerlin, Kian Murphy, Niall Maguire, Conor Barrett, Hugh McKenna, Rory Dolan
