Greenlough cling to title with late burst

Greenlough secured their passage into the last eight of the Intermediate championship on Thursday night with a win that was nowhere near as comfortable as the seven point margin suggests

They won the game in two short second half spells, the first of which was really the killer blow for Drumsurn. Having held their own in midfield all night, the St. Matthew’s side lost their way for five minutes.

Drumsurn lost six kickouts in a row, but it was the ease with which Greenlough were picking up the breaks that was the real problem.

Niall Bradley and Brian McCallion were breaking the ball into the half forward line and Greenlough had runners off either side and in just three minutes they scored 1-02. That tally suddenly turned a one point advantage into a six point cushion. Six points wasn’t exactly fair on Drumsurn on the balance of play, but they had struggled for scores and without Ciaran Mullan in their ranks, there would have been a lot more in it.

Damian Cassidy was in Dungiven watching Claudy and Moneymore do battle, but he will have seen few in O’Cahan Park with the two-footed brilliance of the Drumsurn forward. Three frees from the ground, two from play off his ‘weaker’ left foot and one off his right, and a goal was his contribution for the night, but it just wasn’t enough.

Dean O’Neill gave his name sake Brian a major headache at full-forward, but the Greenlough full-back was always close enough to ensure the bustling number fourteen didn’t get his shot off.

He was the only Drumsurn forward outside Ciaran Mullan who looked in any way threatening, with Paul Butcher’s goal six minutes from time making him the only other player to score from play.

Greenlough had more of the ball and more options. Martin Carey, Thomas McCann and the superb Chrissy Lagan got forward time and again, while Eugene Hutchinson was a willing runner from wing-forward.

Their full-forward line tormented Drumsurn with their movement. You could see that things just didn’t click at times when the ball broke down. They allowed Drumsurn to come out too easily, but in the majority, it was a positive performance. What they showed over the hour would be enough to beat most of those left in the championship, but there was a lot of work still to be done if they are to retain their title.

The first brilliant second half spell yielded 1-02 for Greenlough, whereas their burst in the final three minutes brought an identical tally.

Enda Lynn had a hit and miss night, Dane Mullan did a superb job on him as he struggled to keep his feet in the first half, and Lynn missed a 13-metre free, but there was odd times when ‘Berg’ would just glide away and he fisted three points from close range. Two of these efforts came in a first half that ended with the men in black (Drumsurn wore the green and white St. Patrick’s minor jerseys) trailing by a goal.

Pearse McNickle, often the scorer of goals, deserves a lot of credit for turning provider four minutes before the break. His initial effort was blocked but he threw himself bravely after the break and got the faintest of touches to take it through to Mullan, who side stepped Vincent McDonnell and lashed the ball home from four yards.

A second goal almost sneaked in seconds later, but Ciaran Ferris’ long diagonal ball that beat everyone cannoned back off the post with McDonnell flat footed.

Still, the Drumsurn men looked good at 1-05 to 0-05 up as the short whistle sounded, with Ferris’ earlier forty yard effort the highlight of a half that was littered with mistakes from both sides.

Within three minutes of the restart Enda Lynn slipped clear and threw the ball across goal for John Óg McPeake to palm past the onrushing Francis Chivers.

Both wing-backs, first Thomas McCann and then Martin Carey, joined the attack to kick points before Cormac O’Neill again opened a Drumsurn defence that was struggling with Greenlough’s more direct approach in the second half.

Equally, Drumsurn’s own approach had become a bit more route one, with Pierce McNickle more advanced and Mullan on the edge of the square, and Greenlough were having bother keeping them out.

Mullan fed McNickle on 45 minutes but his powerful effort cannoned away off the post to safety, though Mullan was still causing bother a minute later when his superb dummy bought him the yard to drill his side back to within a point.

Enda Lynn had different ideas. He setup Cormac O’Neill to walk around Francis Chivers and drill home a second goal and Lynn and Paul Downey added points to make it 2-10 to 1-07.

Paul Butcher took matters into his own hands and set off on a superb 40 yard run from wing-back, finishing a sublime goal with his left foot from 15 yards. Mullan drove another over from 20 yards and suddenly the gap was down to two again.

Lynn sped clear to fist over again and make it 2-11 to 2-08, and the curtains were drawn when Anthony Campbell failed to give Dane Mullan a free as he was hit bending for the ball and Cormac O’Neill fed Seamus Graham to net a third Greenlough goal.

Drumsurn
Francis Chivers; Dane Mullan, Colm Feeney, Michéal Archibald; Cahir Mullan, Conal Chivers, Paul Butcher (1-00); Mark O’Connor, Damian Canning; Barry Moore, Pearse McNickle, Ciaran Mullan (1-06, 0-03f); Danny O’Connor (0-01f), Dean O’Neill, Eamon Ferris

Subs
Ciaran Ferris (0-01) for Colm feeney (2 mins), Colm Feeney for Barry Moore (52 mins)

Referee
Anthony Campbell (Magherafelt)