Derrylaughan fend off St Patrick’s

Derrylaughan 2-11

Gortin 0-11

By Niall Gartland

DERRYLAUGHAN were full value for their Intermediate Championship quarter-final victory over a determined Gortin side on Sunday evening at O’Neill’s Healy Park.

The Loughshore side had plenty to spare on the scoreboard by the final whistle having dealt with everything Gortin threw at them in the closing stages of a fairly low-key contest.

They played some fine attacking football on the evening, exemplified by a superb individual goal by big midfielder Brian Kennedy midway through the second-half, and now they look forward to an appetising semi-final clash against Pomeroy in just over a week’s time.

Derrylaughan got off to a flying start with early points from Tomas Carney, James Donnelly and Ciaran Gervin, three classy customers who helped their side into a 0-3 to no score lead with a cross-field breeze not really benefitting either team on a nice evening in Omagh.

It was one-way traffic early doors with Derrylaughan bossing the exchanges in the middle sector.

Gortin belatedly got up and running in the tenth minute through Fiachra McNulty, but their passes forward could’ve been a bit more judicious and were mopped up by versatile Derrylaughan players like Tomas Carney and Tyrone star Brian Kennedy.

The Kevin Barrys were winning all of their own restarts and putting major pressure on Gortin goalkeeper Christopher Greene, a recipe for success if there was ever one, and they opened up a 0-5 to 0-1 lead with further scores from Donnelly, one of which was a beautiful score from play.

Gortin by contast were resorting to potshots and hit three wides in a matter of minutes midway through the half.

But St Patrick’s have a fair degree of championship campaign and slowly but surely they worked their way into the game. Sean Og McAleer popped over a free and was doing well in his remit as a playmaker while Odhran Brolly also got his name on the scoresheet.

Stalwart Brian McGarvey played the shirt off his back and his efforts yielded a fine point when he burst through the middle sector, leaving only a point between the teams as half-time approached.

We had ourselves a game but Derrylaughan pounced for a goal in injury time, with Colm O’Hagan bravely bundling the ball over the line after a shot dropped short from Ciaran Quinn.

Gortin got the final point of the half and what a score it was as McGarvey traded passes with Patrick McCullagh before slipping the ball over the bar from an acute angle.

That left the scoreboard reading 1-5 to 0-5 in Derrylaughan’s favour at half-time but Gortin’s tails were up and got the first score of the second-half, McGarvey polishing off a well-constructed team move.

Derrylaughan responded with a point from Stephen McGrath after a super through-ball from Kennedy, but Gortin almost got a goal in the next attack with 38 minutes on the clock. After a flurry of handpasses, Derrylaughan goalkeeper had Sean Og McAleer breathing down his neck, but the Gortin forward’s shot was smothered fairly comfortably.

The Kevin Barrys had packed their defences and Gortin were forced to play around the fringes, but they had plenty of the ball and Eoghan McGarvey did extremely well to win a free which was converted by Peter Keenan.

Derrylaughan’s Tomas Carney tagged on a free which pushed his side into a 1-8 to 0-7 lead and then came the decisive moment of the game, Brian Kennedy picking up a head of steam while in possession and blasting the ball to the net.

That left Gortin with a mountain to climb with just over ten minutes remaining. James Donnelly continued his scoring streak with a free, bringing him up to five points.

Derrylaughan had produced an efficient display in the second-half and had a healthy cushion as the finish line approached, getting their last score of the evening from sub Cathal Canavan.

While Gortin kept plugging away, the majority of their attacks lacked end product albeit they scored a free late frees and a point from play from Eoghan McGarvey.

So that was that, Derrylaughan had prevailed and will be quietly confident of plotting an upset in the semi-final against Pomeroy.