Omagh 0-9 Dromore 1-7
AN early John MacRory goal ultimately proved to be the crucial score at Healy Park as Dromore edged the verdict against Omagh in a low scoring encounter that never rose to any great heights.
There was only seven minutes on the clock when MacRory found the net in response to Barry Tierney’s opening point. Declan McNulty and Ronan McNabb senior had points for the St.Dympnas but it was all square at the break after Conor O’Donnell and Jason McAnulla had hit a brace each for the St.Endas.
Bradley Fox and Enda McCaffery exchanged points with McNulty on the restart before Dromore got their noses in front thanks to a fine individual score from Oran Sludden. The final eighteen minutes produced only two points as O’Donnell brought the sides level again before McNulty won it with a late free.
Eglish 0-11 Edendork 2-10
A GOAL in each half for Edendork at Connolly Park helped give the visitors a deserved win as they secured a crucial result to leave opponents Eglish still rooted at the foot of the table without a point to show for their efforts.
The St.Malachys couldn’t have wished for a better start to the game with Fiachra Nelis scoring a goal inside sixty seconds. Eglish responded to get on level terms through Seamus Muldoon, Conall McCann and Ryuan Donnelly but a late brace of frees from Darren McCurry left it 1-5 to 0-5 at halftime.
Eglish began the second half well with Muldoon scores and after McCurry and Ethan Jordan had both scored it was still level pegging going into he final quarter. That’s when James Fearon got a second Edendork goal and the winners kicked on getting four of the last five points through Corey Bell, Ben Cullen and Niall Morgan(2).
Pomeroy 0-7 Coalisland 0-6
BRENDAN Burns proved to be the Pomeroy hero at Plunkett Park on Friday night as he settled a low scoring encounter to keep his side third in the table and leave Coalisland in the danger zone.
With both defences on top throughout scores proved to be at a premium with the Fianna in front 0-4 to 0-3 at the short whistle. Tiernan Quinn and Sean L Corr had both two points for the visitors with Ronan Duffin scoring twice for the Plunketts after Frank Burns had opened their account.
Kieran McGeary and Quinn traded points on the restart before Bailey Leonard left the Fianna two clear. That score though in the 46th minute proved to be their last of the contest and after Duffin had narrowed the deficit to the minimum two points deep into injury time from McGeary and Burns won it for the hosts.
Donaghmore 0-9 Errigal Ciaran 2-11
DONAGHMORE suffered a third defeat in a row as Errigal Ciaran returned to winning ways with victory at Father Devlin Park.
The visitors dominated the opening quarter with points from Darragh Canavan (2), Odhran Robinson and Ruairi Canavan coupled with a goal from the latter. They didn’t score for he rest of the half but Donaghmore faired only slightly better with two Ronan Cassidy points to show for their efforts.
Darragh Canavan increased Errigal’s advantage to six before Donaghmore fought back with scores from Peter McKenna, Conor Cush and Cassidy. Padraig McGirr registered for the visitors but efforts from Cush and Lorcan Quinn left the game in the melting pot. The visitors though finished strongly with a Darragh Canavan goal as well as a few points
Ardboe 0-7 Clonoe 2-6
THIS was a big game for both sides at Coney Park with Clonoe’s ability to get goals proving to be key as they climbed out of the bottom three to leave Ardboe in trouble.
The Rossas had led early on thanks to points from Conal Morgan and Shay McGuigan before Shea Coney scored a goal for the Rahillys in the 16th minute. Peter Devlin and Danny McNulty swapped points and on the stroker of halftime Ryan Quinn raised a green flag to leave it 2-4 to 0-4 at the short whistle.
Clonoe may have only managed two points in the second half and none at all in the final quarter but they had done enough. Jordan Bell, Aidan Duffy and Cormac Devlin were the second half marksmen for Ardboe but the goal that they needed to ignite a comeback never looked like coming.
Carrickmore 2-8 Dungannon 3-14 2
WHAT turned out to be a marvellous weekend for Dungannon Clarkes began in the best possible fashion with this impressive victory over Carrickmore in an All-County League clash that produced a feast of goals.
It was an important morale-boosting win for the Clarkes, who produced a strong performance. However, Carrickmore will hope for better, too, as they missed a number of key players which undermined their challenge to an extent.
But there was no doubting how impressive the Clarkes were.
There was little to separate the teams during the opening stages of this game. Danny Fullerton opened the scoring for Carmen with a great point, and added another in the 12th minute. But Paul Donaghy and Paddy Quinn edged the Clarkes ahead by 0-3 to 0-2 approaching the end of the first quarter.
It was then that things really sprang to life. Three goals in three minutes enlivened the large attendance. Dungannon grabbed the first when a great run through by Ryan Jones saw him set up Kevin Barker who fired a rasper to the net. That left Dungannon 1-3 to 1-2 ahead, but it was to be a shortlived advantage.
Instead, a defensive error saw Carrickmore respond quickly, with Danny Fullerton capitalising to fire home and give them back the lead on a score of 2-2 to 1-3. All seemed set for things to remain fairly steady from then until the break. But Dungannon had other ideas.
Paul Donaghy reduced the deficit, before Dalaigh Jones raced through for their second goal. That left them 2-4 to 2-2 ahead, and they maintained that advantage to lead at the interval by 2-5 to 2-4 despite Carrickmore’s best efforts through Tiernan Murray and Danny Fullerton.
One of the big questions on the resumption was whether the advantage of a strong wind would make a big difference for Dungannon. The initial indications were that this clash was destined to be in the balance right to the finish. Indeed, it was Carrickmore who enjoyed the majority of the possession in that third quarter.
Rory Donnelly and Calum McCrory were strong at midfield, while the threat of Danny Fullerton and Cairan Daly was clear up front. But they just couldn’t get the scores that their dominance merited.
Instead, Dungannon hit on the counter-attack and a series of points edged them four ahead, Paul Donaghy and Padraig McNulty both fired over to leave them 2-9 to 2-5 ahead, and capitalise on the good work of Conall Devlin, Patrick McKearney and Ciaran Barker in defence.
This game, then, was at a crossroads entering the final quarter. Carrickmore came close to grabbing a goal, and a point from Rory Donnelly reduced the deficit to three points. But from then on it was the Clarkes who dominated to seal a big win. Paul Donaghy’s goal in the 22nd minute went a long way to securing the victory.
He fired home in style after good work from Dalaigh Jones to leave the score 3-10 to 2-6 in their favour. Further points from Patrick McKearney, Lorcan Murray, Padraig McNulty and Paul Donaghy’s brilliant effort with their final attack saw them ease to the final whistle with nine points to spare.
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