Brackaville hold firm against gallant Brocagh

JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND

Brackaville 2-16  Brocagh 0-19

By Niall Gartland

SATURDAY’S standalone fixture on the Lough shore delivered plenty of entertainment and talking points for the patrons in attendance though the crux of the matter was Brackaville’s ultimate progression to the quarter-finals of the Junior Championship.

Staging their first adult championship match of this type since 1991, Derrylaughan played host to an absorbing first-round encounter between Brackaville and a gallant Brocagh side that refused to throw in the towel.

The boys from Brocagh trailed by a full 10 points at the break, and while the wind advantage would work in their favour on the restart, there were few signs otherwise that any sort of renaissance was in the pipeline.

But they stuck at it and made a real fist of it in the second-half, spurred on by excellent point-taking from Mickey Hughes from the dead ball.

The day belonged to Brackaville though, and they were deserving victors. Following in the footsteps of their dramatic win over Tattyreagh in the preliminary round, they surged into a 1-10 to 0-3 lead at the interval, and when cool heads and leadership were required late in the game, they got in spades from the likes of captain Ronan McHugh and the hard-working Tiernan Ruddy.

A word too for their young goalkeeper Sean Herron – he’s only a cub but he was absolutely superb in every respect, making a number of saves and showing incredible composure under the high ball despite not being the tallest lad in the world. His bravery when rushing out from his line was also commendable.

Brocagh got the game’s opening score from Barry Donnelly but Brackaville soon found their groove with the impressive Shea Fee splitting the posts before Dale McSorley, another strong performer, slammed home a goal in the eighth minute of play.

Brocagh tagged on frees from James McKiver and Mickey Hughes but they seemed to be struggling with the conditions while Brackaville were attacking with a real sense of urgency and they made hay in the final ten minutes of the half.

McSorley, Fee and Tiernan McGlinchy all popped over points to set up a 1-10 to 0-3 lead and you’d have been forgiven for thinking that the game was as good as over.

Brocagh upped their game considerably after the break though, even if they could never quite reduce the margin to less than a goal or so.

They landed four of the first five points in the second-half and while Mickey Hughes was proving really effective from the dead ball, he was really getting himself about in open play while Cathal Donnelly and Michael Robinson also got their names on the scoresheet.

Brackaville weren’t quite in dire straits but they still needed a score or two to steady the ship and they kept the scoreboard ticking over with points from Tiernan McGlinchey and McSorely (a free).

With 10 minutes remaining, Brackaville led by a not-insurmountable 1-13 to 0-10 but they had assuumed a degree of control again and compounded their advantage further with points from McGlinchey and Tiernan Ruddy, who had a barnstorming second-half.

Brocagh refused to wilt and also looked dangerous on their forays forward, with Mickey Hughes adding to his ever-increasing personal tally with a brace of two-point frees, leaving it 1-15 to 0-14 with just over five minutes remaining.

The leaders still weren’t entirely out of sight but they got the boost of a second goal, Daire Fee lashing the ball to the back of the net after a sublime passage of play.

And still, Brocagh wouldn’t go away. With sub Justin Campbell making a positive impression throughout the second-half, they just kept on coming and further frees from Hughes made for a slightly nervy finish for a Brackaville perspective.

Brackaville got their last point of the hour via midfielder Conor Stock, and there was time for one more two-point free from Mickey Hughes (he finished his day’s work with 15 points). It wasn’t enough for Brocagh but their second-half revival not only kept Brackaville on their toes but made for entertaining viewing from a neutral perspective.

Scorers

Brackaville: Dale McSorley (1-6, 1 2pt f, 2f) Shea Fee (0-4), Daire Fee (1-0), Tiernan McGlinchey (0-3), Conor Stock, Ronan McHugh and Tiernan Ruddy (0-1 each)

Brocagh: Mickey Hughes (0-15, 4 2pt f, 1 2pt, 4f), Barry Donnelly, James McKiver, Cathal Donnelly and Michael Robinson (0-1 each)

Teams

Brackaville: Sean Herron, Enda O’Neill, Tiernan Ruddy, Ruairi McElhatton, Shane McIntyre, Daire Fee, Kyle O’Hagan, Conor Stock, Colm Sharkey, Jason O’Neill, Ronan McHugh, Ciaran Gervin, Tiernan McGlinchey, Shea Fee, Dale McSorley. Subs: Daire Carberry for Gervin, Cailum Coyle for E O’Neill

Brocagh: Daniel Davidson, Dean Canavan, Diarmuid Robinson, Pearce McAliskey, Oisin Robinson, Conan McDonald, Niall Cassidy, Barry Donnelly, James McKiver, Owen Canavan, Michael Robinson, Ciaran Gervin. Subs: Justin Campbell for Robinson

Referee: Stephen McBride (Drumquin)