Derrylaughan recover from nightmare start to progress

Derrylaughan 1-11 Termon 1-8

DERRYLAUGHAN shook off their slumber to record a fully warranted three-point victory against Donegal representatives St Termon’s in Saturday evening’s Ulster Intermediate Championship preliminary round clash in Omagh.

The recently crowned Tyrone Intermediate Champions were entirely out of sorts in the opening 10 minutes – so much so that you couldn’t help but wonder if 4/1 outsiders Termon were going to run away with proceedings.

The Donegal side surged into a 1-4 to no score lead but Derrylaughan turned the screw and rattled off seven points on the trot to leave it level at the break.

And they more or less dominated proceedings thereafter, though the game itself wasn’t entirely out of harm’s way right until the final whistle.

The star performer was Tomas Carney, who contributed 1-6 across the hour, a healthy combination of frees, 45s, points from play and the decisive second-half goal that he palmed to the net after smart build-up play.

Early doors they struggled big-time against a youthful Termon, lording the battle for primary possession and making significant in-roads into Derrylaughan’s 14-man defence, plundering a 10th minute goal from Patrick Fegan that left the scoreboard reading 1-4 to no score in their favour.

Moreover, all of their scores had come from play with Bobby McGettigan and Jack Alcoen among those to stand out while Derrylaughan were yet to muster a meaningful attack.

Blessed with talented younger players, Termon had racked up big scores en route to Donegal Intermediate honours and it looked like Derrylaughan could be in for a long evening.

The goal seemed to act as a major wake-up call to the Loughshore men, however, who got their account up and running from Tomas Carney and Connor Hughes as they began to impose themselves in proceedings.

The hugely impressive Carney rattled off successive scores as Derrylaughan chipped away at Termon’s lead, and the pressure exerted further out the pitch by the likes of Robinson, Colm O’Hagan and Liam Gervin meant that Termon were limited to pot-shots at the half wore on.

It was impressive stuff from an experienced Derrylaughan team, playing slick front-foot football when on the prowl for scores and keeping the door firmly shut down the other end of the pitch, Termon racking up the wides when shooting from unfavourable positions.

Derrylaughan’s resurgence continued with further points from Robinson and James Donnelly, meaning that for all Termon’s early dominance, there was nothing to separate the sides at the interval.

Termon enjoyed a mini-revival the other side of the whistle with John James Sweeney ending their 20-minute wait for a score a matter of seconds after the restart, before Alcorn added another with Derrylaughan finding it difficult to get out of their own half.

But Derrylaughan assumed almost total control of the contest for the remainder of the contest with Tyrone star Brian Kennedy growing in prominence, Fergal McAliskey getting through a mountain of ball and sub Ciaran Gervin making a positive impression.

In that sense it was almost an exact replica of the first-half, Termon threatening an upset before the favourites made their presence felt in every sector.

Carney, who was double marked, converted a ‘mark’ before getting on the end of a sweeping attacking move to establish a 1-8 to 1-6 lead with quarter of an hour remaining.

They were looking increasingly comfortable and Liam Gervin got his name on the score-sheet while Carney nailed a ’45’ into a stiff breeze as they pushed for home in the final ten minutes.

Impressive sub Ciaran Gervin got their last score of the game in the 56th minute, virtually sealing the victory, but Termon didn’t throw in the towel and tagged on two late points via Jamie Grant and Daire McDaid, their scorer-in-chief limited to a stoppage-time free.

It was too little, too late, however, as Derrylaughan booked their spot in a provincial quarter-final showdown against All Saints.

Tyrone teams have fared well in the Ulster Intermediate Championship in years gone by, and the experienced Kevin Barrys will be quietly confident that they too can make a significant mark on the prestigious provincial competition.

The Scorers
Derrylaughan: Tomas Carney (1-6, 2 45s, 1f, 1m), Liam Gervin, Sean Robinson, Connor Hughes, James Donnelly and Ciaran Gervin (0-1 each)

Termon: Patrick Fegan (1-0), Jamie Grant, John James Sweeney, Jack Alcorn (0-2 each), Enda McCormick (0-1), Daire McDaid (0-1f)

The Teams
Derrylaughan: James Kennedy, Colm O’Hagan, Ciaran O’Hagan, Caoilean Hughes, Liam Gervin, Conor Kennedy, Sean Robinson, Brian Kennedy, Shane Scullion, Connor Hughes, Fergal McAliskey, Danny Ball, James Donnelly, Tomas Carney, Ciaran Quinn. Subs: Ciaran Gervin for Scullion, Liam Cushnahan for Hughes,
Darragh Carney for Quinn

Termon: Emmett Maguire, Cormac Gallagher, Rickey Gallagher, Cormac Brady, Patrick Fegam, Conor Cassidy, Jamie Grant, Bobby McGettigan, Ryan McFadden, John James Sweeney, Kevin McGettigan, James McSharry, Daire McDaid, Enda McCormick, Jack Alcorn  Subs: Cian McMenamin for McSharry, Conor Black for Sweeney