By 
UNDER-16 GRADE 2 CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Donaghmore 2-10 Drumragh 1-7
HAVING raced into a commanding half-time lead, Donaghmore did enough in the final reckoning to hold off a determined Drumragh fightback in Saturday’s Grade Two U16 Championship Final at Ballinamullan.
The eventual winners led by a full ten points at the interval having played some impressive attacking football, though their opponents Drumragh upped the ante after the break and made a real fist of it, reducing the deficit to three points with just over 10 minutes remaining.
However, a late goal from Donaghmore’s talented full-forward Dara O’Neill reopened a six-point lead and that proved the decisive score in a slow-burner of a contest.
The opening score of the game was a goal from Donaghmore midfielder Adam Collins in the sixth minute, a rocket of a shot in their first meaningful attack of the hour.
That score settled any pre-match nerves and they tagged on points from the lively O’Neill (twice) and his attacking colleague Padraig McAshea.
Drumragh’s midfielder Shea Mullin showed real drive and impetus to get their first score as the clock ticked into the second quarter, but Donaghmore were disciplined in their defensive duties and moved into a commanding lead with further scores from McAshea, captain Charlie Field and their designated free-taker Michael Hetherington, who landed an excellent two-point free.
Drumragh were racking up the wides and trailed by 1-8 to 0-1 at the whistle, but they really stepped it up after the break, getting an early score from Matt Gallagher which set the tone for an improved second-half performance.
Donaghmore kept their opponents at bay with well-worked scores from Field and McAshea, but Drumragh enjoyed a real purple patch with successive scores from James Gallagher-Arruda, Niall Gormley and Joseph Taggart. After some wayward shooting in the first-half, they had now found their range and we had a real game on our hands.
Gallagher-Arruda found the target three times in their concerted comeback efforts, and they found themselves only a goal in arrears when Ollie Hagan was alert to the ball and made it 1-10 to 1-7 with 47 minutes on the clock.
Donaghmore needed a settling score and they ended up getting a second goal for their efforts, Dara O’Neill reacting quickest to a free that dropped short and blasting the ball to the roof of the net.
The Sarsfields kept on plugging away and won a late penalty which was saved in injury-time, but their efforts were ultimately in vain as Donaghmore celebrated their latest piece of underage silverware.
Teams and Scorers
Donaghmore: George Donaghy, James Shields, Jude Rafferty, Ryan Hughes, Frankie McGoldrick, James Corry, Michael Hetherington (0-3, 1 2pt f, 1f), Adam Collins (1-0), Pól McQuaid, Padraig Donaghy, Charlie Field (0-2), Martin Ogle, Tiernan Burns, Dara O’Neill (1-2, 1f), Padraig McAshea (0-3). Subs used: Jack McCan
Drumragh: Matthew O’Doherty, Tiernan O’Donnell, Matthew Barrett, Eamonn Barrett, Joseph Taggart (0-1), Oisin Walsh, James Gallagher-Arruda (0-3), Shea Mullin (0-1), Conor Fyffe, Niall Burt, Matt Gallagher (0-1), Lorcan Starrs, Ollie Hagan (1-0), Niall Gormley (0-1), Cahir Keys. Subs used: Cayal Cafferky
Referee: Cathal Kearney (Glenelly)