Dromore battle back to defeat Donaghmore

Dromore 2-11 Donaghmore 0-12

DROMORE overturned a five point half-time deficit to carve out a fine home triumph over Donaghmore at Gardrum Park in Division One on Wednesday evening, a personal tally of 2-6 from Declan McNulty key to their revival.

McNulty palmed an effort to the net in the 39th minute to kick-start St Dympna’s fightback and then deep into injury time, slotted away a penalty to ensure the points went the way of the hosts.

The ultimately convincing final scoreline in Dromore’s favour seemed unlikely at the break, as a much sharper and polished Donaghmore outfit built up a 0-9 to 0-4 advantage, with the likes of keeper Lorcan Quinn (who hit four points in total) andRyan Cush leading the way for them.

But with McNulty coming to the fore, ably assisted by Peter Teague and Brian Gallagher, the St Dympna’s underlined their character and battling qualities to reel in the deficit.

It was Donaghmore who took a firm grip on proceedings from the off, keeper Lorcan Quinn belting over a long distance free off the deck to set them on their way.

And while Padraig Dillon did likewise at the other end, St Patrick’s then registered three in a row, Ronan Cassidy, Cormac Drayne and Conor Cush (free) the men on target.

The hard-working Gallagher fisted over a Dromore point, and McNulty tagged on a free, but in the main they were playing second fiddle to their more cohesive visitors. Brilliant efforts from Quinn and Ryan Cush (twice) demonstrated the swagger with which Donaghmore were going about their business, and while Dillon fisted another score for the home side, they went in at half-time with it all to do.

A further McNulty free and sharply taken Gallagher score suggested that Dromore were up for the task at hand, even though keeper Quinn thumped over another 50m free at the other end.

When a superb defence splitting pass from Cathal Colton put Teague in the clear, he squared for McNulty to fist past Quinn in goals, and with the latter adding two more from the placed ball, Dromore now led 1-8 to 0-10.

The zip and purpose in Donaghmore’s game before the break had vanished, even after Cormac McCann registered a free, and with McNulty continuing to add to his tally, the hosts moved three in front.

While Donaghmore chased a goal late on, it wasn’t to be and instead a foul inside the square on sub Aidan Coton, allowed McNulty to put the issue beyond doubt.

The Scorers

Dromore

Declan McNulty (2-6,4f,1m), Padraig Dillon (0-3,2f), Brian Gallagher (0-2)

Donaghmore

Lorcan Quinn (0-4,3f), Cormac Drayne (0-3,1f), Ryan Cush (0-2), Ronan Cassidy, Conor Cush, Cormac McCann (0-1 each,f)