Kevin Barrys beat Moortown in lough shore derby semi

Derrylaughan 1-7  Moortown 0-8
DERRYLAUGHAN are the first team to book their spot in the Intermediate Championship final following Saturday afternoon’s hard-earned victory over Moortown.

This Loughshore derby clash was expected to be a close-run thing and that’s exactly how it panned out on a blustery day in Pomeroy.

The Kevin Barrys made their move midway through the second-half with a smattering of points that proved decisive in the final reckoning in the final reckoning.

They’re a solid all-round team and can call upon a cadre of lads involved in their Intermediate final appearances of yesteryear, and on the evidence of their Championship campaign to date, will take a bit of stopping on county final day, be that against Greencastle or the Moy.

Derrylaughan seized the initiative early on when James Donnelly cracked home an unstoppable effort to the top corner of the net after four minutes of play but it’s not uncharitable to say it was very much out of synch with the remainder of a turgid half of football (things picked up considerably in the second-half).

Despite having a considerable wind advantage, Moortown were curiously conservative for the opening 20 minutes, packing their defence, conceding the kick-out and seemingly happy to let Derrylaughan pooter about with the ball.

There was an interminable 15-minute spell without a score of any description though there were a few enterprising passages of play – Tyrone dynamo Brian Kennedy grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck at one stage and almost conjuring a goal opportunity out of nothing, while Moortown stitched together a similar chance down the other end, only for Tarlach Quinn’s low shot to skate harmlessly wide.

Otherwise it was sophorific stuff that was very much played on Derrylaughan’s terms, though they failed to compound their advantage on the scoreboard with the swirling breeze making a mockery of efforts that seemed destined to hit the target.

Moortown pushed up in the final ten minutes of the half and belatedly got their first point of the afternoon when Rian Smith decided against taking the ‘mark’ and tapped the ball over the bar.

Shea Lawn added a free before the very same man steered over a magnificent effort, though there was some consternation among the Derrylaughan faithful that the game wasn’t stopped in the lead-up when Connor Hughes was left stricken on the turf following a Brian McLernon challenge, for which the Moortown skipped was yellow carded.

Moortown had upped the ante and earned themselves a one-point lead when Matthew Conlon flashed over a point with the outside of the boot, but Derrylaughan will have been happy enough knowing the weather conditions would be in their favour after the break.

But that aside, Moortown were playing well with Christopher McGuigan and Tarlach Quinn’s maurading runs from deep a note-worthy element of their play and they got the first score of the half via Rian Smith.

That was followed by a crowd-pleasing effort by Derrylaughan skipper Brian Kennedy, their first score in more than 30 minutes of action.

Like buses, another came along moments later with Tomas Carney converting from the deadball, leaving it all square at 1-2 to 0-5 with 37 minutes on the clock. And another – Carney planting an audacious effort as Derrylaughan nudged their noses in front of a delicately poised contest.

The conditions had been a nightmare all afternoon for teams playing into the old clubrooms end, but McLernon did extremely well to squeeze over a point to restore parity.

It was low-scoring but fairly gripping at the same time and James Donnelly curled over a super point despite the best efforts of the Moortown rearguard as the clock ticked into the final quarter.

Colm O’Hagan having a particularly big game for Derrylaughan and he helped force a turnover that led to another point, this time coming from Ciaran Quinn to leave the scoreboard reading 1-5 to 0-6.

Brian McLernon was showing his leadership for Moortown, getting into advanced positions time and time again, and he nabbed his second of the day but Derrylaughan responded with two points from the aforementioned O’Hagan and Carney.

They weren’t quite home and hosed but they held a cushion of a goal with just over five minutes remaining, reduced down to two when Liam Lawn scored a free.

Time was running out for Moortown, however, and they spurned a couple of late opportunities as the clock ticked into injury time.

That was more or less that. Brian Kennedy made some big plays in the closing stages as Derrylaughan kept their heads to book their spot in the Intermediate Championship final and they can afford to sit back next week and see who emerges from the semi-final replay on the other half of the draw between Greencastle and the Moy.

THE SCORERS
Derrylaughan
James Donnelly (1-1), Tomas Carney (0-3, Brian Kennedy, Ciaran Quinn and Colm O’Hagan (0-1 each)
Moortown
Shea Lawn, Rian Smith and Brian McLernon (0-2 each) Matthew Conlon and Liam Lawn (0-1 each)