Boherbue see off Dromtarriffe to take final spot

Boherbue 3-9 Dromtariffe 1-8

THREE first half goals proved the catalyst for Boherbue to secure a decisive win over Dromtariffe in the second semi final to the E Tarrant & Sons Skoda Duhallow Junior A Football Championship in Cullen on Saturday evening.

Superior movement going forward and a huge work ethic saw the victors hold the better attacking combination. Indeed a tenacious Boherbue looked hungrier and sharper at key stages and deserved their progress to a divisional decider for the first time since 2008.

As the game aged, Dromtariffe went all out to rescue a game that had slipped from them yet they never fully recovered from Boherbue’s productive show in the opening half. The danger signals flashed early for Dromtariffe, ‘keeper Dan Mann called into action to produce a fine save from Richard Moynihan.

Boherbue were soon off the mark from a ‘45 converted by Jerry O’Connor only for Dromtariffe to reply courtesy of Evan Murphy. However Boherbue remained more fluent and inventive confirmed on two goals in quick succession.

Good work from Tim Murphy saw the ball centred for O’Connor to break down and in nipped Murphy to touch home the rebound. The Boherbue cheers had hardly subsided, O’Connor again the provider for namesake David to flick to the net.

It was a nerve testing time for Dromtariffe and in fairness, they delivered for a spell with Evan Murphy, Gearóid Murphy and Daniel O’Keeffe posting points. Still Boherbue remained strong, drawing a positive response from Niall Murphy, Alan Guerin and Mikie O’Gorman in defence, Billy O’Gorman and Kevin Cremin held a grip at midfield.

And in attack, the forceful play of Jerry O’Connor, Adrian Murphy and Moynihan troubled Dromtariffe regularly. The O’Connors, David and Jerry chipped in with points before the latter laid off to Moynihan to bag a third goal to surge Boherbue 3-4 to 0-5 ahead at the break.

Dromtariffe re-emerged a more determined outfit, driven on by the efforts of Jack Murphy, Eanna Mernagh and Seamus O’Sullivan. However Dromtariffe points from Shane Collins and Daniel O’Keeffe were matched by Adrian Murphy and Moynihan at the opposite end.

Given the goal blitz in the opening spell, the scoring rate had dropped appreciably on the turnover as both sides squandered presentable chances.

In a bid to rescue the situation, Dromtariffe moved midfielder O’Sullivan to full forward in a bid to get some return against a Boherbue defence largely untroubled for much of the hour.

To their credit, Dromtariffe never stopped trying and gained a reward from a consolation goal by Seamus O’Sullivan after good work by Daniel O’Keeffe. Thoughts of a comeback were shortlived for Boherbue answered in emphatic fashion and a pair of late points from substitute James Casey nailed their progress to a divisional final against Knocknagree on Sunday week. BOHERBUE: K Murphy; A Guerin, N Murphy, T Murphy 1-0; D Moynihan, M O’Gorman, D Buckley; B O’Gorman, K Cremin; P Murphy, A Murphy 0-1, D O’Connor; 1-1 (0-1f) M O’Connor, R Moynihan 1-1, J O’Connor 0-4 (0-1’45) Subs: A O’Connor for D O’Connor (26), J Casey 0-2 for P Murphy (41), B Buckley for T Murphy (45), D O’Connell for A Murphy (52), C J O’Sullivan for D Moynihan (59)

DROMTARIFFE: D Mann; C O’Mahony, C O’Donoughue, S Howard; E Mernagh, V Browne, J Murphy; S O’Sullivan 1-0, A Buckley; J Buckley, D O’Keeffe 0-3 (0-2f), E Murphy 0-3 (0-2f); G Murphy 0-1, D O’Donoughue, S Collins 0-1 Subs: C Cremin for Browne (ht), B O’Keeffe for C O’Donoughue (ht), M Healy for Buckley (41), D Dennehy for G Murphy (52)

REFEREE: D Casey(Scartaglin)