Dromtariffe put seven goals past Castlemagner
Dromtariffe 7-25 Castlemagner 1-13
REIGNING holders Dromtariffe enjoyed the smoothest of takeoffs in the E Tarrant & Sons Skoda Dealer Duhallow Junior A Hurling Championship after cutting loose to better Castlemagner in the opening round at Freemount last Sunday.
Having taken a first time title last season, this was a stunning performance from the champions, exuding class, confidence and a degree of ruthlessness that left Castlemagner trailing in their wake.
The sides had met at the same stage to the 2018 campaign where Dromtariffe required extra time to escape by the skin of their teeth to win by a narrow margin.
This time around, Dromtariffe broke Castlemagner’s spirit early thanks to a Conor Cremin goal. The challengers offered flashes of potential , Seán Falvey pointed a pair yet they relied on individual effort rather than collective efficiency to rattle the champions.
Indeed Dromtariffe remained in a different class, boosted by the controlled play of Mikey O’Gorman, Conor O’Callaghan, Jack Murphy, Kevin Cremin and Darren O’Connor. And their was much to admire about the Dromtariffe attack to showcase their threat, the impressive Tomas Howard laying off to his brother Seán , his pace at the heart of the Castlemagner defence yielded a smashing goal for a clear 2-16 to 0-5 advantage at the break.
Dromtariffe continued to create an impact on the restart, substitute Michael Sheehan denied by a fine save from Castlemagner ‘keeper Donnacha O’Connell before the Howard brothers swopped roles for Tomás to net.
In fairness, Castle’ attempted to stem the tide through the efforts of Donal Gayer, Diarmuid O’Mahony and Falvey. However, Dromtariffe replied in the best possible manner from goals netted by Gavin O’Keeffe and Seán Howard.
Though Castlemagner raised their game from a quartet of Falvey points, Dromtariffe replied in the best way possible, Evan Murphy and Howard fired home goals. Credit Castle’ for never throwing in the towel and they gained some consolation from a late Eoin O’Mahony goal.
A perfect start for Dromtariffe, advancing to a semi final, Castlemagner remain in contention, facing Banteer in Round 2.
D Cremin; S McSweeney, M O’Gorman, D Dennehy; A Daly, C O’Callaghan, J Murphy 0-2; K Cremin 0-1, D O’Connor; E Murphy 1-5, S Howard 3-4 (0-2f), T Howard 1-8; G O’Keeffe 1-3, C Cremin 1-2, D O’Keeffe.
M Sheehan for D O’Keeffe (inj), E Mernagh for A Daly, C O’Callaghan for K Cremin, B O’Gorman for C O’Callaghan, S O’Riordan for S McSweeney.
D O’Connell; D Murphy, D Gayer, I O’Sullivan; A Lucey, K O’Mahony, D O’Mahony 0-1; S Falvey 0-10 (6f, 1 ‘65’, 1 s/l), T Murphy; E O’Mahony 1-0, C Murphy, J Cott 0-1; S Curtin 0-1, A Morrissey, D O’Callaghan. Subs: S Tobin for S Curtin, Donnacha Gayer for T Murphy, S O’Callaghan for D O’Callaghan, O’Callaghan for K O’Mahony, T Murphy for A Lucey.