Chapman happy to make it through to the decider
Z Brookeboro 2-06 Z Newtown 2-15
NEWTOWNBUTLER booked their place in the Junior Championship final at the second time of asking after they defeated Brookeborough last Saturday at Shamrock Park.
Darren Chapman’s side were defeated in the first semi-final against Aghadrumsee a week earlier but made no mistake at the second time of asking.
After the win, Manager Chapman said: “We are happy to have got past Brookeborough to give us an opportunity in the final.
“I am expecting a very tough game against Aghadrumsee in two weeks and nothing short of our absolute best will do if we want to be successful against them.
“The performance against Brookeborough will not be enough and we know that, so there is a lot of work to be done in the next couple of weeks to get ready.”
The sides went into half time separated by six points at 1-02 to 1-08 in favour of ‘Newtown.
James Connolly and Ryan Carson were at the forefront of the scoring for the winners as Connolly bagged 1-03 while Carson kicked four points.
Jason Flanagan scored Newtowbutler’s other goal in the second half as Diarmuid King (3), Ger O’keefe, Jamie Mccaffrey, Sean Conlon, Conor Courtney and Donal Mcdaid all added points.
Aidan Boyle scored a goal and two points for Brookeborough, with Paddy Boyle also finding the net.
Conor Goodwin (2), Zak Kyle and Damian Curran made up the rest of their scores.
Brookeborough boss Barry Mckenna said: “Newtownbutler got off to a great start which gave us a mountain to climb. When we got settled, we did cause trouble, but we can have no complaints and we were just beaten by the better team on the day.
“Newtownbutler are Championship favourites for a reason, and I wish them all the best in the final.
“Overall, we can look at our season as a work in progress and definitely going in the right direction. They are a great bunch of lads to work with and I really hope they can push on again next season. It’s now time to consider what is best for the club, recharge and hopefully see Brookeborough compete again in the business end of seasons to come.”
Newtownbutler will face Aghadrumsee in Brewster Park on Sunday October to decide this year’s Junior Championship winners.