An abysmal
Dundrum performance was
exploited by a ruthless
Darragh Cross team at a soggy
St Mochai's Park on Saturday
evening. Darragh, who look
every bit a potential Division
2 side, made mince meat of
their opponents with a classy
display which left their
rivals in tatters at the final
whistle.
Des
McNeill's charges were very
strong in every department.
Michael McMahon's kickouts
were very accurate in terms of
finding the dominant midfield
pairing of Peter Swail and
Padraig Mageean. In the
defence it was Paddy and
Eugene Murray who kept the
Duns at bay. They marked
tightly and kept their cool
under some stern pressure
especially towards the end of
the game.
Further on
up the pitch the forward unit
operated at ease despite a few
positional reshuffles due to
the absence of Marty Healy,
Liam Sloan and the predatory
Gary Kennedy. Gareth McGovern
was in lethal form from set
peices while the foraging Tom
McMahon provided a plentiful
supply of ball to the sharp
shooting Eoin Mageean and the
impressive Hugh Murray.
There were
very little positives from a
Dundrum point of view in
regards to this defeat.
However, Martin Melville did
stand out at full back after
holding Tom McMahon scoreless
from play. Again the same can
be said for Philip Shields who
kept Marcus Miskelly from
splitting the posts for the
duration of the game.
Once again
Paul McComiskey proved to be a
real threat after notching up
0-05 but it was his comrades
in the forward line who failed
to shoulder the responsibility
for bulking up the scoreboard.
The game itself was
interspersed by torrential
downpours of very heavy rain
and bright spells. This made
the underfoot conditions
treacherous. However, the
starting fifteen of Darragh
looked as sure footed as
mountain goats as they made
light work of cutting through
the turf at pace.
It was from the boot of Gareth
McGovern that the first score
of the game arrived.
McGovern's effort was the
result of some great build up
play from Marcus Miskelly.
Talented midfield man Padraig
Mageean then doubled Darragh's
lead with a long range punt.
Dundrum replied with a
McComiskey free but Hugh
Murray cancelled this out with
a close range strike. However,
McComiskey kept battling in
the Duns forward line and his
perserverance payed off with a
wonderfully executed
individual effort.
From this moment on Darragh
assumed control. They hit
hard, passed the ball well and
delivered some telling balls
in to their forward line. The
latter caused no end of
problems for the Dundrum
rearguard as they persistently
fouled which let McGovern bag
four frees in a row to give
Darragh a healthy 0-07 to 0-02
lead.
Towards the end of the 1st
half Kieran Walsh took on his
captain's role and delivered
Dundrum's third point of the
game. Yet Darragh always had
an answer and the tricky Eoin
Mageean pointed from a
difficult angle. Then on the
stroke of half time McComiskey bagged
once again to leave Darragh in
charge by 0-08 to 0-04 at the
break.
The Duns needed to alter their
gameplan at the interval but
this did not happen as Darragh
continued to dominate
proceedings. Eoin Mageean
raised the white flag early on
before McGovern slammed over a
hat trick of scores to put
Darragh eight ahead.
Midway through the half
McNeill threw on a couple of
subs and as Darragh attempted
to get organised once more the
Duns took hold of the game for
a five minute period. Martin
Coughlan (0-01) and McComiskey
(0-02) were the hitmen as
Darragh's lead was cut to six.
However, Darragh weathered the
storm and showed true
character to fight back.
McGovern was to the fore again
as he replied instantly while
the two Darragh replacements
got their name on the
scoresheet to round of an
impressive performance.
Darragh have tasted Division 2
football before and in all
truth they were unlucky to
lose their status in the
second tier last year. Judging
on their dominance of this
grade over the past seven
months they look more than
capable of returning to their
former hunting ground.
Dundrum: C.King, J.McMullan,
M.Melville, M.Rooney,
P.Shields, M.Cunningham,
J.McKibben, K.Walsh (0-01),
J.Hurley, C.McShane,
P.McComiskey (0-05),
D.Kavanagh, C.Venney, P.Doran,
M.Coughlan (0-01). Subs:
M.McKibbin, P.Rooney.
Dundrum GFC Club Notes
* The Seniors were well beaten
by Darragh Cross in the League
on Saturday past. The North
Down side cruised to a 0-15 to
0-07 win.
This Saturday the Seniors are
due to play Bright in their
final game of the season.
However, confirmation of this
game will made at training
which will take place tonight
(Wednesday) at 6.45pm sharp.
* Well done to Declan Kavanagh
who has been selected for the
2006/2007 St Colman's, Newry,
MacRory Cup team. Also
congratulations are in order
for Paul Rooney and Richard
Fitzsimons who have been
picked for the St Patrick's,
Downpatrick, MacLarnon Cup
team.
* The U-12's and U-10's were
in Go Games action on Saturday
morning. They attended the
blitz with a large squad and
all 41 of the Dundrum boys and
girls got a peice of the
footballing action. Although
results are completely
immaterial with this venture
it was pleasing to see the
U-12's win all their games
with wins over St Johns,
Teconnaught and Liatroim.
* Best wishes go to Senior
team midfielder Aaron Doyle
who has gone to the University
of Buckinghamshire in England
to complete his studies.
Everyone wishes you well!
* The Club's Annual Dinner
Dance will take place on
Friday the 17th of November in
the Slieve Donard Hotel.
