Down IFC 1st Round: Dundrum 0-09 Teconnaught 1-02

Down IFC 1st Round: Dundrum 0-09 Teconnaught 1-02

The slippery pastures of Pairc Thomas Russell, Downpatrick, provided the setting for what turned out to be a very disappointing Championship encounter between two equally matched Division 3 sides.

The heavy downpours which had customised the early part of Saturday morning left the pitch like a skating rink with little to no grip for the players. Nevertheless both teams battled on and in the end it was the greater graft of the Dundrum contingent which saw them progress to the Quarter Finals.

It was Dundrum's Paul McComiskey who hit the first score of the game after five minutes. The intercounty starlet showed some neat footwork and an excellent turn of pace before converting a close range effort.

McComiskey's classy point was soon forgot about though as Teconnaught replied with a three pointer. It came about after referee Peter Brannigan awarded a penalty after Philip Shields brought down Conor Heath in the box. A very confident Niall Sweeney was designated to hit the kick and his manager's confidence in his set peice abilities was well founded as the teenager sunk his effort in to the net to give the Annacloy side a two point lead.

In truth the Teconnaught penalty was only a slight setback for the Duns as they soon got back in to the stride of things with a Kieran Walsh free. Just after this the Baysiders cause was helped along after Teconnaught midfielder Simon Kerr was given a straight red after punching Paul McComiskey. This one man advantage allowed John McKibben to be deployed as a spare man at the back and in truth this was the master stroke which turned the game.

When things calmed down after the red card Kieran Walsh got himself on the scoresheet again with a wonderfully executed long range score. This was tagged on to by Chris Hogg to put the Duns back in to the lead by a point.

During these latter stages of the 1st half scoring chances were few and far between. With the ball spilling everywhere defences were coming out on top and with Dundrum dangerman McComiskey being well shackled, scoring opportunities were being severely limited.

With most of the action now taking place between the two 45's, a rare Teconnaught attack did yield a result. Damien Mulholland sliced his shot over the bar to draw his team level. This was to be the last score of the half.

The 2nd half turned out to be a damp squib. Dundrum used their player advantage wisely and this led to them bossing the last thirty minutes. Teconnaught had to resort to long balls which were continually repelled by the superb full back line of man of the match John McKibben, Philip Shields and Neil McComiskey. On the otherhand, the Duns dominated possession but in hindsight they may have been slightly disappointed that they didnt notch up more scores.

Conor McShane was the man to open the 2nd half's scoring stakes. The hard working wing forward's point put his team in the lead by the minimum. This lead was cut short soon after by Teconnaught's Gary Fitzsimons. This score would turn out to be his side's only one of the half.

With Teconnaught lacking penetration up front Dundrum adopted a slow build up approach to their play. This resulted in scores from Kieran Walsh and Paul McComiskey. Following these flag raisers the Duns wasted a few chances with McComiskey spurning a glorious goal chance.

As the 2nd half dragged on both entities play became laboured and as result the passages became sloppy. Teconnaught had a rare but at the same time scorable chance to get back in to the game through full forward Kieran McNamara. The bustling target man bore down on goal but had his first drive superbly saved by Dundrum's Colum King. As the ball spilled McNamara luanched a kick at it but once again King denied Teconnaught with another dramatic save.

That missed goal chance proved costly for the Annacloy side and Dundrum punished them immediately with Cormac Venney and Kieran Walsh extending their lead to four. Incidentally, Walsh's free was the last score of the game from either side.

With a couple of minutes to go Dundrum looked home and dry and four points was a comfortable cushion to hold on to. However, in the final minute Teconnaught won their second penalty of the night. Up stepped Niall Sweeney, the scorer of the first. This time though nerves got the better of the young defender and he blasted his shot wide. Ultimately, this was game over as Peter Brannigan blew his full time whistle from the resulting kickout.

Without beating about the bush, this was a truly dour game. Dundrum always looked the better equipped though and that great essence of hunger saw them through once again. John McKibben was the star man on show for them. His timely interceptions, clever distributions and tenacious tackling kept the Teconnaught attack at bay. Others to shine in a compact defence were the attacking minded John Hurley and Johnny McMullan. Kieran Walsh was superb once more in midfield weighing in with important scores at crucial times. In the attack Paul Rooney got through a lot of work as did Martin Coughlan but in summation the Teconnaught backs had the rub of the green against their opponents in this area.

Teconnaught were poor and the early sending off of Simon Kerr proved too costly a setback. Yet Sammy Madine, Gary Fitzsimons, Niall Sweeney and Damien Mulholland did put in a good hours work.

The Duns will have have to raise their performance quite considerably for the Quarter Finals. A much tougher test awaits but it will be a test that the Baysiders will truly relish.


Dundrum: C.King, N.McComiskey, P.Shields, J.McKibben, J.McMullan, J.Hurley, D.Kavanagh, K.Walsh (0-04, 2F), A.Doyle, C.McShane (0-01), P.McComiskey (0-02, 1F), C.Hogg (0-01), P.Rooney, C.Venney (0-01), M.Coughlan. Subs: NJ McLaughlin, M.Melville, M.Cunningham.