Down ACFL Division 3 - Dundrum 3-17  Drumgath 1-14 

   Without any doubt this was Dundrum's best performance of the season to date. Unfazed by their recent back to back defeats, the Duns upped their performance a couple of notches to rout a Drumgath team which was brimming with county experience.

   With little to no wind blowing and a pristine surface to play on both teams knew that an open and exciting contest was in store. First to take responsibility for putting the first score on the board was Drumgath's Peter Hynds. The corner forward pointed a free after Dundrum's Johnny McMullan committed a foul. Straight after McMullan breached the rulebook again and this time his indiscretion was punished by the boot of James Costello.

   This was an encouraging start by Drumgath but they soon had their feathers ruffled when Conor McShane pointed for Dundrum. Packie Downey did reply for Drumgath but four quickfire scores from Chris Hogg (0-02), John Hurley (0-01) and McShane (0-01) put Dundrum in to the lead by two points for the first time in the game.

   Defender come forward Niall Fitzpatrick then took it upon himself to try and get his team back into the game. His well taken point got his side going again but Dundrum were quick to react through Aaron Doyle. The to-ing and fro-ing continued though as Peter Hynds guided over his second free of the night. Dundrum answered this through efforts from Paul McComiskey and Paul Rooney before Hynds popped up with his first from play to leave Drumgath trailing by two with seven minutes to go to halftime.

   In the modern game a productive period before halftime can really make or break a team. Dundrum knew deep down that if they could really get on top of Drumgath in these skirmishes then they would have enough in reserve to withstand a 2nd half barrage.

   As it turned out the Duns blitzed Drumgath with a tally of 2-02 in the space of five minutes to go in at the break with a ten point advantage. Kieran Walsh got the ball rolling with a 45' before the lively Conor McShane scored a supreme goal after latching on to an inch perfect long range pass from Paul McComiskey. The speedy Cormac Venney added to this with a well crafted individual score before Kieran Walsh breached Bernie Connell's goal mouth for the second time as he netted after plucking Johnny McMullan's long range ball out of the sky before smashing his shot in to the left corner.

   That devastating period of play from Dundrum before halftime left Drumgath reeling and they emerged in the 2nd half hungrier than ever to peg back the leaders. County man Packie Downey led by example as he lofted the ball over Colm King's crossbar. Kieran Walsh responded with a 21' but the next ten minutes belonged to Drumgath.

   Jackie Lynch and Downey started to dominate midfield and this give the forwards the confidence to attack at will. The man mountain Lynch took the game by the scruff of the neck and ventured forward to raise the white flag. Another Peter Hynds free and an account opener from centre half forward Cathal Grant really fired up the Drumgath engine. Lynch then pointed again before the masterful James Costello lived up to his reputation as a goalgetter when he found the Dundrum net after some indiscisiveness in the homesters backline.

   By this stage there was only a goal separating the teams. The game was finely poised and it was in situations like this in the past that Dundrum would have collpased. However, the adrenaline kicked in and the Duns went on to rule the roost for the remainder of the game.

   The never say die attitude of captain Kieran Walsh reverberated around his teamates and with the workhorse Martin Coughlan dropping deep, John McShane's side set forth with purpose.

   Walsh delivered a long range score before Paul McComiskey cut in and pointed at pace. The killer blow to Drumgath then arrived. Some fine interplay between Hogg and McComiskey created an opening for running wing back Johnny McMullan. McMullan gathered the ball at speed before dispatching his powerful effort to the net with the utmost confidence. This was game, set and match.

   McMullan followed his netbuster up with a long range free before the hard working McComiskey sent over his final contribution of the night. The Duns scoring spree was finished off by Martin Melville who incidentally had his best game in a Dundrum shirt so far this season.

   With Dundrum's job done and the result cemented the homeside used all five subs which once again stressed the importance of a squad mentality. Drumgath finished the stronger though with efforts from Packie Downey (0-02) and Cathal Grant (0-01) coming eitherside of yet another Kieran Walsh flag raiser.

   The key to this win for the Duns was player rotation. There were five positional changes made from the Bosco game and this seemed to breathe new air into what had become a stagnant formation. Colm King was assured in goals while his full back line was in total control especially Philip Shields in the centre. Johnny McMullan made a commanding return to wingback with a stellar performance despite a foul ridden start to the game. The midfield pairing of Doyle and Walsh battled like trojans throughout and despite a shaky period at the start of the 2nd half the duo went on to have strong games. The forward line as a whole worked tremendously well together but Paul McComiskey and Martin Coughlan must be singled out for their outstanding work ethic while Conor McShane with 1-02 to his name probably just shaded Kieran Walsh for the man of the match honours.

   Drumgath looked vulnerable at the back and 3-17 was a very big score to concede. County duo Jackie Lynch and Packie Downey seemed to be the Barnmeen sides biggest assets but as the game progressed they were relied on too much. In their attack Peter Hynds looked the most threatening from set peices while James Costello finished his goal well.

   With the run in to the playoffs now gathering pace both teams will have to keep fighting harder and harder to sustain their form. Mental toughness and hard work on the training ground are two key ingredients to success and Dundrum and Drumgath will need to adhere to both of them if they are to keep progressing.

Dundrum: C.King, J.McKibben, P.Shields, N.McComiskey, J.McMullan (1-01, 1F), J.Hurley (0-01), M.Melville (0-01), K.Walsh (1-04, 2F), A.Doyle (0-01), C.Hogg (0-02, 1F), P.McComiskey (0-03), C.McShane (1-02), P.Rooney (0-01), C.Venney (0-01), M.Coughlan. Subs: NJ McLaughlin, S.McGrattan, M.McKibbin, M.Cunningham, D.Kavanagh.