Drumcullen saunter into semi-finals with comfortable win

WHILE it took them a while to find their feet, Drumcullen confirmed their favourites tag here as they qualified for the semi-finals of the Intermediate Hurling Championship with a comfortable win over Edenderry in the quarter-final in O'Connor Park on Sunday afternoon.

Molloy Environmental Systems Intermediate Hurling Championship quarter-final

Drumcullen 1-20

Edenderry 0-11

With Edenderry having shipped a couple of heavy beatings in their last two group games, it was impossible to make a case for them winning here but the 2022 junior champions certainly fought with everything they had in the first half. Ultimately, however, they were well beaten and while Drumcullen will have to improve to win a championship, they are where they want to be.

The underdogs were actually the better side for the opening twenty minutes or so. They never took the lead but competed very well and were level on three occasions in the opening 22 minutes. Dylan Foy got three fine first half points for them and Drumcullen seemed surprised and unsettled by Edenderry's work ethic.

The south Offaly side, relegated from senior “B” last year, did not match that in the first quarter but as the half progressed, they got their intensity levels up. Level at 0-5 each after 22 minutes, Drumcullen took control coming up to half time, outscoring the losers by 1-4 to 0-1 for a 1-10 to 0-6 half time lead.

The goal came from Conor Gath in the 26th minute, a fine finish after Donal Guinan did very well to pick him out. Gath also got a point as Drumcullen finally clicked into a high gear and they were very much in the driving seat at the break.

The second half emerged in a similar vein with Edenderry working hard but Drumcullen's half time lead was a big enough of a margin to ensure that no anxiety emerged. They didn't set the world on fire, definitely didn't make any big statement of intent but they always had enough in the tank to win.

Both sides struggled to score from play for a while. Eoin Gath got three frees and only Leslie Nolan scored from play for Edenderry as both sides scored three apiece in the third quarter to leave Drumcullen ahead by 1-13 to 0-9. Danny Maher eventually got Drumcullen's first second half point from play in the 45th minute, followed quickly by John Murray and sub Joe McCarthy as Drumcullen eased 1-16 to 0-9 clear.

There was no chance of Edenderry pulling back that deficit and the closing minutes was a bit of a non event. Drumcullen did enough to stay well out of sight without tiring themselves out for the semi-final and it all ended very comfortably as Edenderry vainly hunted for late goals.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Dermot Gath (Drumcullen): All the contenders were in the blue and sash of Drumcullen. The choice is centre half back Dermot Gath, who mopped up a lot of ball and distributed some of it with pinpoint accuracy into his forwards. Full back, John Cashin was also a serious contender as he was very solid in an almost understated way while Eoin Gath had a productive afternoon in attack and Conor Gath and John Murray scored very well.

THE SCORERS

Drumcullen: Eoin Gath 0-7 (6f and 1 '65'), Conor Gath 1-3, John Murray 0-4, Brian Pardy 0-2, Mark Kennedy jnr, Danny Maher, Damien Spain and Joe McCarthy 0-1 each.

Edenderry: Loughlin Walsh 0-6 (4f and 2 '65s'), Dylan Foy 0-3, Leslie Nolan 0-1.

THE TEAMS

DRUMCULLEN: Harry Ryan; Donal Mahon, John Cashin, Barry O'Meara; Ciaran Guinan, Dermot Gath, Mark Kennedy jnr; Stephen Hanrahan, Danny Maher; Eoin Gath, Donal Guinan, Brian Pardy; John Murray, Conor Gath, Damien Spain. Subs – Joe McCarthy for Spain (44m), Sean Hynes for Maher (53m), Fiachra Dooley for Murray (59m),

EDENDERRY: Stephen Guilfoyle; Mark Byrne, Eoin Dunne, Cathal Farrell; Lorcan O'Dwyer, Briain Nolan, Mark Abbott; Loughlin Walsh, Martin Keogh; Alan Harte, Ryan O'Neill, Leslie Nolan; Shane Kelly, Tom Mangan, Dylan Foy. Subs – Ciaran Breen for Kelly (HT), Oisin O'Grady for O'Neill (44m), Callum Dunne for Mangan (50m), Cathal Nolan for Farrell (57m), Sean McMahon for Keogh (62m),

Referee – Brian Gavin (Clara),.