Under 21- B Championship Semi Final

Glenfarne/Kiltyclogher 2-11 Dromahair 1-6

With Niall Clancy in sparkling form, Glenfarne/Kiltyclogher secured their place in Saturday’s U-21 B Championship final after a hard fought win against north Leitrim rivals Dromahair.

With the torrential rain not conducive to good football and making life difficult for both sides it was Glenfarne/Kiltyclogher who made the better start to the proceedings in Pairc Sean on Saturday last. Four unanswered points from Padraic Sweeney (2), Niall Clancy and Fergal Clancy helped Glenfarne/Kiltyclogher race into an early lead.  Dromahair responded in the best possible manner as Gerard Dolan opened their account with a 15th minute goal which he struck with real power and conviction from 35 yards out. The tough weather conditions undoubtedly had an impact on both sets of players and a further 10 minutes passed before the next score was registered. That score proved to be a significant one for Glenfarne/Kilty as Ronan McGowan was brought down and Fergal Clancy put the resulting penalty past Dromahair goalkeeper John McGoldrick for his side’s opening goal.  Dromahair responded well to that setback and registered two successive points from the boot of Sean McTiernan, one of which was from a free. However, it was Glenfarne/Kilty who finished the half to the fore as they struck through Niall Clancy and Shane McLoughlin to leave the score 1-6 to 1-2 at the interval.

Dromahair had a let-off in the opening stages off the second half when Danny McDermott cleared off his own line. Glenfarne/Kilty continued to pressurise the Dromahair defence and that pressure was rewarded with three unanswered Niall Clancy points. Although now trailing by seven points, Dromahair staged a rally and dominated the game for the next 10 minutes. The unfortunate aspect for them was that they were unable to convert their period of dominance into enough scores to get them back into contention.  Gerard Kelly scored Dromahair’s opening point of the half before Dennis O’Rourke struck with two frees. Dromahair may well have felt it wasn’t going to be there day when Gerard Kelly’s effort struck the crossbar and when he pounced on the rebound he was denied by Francis Keaney who made a fine save. The introduction of Stephen McManus to the Glenfarne/Kiltyclogher side had an immediate impact as he struck for a fine goal and a point shortly after his introduction. The scoring was completed by Dromahair’s Gerard Kelly who struck from 40 yards but ultimately it was not enough to deny Glenfarne/Kilty who will now face Melvin Gaels in Saturday’s final.

Glenfarne/Kiltyclogher: Francis Keaney, Shane Ferguson, Paul Gilligan, John Sheerin, Sean McManus, Dermot Harkin, Diarmuid Clancy, Fergal Clancy, Niall Clancy, Shane Loughlin, Padraig Sweeney, Ronan McGowan. Sub Stephen McManus for McGowan.

Dromahair: John McGoldrick, Danny McDermott, Martin Clancy, Gerard Dolan, David Cassidy, Jamie Conlan, Ciaran Maguire, Adrian Fowley, David McDermott, Gerard Kelly, Dennis O’Rourke, Declan Fowley, Sean McTiernan

(c) Leitrim Observer 2009