Howard's way fires deadly Dromtarriffe into last four of the junior hurling county

Dromtarriffe 2-18 Brian Dillon's 1-8 

A magnificent second half from Dromtarriffe ensured they booked a semi-final place against Lisgoold in the Co-Op Superstores JAHC following a comprehensive at Ovens.

The city champions were expected to make a bold bid for championship honours this season and despite putting a reasonable first half shift they were found wanting in the second period as they could only manage three points.

The Duhallow champions were quickest from the blocks and two unanswered points from Sean and Tomas Howard in the opening four minutes gave them the perfect start.

Although a John Horgan free got Dillon's up and running in the fifth minute they were punished two minutes later with a quality goal.

The energetic Tomás Howard caught a high ball before soloing and unleashing an unstoppable shot to the roof of the net.

As the half matured Dillon's began winning the majority of dirty ball that ensured them more possession.

The hurling in this period was excellent with Dillon's battling harder but at the water break, they trailed 1-4 to 0-3.

On the restart, Dillon's increased the tempo and a Horgan point coupled with an Andrew Murphy goal saw the city level proceedings at 1-4 each.

Credit to Dromtarriffe they responded in style and a Daniel O’Keeffe goal in the 29th minute ended a 13-minute drought.

The Duhallow champions went in at the break commanding a three-point lead, 2-5 to 1-5, but in the second half, their fitness and skill basically overwhelmed their city opponents.

When you look at Dillon's scoring in the second half all they could amass was a mere three points of which only one came from play.

In the end, despite their best efforts, they looked a well-beaten side as Dromtarriffe were simply at another level.

Scorers for Dromtarriffe: T Howard 1-6 (0-4 f), D O’Keeffe 1-0, C O’Callaghan, B Murphy 0-3 each, E Murphy, S Howard 0-2 each, J Murphy, S Cremin 0-1 each.

Brian Dillon's: J Horgan 0-7 (0-5 f), A Murphy 1-0, C McCarthy 0-1.

DROMTARRIFFE: D Cremin; R Daly, M O’Brien, D O’Connor; J Murphy, C O’Callaghan, C Cremin; M O’Connor, K Cremin; S Howard, T Howard, D O’Keeffe; B Murphy, E Murphy, J O’Sullivan.

Subs: S Cremin for J Murphy (37), D Dennehy for D O’Connor (48), M O’Gorman for C Cremin (54).

BRIAN DILLON'S: D Hourihane; K McCormack, M White, D Cremin; D O’Donoghue, J Noonan, D Brosnan; T Lawrence, A Murphy; R Murphy, C McCarthy, J Horgan; D Rodgers, D McCormack, C Brosnan.

Subs: K Mills for D O’Donoghue (38), J Murphy for R Murphy (50), D Murphy for A Murphy (52), P O’Brien for D McCormack (53), C Walsh for M White (55).

Referee: Pat Lyons (Bishopstown).