Newmarket hurlers outgun Dromtariffe in thrilling Duhallow Junior A final

Newmarket 4-14 Dromtariffe 2-13 

NEWMARKET denied Dromtariffe a four in a row to regain the E Tarrant and Sons Skoda Dealer Duhallow JAHC title after a four-year lapse in an exciting contest in the presence of a large attendance at Meelin.

A clinical display ended with Newmarket's 16 title, mainly thanks to a productive spell in the opening half, rewarded with four goals.

A shadow hung over the contest after the sudden passing of Dromtariffe chairman Seán Feely which necessitated a postponement last weekend and his memory was acknowledged with a minute’s silence prior to throw-in.

Newmarket were quickly into their stride with two goals inside the opening seven minutes. Hugh O’Connor made inroads from the right to drill home before a second green flag, O’Connor’s effort blocked only for namesake Barry O’Connor to nip in and oblige. Dromtariffe relied on free-taker Seán Howard to cut the deficit, 2-1 to 0-3.

Newmarket offered a sharper edge with O’Connor netting his second major. Dromtariffe attempted a recovery with a much-needed goal from Stephen Coyne.

Newmarket's defence was spearheaded by Man of the Match Josh O’Keeffe while a potent attack yielded telling scores. Dromtariffe keeper Dermot Cremin saved well from Cathal Browne before Newmarket tightened the screw from a fourth goal by full-forward Rory Lynn.

Dromtariffe made an effort to retrieve lost ground as Darren O’Connor blasted the sliotar off the crossbar before points from Kevin Cremin and Howard narrowed the arrears: 4-4 to 1-6.

The holders were let down by poor shot selection while a much slicker Newmarket found the target much easier, with Hannon and Barry O’Connor pointing.

Again Dromtariffe battled and twice narrowed the gap to five points but Newmarket regained the momentum with excellent points from Hannon, Conor O’Keeffe, Kevin O’Sullivan and Browne.

Deep into injury time, Dromtariffe grabbed a consolation goal from Daniel O’Keeffe.

After the full-time whistle, cheers rang out for Newmarket captain Conor O’Keeffe on accepting the famed John Joe Brosnan Memorial Cup, last won in 2019. Next up for Newmarket is a county quarter-final against Avondhu champions Harbour Rovers.

Scorers for Newmarket: H O’Connor 2-1, D Hannon 0-6 (0-3 f), B O’Connor 1-3, R Lynn 1-0, K O’Sullivan, C O’Keeffe, C Browne 0-1 each.

Dromtariffe: S Howard 0-8 f, S Coyne, D O’Keeffe 1-0 each, K Cremin, T Howard, C O’Callaghan, E Murphy, J Murphy 0-1 each.

NEWMARKET: S McAulliffe, P Allen, A Ryan, P Browne; A Browne, J O’Keeffe, M Browne; H O’Connor, J Ryan; C O’Keeffe, C Browne, B O’Connor; D Hannon, R Lynn, R O’Keeffe. 

Subs: K O’Sullivan for R O’Keeffe (4 inj), T Ryan for J Ryan (57), C O’Sullivan for P Browne (58), G Forde for J O’Keeffe (58), D Fitzpatrick for K O’Sullivan (60).

DROMTARIFFE: D Cremin; M O’Brien, C O’Callaghan, S McSweeney; M O’Gorman, J Murphy, J Kelleher; D O’Keeffe, K Cremin; A Healy, S Howard, B Murphy, D O’Connor, S Coyne, T Howard. 

Subs: E Murphy for S McSweeney (ht), R Daly for S Coyne (50).

Referee: W King (Kilbrin).