Donnelly Group Armagh Senior Football Championship:
Crossmaglen Rangers 2-13 Dromintee 1-10
CROSSMAGLEN’S quest for their 20tht Senior Club Championship title win in 21 years remains intact after they stumbled past a determined Dromintee on Sunday night.
With light fading fast in a wet Cullyhanna, Rangers were missing key personnel and unlike previous seasons it showed. Dromintee dominated the middle sector but didn’t have enough quality in the final third to inflict damage on the title holders.
Rangers raced in front with three points in as many of the opening minutes from debutants Stephen Morris and Sean McConville as well as the ever reliant Aaron Kernan.
But Crossmaglen failed to push on and Dromintee took control of the middle sector with Aaron McKay, Gareth McCrink and Aaron Boyle catching the eye. Barry Toner opened Dromintee’s account with a point but on 18 minutes McConville palmed Crossmaglen’s opening goal following an unselfish pass from Johnny Hanratty.
The right foot of Dromintee’s Cathal McKenna kept his side in touch as they trailed 1-08 to 0-5 at the break but Barry Toner’s goal only 40 seconds into the restart gave the Droms hope.
Toner followed up with a score to close the gap to two points but Rangers held firm and on 43 minutes the impressive Kyle Brennan, who won possession all evening, supplied the perfect pass for young Morris to tap into the net, for Crossmaglen’s second goal.
It was enough to get Rangers over the line but Tony Kernan and substitutes Micheal McCabe and Daniel Cunningham made sure with rally of points. This was not champagne football from Crossmaglen, but still they displayed enough vintage to do just enough to win.
Elsewhere, county Minor Kevin McAlinden grabbed an injury-time winner for Sarsfields to give them a 3-11 to 1-16 win over south Armagh side Forkhill. Goals from the evergreen Mark Reynolds and Colin Stevenson gave the Lurgan men a 2-07 to 1-06 lead at half-time. But with Jemar Hall among the scorers Forkhill battled back and even though Eamon McGeown bagged Sarsfields third goal the south Armagh side looked the most likely to win before McAlinden’s winning point.
MATCH STATS
Crossmaglen scorers: A Kernan (0-5, 0-3f), S McConville (1-2) S Morris (1-1), T Kernan (0-2, 1 f), M Boyce (0-1), M McCabe (0-1), D Cunningham (0-1).
Dromintee scorers: C McKenna (0-6, 0-6f), B Toner (1-2), A McKay (0-1), C Martin (0-1).
