Tyholland run riot in Ulster intermediate championship curtain-raiser in Clones

Tyholland proved far too strong in every department for Down intermediate champions Downpatrick in what turned out to be a one-sided Ulster intermediate club championship preliminary round game in Clones on Sunday last.

  Tyholland laid the foundations for victory with a scintillating start that saw them blitz them the Downpatrick lads with a 2-4 barrage in the opening ten minutes.

  It was a battering from which Downpatrick never recovered and it was only a measure of good fortune and some timely interventions on their goal-line in the second half that kept them from being completely white washed.

  Tyholland started without the services of Kevin McQuaid at full-back but even in his absence they dealt more than capably with anything Downpatrick threatened.

  With Cyril Ronaghan and Brian McArdle dominating in midfield, Tyholland were in almost total control throughout as Raymond Ronaghan, Paul Coyle and Paul Askin in particular simply ravaged the Downpatrick defence with the pace and power of their game. 

  Raymond Ronaghan in particular was in devastating form with his ability to win clean possession, his pace off the mark and his finishing skills for such a big man marking him down as a special talent on the day. His effortless conversion of a penalty in the opening minute of the second-half underlined his burgeoning talents and it will be no surprise, if the big full forward is back in the county colours come McKenna Cup time in January. 

  Downpatrick for their part were forced to make a number of changes before the start but even that could not fully explain their faltering performance when they were simply overpowered in practically every position.  Former All-Ireland winners Gregory and Gérard Deegan tried everything they could while Kevin Gracey and Karl Oakes fought manfully throughout but always against superior odds with Tyholland's dominance never really threatened at any stage. Half-time score read –  Tyholland 2-9, Downpatrick 0-3.

  Any chance that Downpatrick had of making anything resembling a contest of it was dealt a blow in the opening minute of the second half when Tyholland were awarded a penalty after Paul Coyle was grounded on his way through. Raymond Ronaghan stroked home the spot kick with consummate ease to put his side 15 points in front and no way back for the Mourne men.

  One of the few bright spots for Downpatrick came in the 22nd minute when Gregory Deegan scored a great solo goal to give a slightly better degree of respectability to the final tally but in the end they were a well beaten side.

  Tyholland – Ciaran Boyce; Daniel Connolly, Gary McQuaid, Brendan McQuillan; Peadar Farrelly 0-2, Ronan McNally, Owen Roe Kavanagh; Cyril Ronaghan, Brian McArdle 0-1; Paul Coyle 1-0, Raymond Ronaghan 1-3, Karl O'Connell; Shane Treanor 0-3, Paul Askin 1-3, James McQuaid 0-2.

  Subs: Paul McQuaid 0-1 for B McArdle, Kevin McQuaid 0-2 for P. Askin, John McQuaid for S. Treanor, James McStravog for K. O'Connell.

  Downpatrick –  G. Brown; Sean Bell, David Turley, David McAuley; Danny Carville, Philip Oakes, Mark Trainor; Gregory Deegan 1-2, Kevin Gracey; Caolin Boyd, Karl Oakes 0-2, Joseph Starkey; Marty Robinson, Gerard Deegan 0-1, Tony McShane. 

  Subs: Barry Gracey for G. Brown, Damien Turley for J. Starkey, Peter McKenna 0-2 for T. McShane, John Connolly for D. McAuley, J. R. Louden for C. Boyd.

  Referee: Padraig Hughes (Armagh).