Donohoe inspires Denn to impressive win
Nine-point victory for Crosskeys men
Denn 1-18
Swanlinbar 1-9
Paul Fitzpatrick at St Phelim's Park
Denn coasted to a nine-point win in their opening Junior Championship match against a new-look Swanlinbar side at Drumalee this evening.
Swad, boosted by the arrival of a number of Corlough players, got off to a great start in the competition with a win over Drung but there was a clear gulf here as Denn looked better in most sectors, particularly up front where Thomas Edward Donohoe was outstanding.
Donohoe, currently part of the Cavan senior panel, finished with 1-8 to his name but he got good support from Ben Conaty while at midfield, Oisin Kiernan stood out for the winners.
That's not to say they had it all their own way; at times, the west Cavanmen played some nice football and Ruairi Curran looked a potential matchwinner as he notched 0-4 from play in the first half but as the game wore on, the supply slowed down while the experienced Tomás Corr got to grips with the challenge and dominated after the break.
The first five scores of the match went to Denn in the opening 10 minutes. Donohoe opened the scoring with a free after being fouled himself before Kieran set Conaty up for his first and then the latter laid off for Donohoe to cut inside and find the bottom corner with a cool finish.
Further scores from Conor Smyth and Cian McCann (free after a foul on Donohoe) put seven between them before Curran opened Swad's account with a stylish point from their first attack.
Conaty added another off the left which was cancelled out by a spectacular soccer-style point from Curran. Moments later, the former Cavan minor latched on to a ball over the top and tried to lob goalkeeper Mark Fegan but his effort flew inches over the crossbar to make it 1-5 to 0-3 on 16 minutes.
Donohoe won another free which McCann converted as the game ebbed from end to end. Darren McTaggart sent over a free after Corr fouled Curran but two Donohoe frees and one from play by McCann made it 1-9 to 0-4.
Curran was on fire at this stage and he took a long pass from Damien Leydon and flung over a cracking point but he was living off scraps and at the other end, the Denn forwards had a plentiful supply.
McTaggart and McCann traded frees before Donohoe, who was involved in almost all of Denn's scores, found Conaty for another to make it 1-11 to 0-6 at half-time.
On the restart, Donohoe registered again with an excellent strike and after Kiernan won a kick-out, Conaty split the posts again off the left to make it 1-13 to 0-6.
McTaggart (free) and Donohoe (attacking mark) exchanged scores again before Swanlinbar grabbed a lifeline when a McTaggart 45 fell invitingly for Dylan O'Sullivan, who swivelled and despatched his shot to the net.
But Donohoe responded with two frees, one won by himself and the other by his brother Sean to put eight between them again. On the home stretch, Swanlinbar managed two more points from Fionán McGovern and an eye-catching effort from McTaggart but Denn had a long-range free from goalkeeper Mark Fegan and another free from Donohoe as they eased home with nine to spare.
With Cavell Keogan to return, Stephen Baxter's side are in a strong position but will know there is a long way to go yet. Swanlinbar, meanwhile, need another win to be sure of making the last eight and on the evidence of their best form here, they should secure it.
Denn: Mark Fegan (0-1f), Andrew Cusack-Smith, Tomás Corr, Micheál Gaffney, Mark McSherry, Bernard Gaffney, James Brady, Stephen McPartland, Oisin Kiernan, Jamie Reilly, Cian McCann (0-4, 3f), Conor Smyth (0-1), Sean Donohoe, Thomas Edward Donohoe (1-8, 6f, 1m), Ben Conaty (0-4)
Subs: Cormac Cusack-Smith, Shane Galligan, Bernard Galligan, Conor O'Reilly
Swanlinbar: Gerry Scollan, Jamie Briody, Thomas O'Brien, John Joe McGovern, Damien Leydon, Ryan Prior, Adrian McGovern, Breffni McKiernan, Dillon O'Brien, Ryan Maher, Darren McTaggart (0-4, 3f), Fionnán McGovern (0-1), Joey O'Brien, Ruairí Curran (0-4), Paul Cassidy
Subs: Dylan O'Sullivan (1-0), Shane McGovern