Cavan Junior Football Championship

Drung 1-8 Butlersbridge 1-5 DRUNG, one of the favourites for this year"s Junior Championship got a fright when they were pushed all the way by a determined Butlersbridge side in the opening round of this year"s championship. Eventually they came out on top by three points, 1-8 to 1-5 in Annalee Park, Ballyhaise, but not before a few anxious moments. While they will be happy with the result they will have to improve if they want to go all the way. Despite trailing for most of the encounter the "Bridge never threw in the towel and at one stage early in the second-half managed to draw level despite playing second fiddle for most of the encounter. It certainly was not a classic by any stretch of the imagination but being the first round of the championship the result was the most important thing. Drung will not be too concerned about their performance at this early stage but as the competition progresses they will have to show improvement. When they moved the ball quickly they had the Bridge on the back foot but failed to put any distance between them and their opponents. Always in control Drung"s counter-attacking style had the Bridge under pressure for most of the opening half but by the break they were only ahead by two points 0-4 to 0-2. They were always in control and while their approach play was excellent on many occasions it didn"t produce an end product. In truth they should have been in a much stronger position at the interval but that was due mainly to the dogged resistance of the "Bridge. Constant threat Drung were first to the ball in many areas and launched many attacks with man of the match Barry Watters having an outstanding game at wing half back and not afraid to join in the attack. He was a constant thorn in the Bridge side throughout. With Karl O"Rourke rock solid at full-back and Ronan Crowe and Alan Curran not giving much away the Bridge attack was living off scraps. Ciaran Galligan caught the eye in midfield and put in a powerful display. Up front, Michael McEntee was accurate from frees, while Shane O"Rourke, Fergal Hueston and Martin Reilly all got on the score sheet. The Bridge will be happy with their overall performance and a similar approach in the qualifiers will see them go a long way. They were always in contention and early in the second half managed to draw level but could not forge ahead at any stage. However, Brendan Nelligan will be far happier with his sides second half performance as his charges almost pulled off a shock win. The ploy of playing Noel McPhillips as a lone attacker did not pay the dividends they had hoped. While he won a lot of possession the momentum of many attacks was lost as he lacked support. He caused the Drung defence a lot of problems but he required more assistance. Mulvey at midfield Switching county man Lorcan Mulvey from full forward to midfield was a winner as he was the fulcrum of most of the "Bridge attacks. With half backs Paul Murphy and Andrew McConnell willing to get forward at every opportunity they gave Drung plenty to think about. McPhillips got great assistance from Micheal Fitzpatrick and Oisin Henry. Drung got off to flyer and dominated the early possession and were three points ahead through McEntee (two) and Hueston. They called the shots for the opening 15 minutes but they didn"t make it count on the scoreboard. Mulvey and Murphy combined well for the "Bridge opening score when the latter fired over but another free from McEntee restored Drung"s three point advantage. Just before the interval,John Shannon pointed a free to keep the Bridge in touch 0-4 to 0-2. Martin Reilly taking a pass from the impressive Watters fired over and it looked as if Brung were going to continue where they left off. The "Bridge had other ideas and rocked Drung with a well executed goal. Brian Greenan fed the over lapping Andrew McConnell who drilled a low shot to the back of the net to tied the game at 1-2 to 0-5. Moments later they almost took the lead when a speculative shot from Oisin Henry almost caught the Drung defence off guard but the danger was cleared. Shane O"Rourke steadied their nerves when he restored their lead. They pressed home their advantage when O"Rourke rifled home a tremendous shot. Once again Watters was involved and his telling pass released O"Rourke who made no mistake from close range. The introduction of Senan Flanagan for the final ten minute gave the Bridge renewed hope for within minutes he fired over two points to leave just two between the teams with three minutes remaining. It was Drung who held their nerve however with sub Killian Monaghan sending over a wonderful point from the right wing. Flanagan replied immediately for the Bridge but O"Rourke ensured there was not going to be an upset when he pointed deep into injury time. Drung - James Reilly; Finbarr Reilly, Karl O"Rourke, Sean Fay; Ronan Crowe, Alan Curran, Barry Watters; Ciaran Galligan, Aidan McCaul; Philip Monaghan, Shane O"Rourke (1-2); Fergal Hueston (0-1); Martin Reilly (0-1), Noel Hueston, Michael McEntee (0-3). Subs Killian Monaghan (0-1) for P. Monaghan, Sean Johnston for M. McEntee. "Bridge - Niall McCorry; Mark Shannon, Padraig Murphy, Kieran Greenan; Brian Greenan, Paul Murphy (0-1); Andrew McConnell (1-0); Eamon Diver, Matthew Boylan; Darren Fitzpatrick, Micheal Fitzpatrick, John Shannon (0-1); Noel McPhillips, Lorcan Mulvey, Oisin Henry. Subs. Carlos Conlon for D. Fitzpatrick, Martin Fitzpatrick for J. Shannon, Donal Leddy for Padraig Murphy, and Senan Flanagan (0-3) for E. Diver. Referee. Raymond Tynan, Ramor United.