A warm but very windy Ballyclough was the deal when Dromtarriffe faced city opposition St Vincent’s.

From the throw in, Dromtarriffe started like with pace and class, an early point from Daniel O Keeffe, settled the nerves, if there was any in today’s championship fixture.

Conor O Callaghan pointed a free that was result from an attempt on goal before O Callaghan again raised the white flag from play and from a 45.

7 minutes in and Brian O Keeffe got his name on the score sheet and momentum was certainly in favour of the Duhallow side. From the St Vincent’s kick out, good attacking link play between Daniel O Keeffe and O Callaghan who played the ball into Darren O Connor who was only going for one thing which was to rattle the net and the task was achieved which saw Dromtarriffe lead 1-4 to 0-2 in the first 10 minutes. St Vincent’s raised the flag 3 times unanswered before Evan Murphy tapped the ball over the bar on the 18th minute.

With the breeze swirling into the top corner of the field, it wasn’t a huge bonus to either side but it was an aid to the long ball in and certainly a threat to both goalkeepers. Another attempt on goal for Dromtarriffe just before half time was deflected out of a 45 from a defender and O Callaghan slotted it between the posts before Aidan Downey got the last score of the first half. Half Time Score Dromtarriffe: 1-8 St Vincents: 0-6

Questions were certainly asked of St Vincent’s and they certainly came out all guns blazing. St Vincent’s only had a goal in their mind and Dan Mann had the answer for them. Dan made some vital saves to keep they clean sheet and was a huge influence on Dromtarriffe’s victory.

Two points from Brian O Keeffe kept the scoreboard ticking over for Dromtarriffe and with a St Vincent’s player committing a text book Black Card and sent to the sideline, the possibility of victory was looking near for Dromtarriffe but it was St Vincent’s that took the advantage of the man down. St Vincent’s attacked at Dromtarriffe with power but some fantastic saves from Mann were vital. Unfortunately some missed scores in the second have by Dromtarriffe put themselves under fierce pressure but O Callaghan took his opportunities and kept Dromtarriffe just in front with 10 minutes to go. Another O Callaghan point on the 28th minute surly felt like this was the secured win but little did they know there was 6 minutes of added time to come.

St Vincent’s threw everything at Dromtarriffe in the last 7 minutes and the sides were level at 34 minutes. Jack Murphy raced up the field to support the forwards and an eagle eyed Murphy called for the ball and raised the white flag on the 35 minute but there was still more time to go. St Vincent’s won the kick-out and high pitched screams filtered through the grounds as St Vincent’s attacked but Dromtarriffe defended well and put the pressure on which caused St Vincent’s to fumble the ball, pick the ball off the ground and a free out to Dromtarriffe. The referee let it play on for a further few seconds before a sense of relief was felt in the Dromtarriffe crowd. Dromtarriffe are now Top of the group with their second win ahead of their last game against Glanworth on September 9th. Full Time in Ballyclough, Dromtarriffe: 1-13 St Vincents: 0-15

Dromtarriffe: Dan Mann, Mark Dennehy, Michael O Brien, Ray Daly, Jamie Kelleher, Jack Murphy 0-1, Sean Howard, Adam Buckley, Daniel O Keeffe 0-1, Aidan Downey 0-1, Conor O Callaghan 0-6 (0-4f), Brian O Keeffe 0-3, Evan Murphy 0-1, Denis O Donoghue, Darren O Connor 1-0. Subs : Mark O Connor for O Donoghue and Brandon Murphy for Downey.