St. Paul’s/fonaCAB Ulster Minor Club Final
Dromintee (Armagh) v Clontibret (Monaghan)
Shaw’s Road Thursday 1.00pm
The New Year’s Day St. Paul’s/fonaCAB Ulster Minor Club football final has all the ingredients of a classic as the champions of Armagh, Dromintee take on their Monaghan counterparts, Clontibret.
Both sides have impressed on their way to Thursday’s decider with Clontibret producing a strong second half comeback to overcome the challenge of Bredagh in their semi-final while Dromintee came from behind to edge out a fancied Dungiven a week later to book their place in the New Year’s Day decider.
Clontibret looked in deep trouble against Bredagh in the first semi-final and conceded 3-2 in a five-minute period in the first half, but staged a strong comeback to overturn the Bredagh lead.
Midway through the first half, Tiernan Conway shot home and gave Bredagh the lead for the first time and it coincided with a five minute period of dominance where two further goals from Jack McConville had their side in front at the break.
However, the Belfast side went over 30-minutes without a score and Clontibret pressed on after hitting the front midway through the second half as they booked their return to the Shaw’s Road on New Year’s Day
It will have been a matter of concern for the Clontibret management that their defence was so easily pierced in the opening half but they seemed to have resolved that problem after the break and produced an exhibition of point taking that was mighty impressive.
The Monaghan champions hit 0-21 over the hour as an early Shane Byrne angled score had Clontibret on the front foot after the restart with Darragh Keenan adding a further point 60-seconds later.
The bare minimum separated the sides following a floated Oliver Kelly point and by the 42nd minute the Monaghan men were back on terms after Keenan’s long range attempt dropped short and Jack Brady fisted over the equaliser.
Clontibret hit the front for the first time since the 15th minute midway through the second half after Charlie Mone switched the play to Evan Treanor to pop over.
Treanor brought his tally to three for the afternoon and having already hit six-unanswered points, Darragh Keenan fisted over from close range. Mone and Treanor clipped over and Daniel Boylan split the posts in the 57th minute as Clontibret pushed on to win by four.
Armagh champions, Dromintee booked their place in the final with a 1-13-1-10 comeback win over 2022 champions St Canice’s Dungiven on St Stephen’s Day.
Dungiven started this one as slight favourites having taken out reigning champions, Four Masters in the quarter final and Paddy Higgins 23rd minute goal helped the Derry side to a 1-6-0-5 lead at the break, but after extending their half time advantage within the first ten minutes of the second half, they then went 22-minutes without a score.
In the intervening period Dromintee hit 1-5 without reply, Michael O’Neill’s scuffed shot finding the net in the 48th minute to draw his side level for the first time since the 12th minute.
The Armagh natives three-point lead was whittled down to a point after back-to-back Padraig Hagan frees in added time, but late points from Oisin Byrne and Calvin Mooney booked their sides place in the final.
Fionn Toale, Oisin Byrne, Calvin Mooney and Daniel Martin carry a serious scoring threat for Dromintee with Byrne one in particular to watch despite only scoring a point in the semi-final
Dromintee, on the semi-final evidence, look stronger in defence than Thursday’s opponents with Dunne a solid full-back and O’Rourke, O’Neill and Toale strong defenders who add a serious scoring threat.
Charlie Mone, David Boylan, Evean Treanor, Shane Byrne have the scoring prowess to trouble Dromintee and if the Monaghan side’s defence can tighten up from the start then there is unlikely to be much between the sides but a tentative vote goes the way of the Armagh side.