Under 16's through to Semi Final

On 02/08/2006 Desertmartin defeated Greenlough in the preliminary round of the Under 16 championship 5 and a half weeks later they eventually got to play their quarter final game against Ballymaguigan. After a very lack lustre display they eventually overcame the stubborn resistance of Ballymaguigan to set up a semi final meeting with Newbridge. Whether the delay in playing the game had any bearing on the display or a certain amount of complacency set in, the performance was well below the performance given against Greenlough.

Desertmartin 3-10 Ballymaguigan 2-8

The team got off to the perfect start when right from the throw in a long ball was played in to the ballymaguigan square their goalkeeper failed to deal with it and Paul Kidd following up found the net. A few minutes later Paul McGovern increased the advantage with a point Ballymaguigan hit back however and 3 unanswered points reduced the gap to a point. During this period Desertmartin wasted a lot of possession and too often the wrong option was taken Cathal Brown eased the nerves with a good point and Enda O?Hagan added another to open a 3 point advantage. Ballymaguigan hit back again and another 3 point burst brought the scores level with about 5 minutes left until the break. Enda O?Hagan had a point from a 45m free before the move of the night produced an excellent point for Paul McGovern another point from Enda O?Hagan just before the break increased the advantage back to 3 points. With Desertmartin well on top at this stage the half time whistle sounded with our lads leading 1-6 to 0-6.

The second half started but any thoughts that Desertmartin had shaken of their lethargic approach were dispelled as Ballymaguigan began the half well however a mixture of poor finishing and good defending meant that they failed to reduce the margin. Desertmartin then looked to have turned the screw when Paul McGovern raced through and found the net. The team however failed to build on this and they sufferd a blow shortly after when Cathal Brown was forced off with a hamstring injury. Worse was to follow as a long ball into the Desertmartin defence was not properly dealt with and their corner forward found the net. Back came Desertmartin and Ferghal Higgins fired over before Ciaran Burns capitalised on a goalkeeping error to find the net. Once again Ballymaguigan hit back immediately with their full forward finding the net. A Martin McGuigan point increased our lead to 5 before Ballymaguigan hit back with 2 pointed frees. Desertmartin were not to be denied however and points from Enda O?Hagan and Ferghal Higgins ensured victory.

Whilst the performance left a lot to be desired a win is what was required and leaves the team another opportunity to put right some of the mistakes made. In defence there were good performances from Barry O?Hagan, Paddy O?Neill, Gavin Walker and Declan Murray at Midfield Paul McFlynn and Cathal Brown before his injury were holding their own, up front Desertmartin struggled to get going but Paul McGovern and Ciaran Burns were probably the pick of the forwards.

Team and scorers
C Bradley
B O?Hagan
P O?Neill
B Higgins
G Walker
M Murchan
D Murray
C Brown (0-1)
P McFlynn
F Higgins (0-2)
E O?Hagan (0-4)
C Burns (1-0)
S McStravock
P Kidd (1-0)
P McGovern (1-2)

Subs M McGuigan (0-1), P McGuigan, D McFlynn, K Bradley, A Trainor, M Breen, D Connery, T Toner

Man Of The Match Paul McGovern