Eskra 0-08 Killyclogher 2-15 (Match Report Courtesy of Tyrone Herald)
Visitors Killyclogher were happy to fulfill the role of party poopers ad Eskra’s long-awaited home debut in Senior Football turned out to be a sobering experience in the Saturday evening sunshine.
St Mary’s showed little pity for their hosts as they rattled off two goals and eight points without reply in the last quarter to run out emphatic victors at the end up, having eventually squashed the resistance of the Emmetts.
It was a bitter set-back for Eskra who had edged ahead 0-08 to 0-07 in the 41st minute, with Peter Hughes hitting his fifth point of an evenly-fought contest, but the roof caved in for the home side after that as they were taught a harsh lesson about life in the top flight.
Afforded acres of space as the Emmett’s defence wilted in the heat, the Killyclogher attack ran amok in the closing stages with former Tyrone Minor star Mark Bradley helping himself to half a dozen points and Leo Meenan and lively sub Tomas Flanagan slotting home a goal apiece.
Such a cruise for the Blues seemed highly unlikely after the first quarter of an hour with Eskra taking the ascendancy from the start. They eased into a 0-04 to no score advantage, Peter Hughes three times on the mark, including two real quality efforts from distance, while Niall Marlow popped over their other score.
Killyclogher were slow getting into their stride but gradually they upped their game and even with county star Dermot Carlin limping out of the fray with a leg injury in the early stages, two frees slipped ovet by Conal McCann helped them to halve the deficit to 0-04 to 0-02.
Having lost their early cohesion and confidence, Eskra’s play became more ragged with possession repeatedly coughed up and indisciplined tackling allowing Killyclogher to rack up cheap scores. A brace of dead ball conversions by Leo Meenan drew St Mary’s level, before Conor Meenan curled over their first score from open play as the first period ticked into added time. And a further Leo Meenan free handed Killyclogher a 0-08 to 0-04 interval edge.
The half-time break enabled Eskra to disrupt the visitors’ momentum and they roared back into contention as Niall Marlow and Eoin McCaffrey split the posts with excellent points, while Peter Hughes tagged on another free.
There looked to be more purpose and pace to the Emmett’s game and after Leo Meenan and Hughes exchanged pointed frees, the home side still held a slender lead and looked to have laid the platform for a dream debut victory on home soil.
However, that hope was dashed in no uncertain terms as they were held scoreless for the remainder of the evening.
A fine goal slotted into the far corner of Daire McCaroll’s net by Leo Meenan after Tiernán McCann and Michael Meenan unlocked the Eskra rearguard, paved the way for the late Killyclogher scoring procession.
Bradley in particular came into his own up front, forging an excellent partnership with sub Flanagan, and with Eskra frantically chasing the game, St Mary’s struck to devastating effect to pull clear.
Conal McCann was on the mark with two sweet strikes but the bulk of their scores came from pocket dynamo Bradley who slotted them over from all distances and angles. Eskra’s spirit and morale had sapped and a late lapse allowed Flanagan to tuck away another goal after being found in space by Tiernán McCann.
Team: Sean Fox, Martin Swift. Danny Gorman, Gavin Sludden, Dermot Carlin Emmet McFadden, Gary Wallace, Michael Meenan, Conal McCann (0-04, 2 frees), Tiernán McCann, Conor Meenan (0-01), Declan Léonard, Tiernan Cox, Leo Meenan (1-04, 4 frees), Mark Bradley (0-06, 1 free).
Subs: Aidan Kelly for D Carlin (10 mins) , Tomas Flanagan (1-00) for C Meenan (41).
