Sean Corrigan racing up the wing for Lisbellaw. DP10
Lisbellaw 4-14
Lisnaskea 0-10
FERMANAGH hurling kingpins, Lisbellaw, in the end, proved too strong for a plucky Lisnaskea outfit in this year’s senior championship final at Brewster Park.
Lisnaskea, always the underdogs, were well in the race at halftime, trailing by 0-6 to 1-9, but they lost ground in the 6th minute of the second-half when full-forward, Brian Jones, was bundled over and Cathal McGarry fired home the resultant penalty (2-9 to 0-6).
His brothers, Declan and JP, always posed a threat to a Skea defensive line that was at times over-run, with the goalkeeper, Adrian Smith coming to their rescue on several occasions. However, in that last line of defence, Paul Teague especially, Francie Bannon and John Rice stood out.
Teague, a stylish and dogged, player looks destined for greater things. Here, he restricted his direct opponent, Sean Corrigan to just two points from play.
As indicated, Lisnaskea began well, although it took an instinctive close-range save from Smith to deny Jones in the 3rd minute.
At the other end, Stephen Smith’s pace troubled Lisbellaw, with Barrie Duffy doing well to hook him as he was about to pull the trigger.
After initial scores from JP McGarry (2) and his brother, Declan for the winners and by Shea Curran (free) for Lisnaskea, Lisbellaw drew first blood with their first goal, from Declan McGarry in the 15th minute.
But, from that until the break, it was tit-for-tat, with Paul McGoldrick (2, one a ‘65’) swopping points with Sean Corrigan (free) and Ryan Bogue.
Then came the score of the match, a typical storming run out of defence by McBrien who fed Barry Smith on the halfway line and the Skea midfielder slung over the sliotar (1-5 to 0-4).
Smith and McGoldrick, always Skea’s likely scorers, had a point each near the break, but points before and after from Sean Corrigan (3, two frees) and young Tómas Cleary left Lisbellaw with a comfortable halfway lead (1-9 to 0-6).
McGoldrick, from a free, had the opening score of the second-half, but that early penalty conversion ushered in a spell of Lisbellaw dominance that yielded another two goals, from sub, Ciaran McTeague and JP McGarry and two more pointed frees from Sean that put Lisbellaw well out of sight (4-11 to 0-7), with 10 minutes still remaining.
To their credit, Lisnaskea kept plugging away, driven on by Paul Teague, Barry Smith, Francie Bannon and Shea Curran who pulled a point back to stop the rot, followed, in the closing minutes, by a well-deserved point from McTeague and Ryan Murphy.
Referee – Aidan Ferguson (Belleek).