The Melvin Gaels Junior team shared the spoils with North Leitrim rivals Dromahair-St.Patricks last Sunday in a lively Division 4 encounter played in a sun soaked Dromahair. The travelling side made a blistering start with two wonderfully struck Jonathan Connolly goals in the first 15 minutes leaving the home team shell shocked. Patrick McGowan then burst forward from wing back to tack on a further Gaels’ point on 18 minutes while the prolific Connolly was on target again 4 minutes later with a point from play. Dromahair gradually came into the game as the half progressed and managed to reduce the deficit to 3 points by the half way mark.

Half time score: Melvin Gaels 2-2 Dromahair 0-5.

The Gaels started the 3rd quarter brightly with two James Bredin points (from a free and from play) coming either side of a point from veteran Gael Joe Tiffoney. This opened up a 6 point gap for the visitors with 20 minutes remaining. However the home team controlled matters for much of the last quarter and were within a point of the Gaels after notching up 6 points from play to which the Gaels only response was a well taken point from substitute Pete McGowan. The Kinlough men thought they had sealed a win when Bernard McGowan capped a strong, workmanlike performance in the centre of the park with a point on the run, but rather bizarrely this was ruled out as one of the umpires felt it had not actually gone over the bar! Matthew McGloin then breached the Dromahair defence and found himself one-on-one with the keeper but was unlucky to see his low-struck effort go narrowly wide. Dromahair won the kick out and from the resulting attack a 21 yard free which they duly converted leaving the sides all square at 2-6 to 0-12 at the final whistle.

Well done to both sides for serving up an entertaining and open match played in the right spirit. From the Gaels’ point of view this was a great team effort and it was very encouraging to note the mix of young and old in the blue and white – with no less than 20 years between our two corner forwards Jonathan Connolly and Joe Tiffoney!

The combined experience of David Gillespie and Pat Gallagher at full and centre half back respectively was telling, while the two Clancy brothers Donal and Dermot alongside Patrick McGowan and Sean Kilkenny proved the young guns are keen to continue the Gaels tradition of intense, high tempo football.

Team and Scorers as follows: Paul Rooney, Dermot Clancy, David Gillespie, Sean Kilkenny, Blaine Mulligan, Pat Gallagher, Patrick McGowan (0-1), Bernard McGowan, Damien Sheridan, James Bredin (0-2), Patrick Hill, Donal Clancy, Jonathan Connolly (2-1), Fergal Gallagher, Joe Tiffoney (0-1).

SUBS USED; Matthew McGloin for Patrick Hill, Joe McGowan for Blaine Mulligan, Paul Simpson for Fergal Gallagher, Pete McGowan (0-1) for Jonathan Connolly

NOT USED; Peter O’Reilly, Kevin Corby