Tempo were deserved winners of the Intermediate championship and it would have been very hard on them had they not won after a sparkling first half performance in which they tore apart Kinawley and were on top in most sectors of the pitch with their forward line in particular causing all sorts of trouble for the Kinawley defence as they built up a big lead.

    The second half was a far scrappier affair and this suited Kinawley.

    Less chances were created by Tempo in the second period as the Kinawley defence tightened up but they had just left themselves too much work to do as Tempo held on for victory although a late Cathal Murphy goal meant that Tempo were never safe until the final whistle as Kinawley pressed forward at the finish.

    Tempo had lined out with six of last year’s successful minor team on their starting 15 although they had the experience of captain Sean Breen and Eddie Breen at midfield both of whom got through an immense amount of work throughout the hour.

    Both sides managed to kick a number of wides in the opening period of the game but it was Tempo who were quickest to settle and Kevin Gilmurray opened their account with a point from the left with Ryan Keenan doubling this lead shortly after converting a free.

    Tempo were well on top in the first quarter but only had two points to show for this as they continued to kick wides.

    Kinawley were finding it difficult to gain any sort of possession and they switched Shaun Doherty to full forward with Sean Leonard going to midfield but this made little difference as Tempo continued to dominate.

    The Tempo defence, the half back line in particular were very impressive shutting out whatever Kinawley could throw at them and the Tempo dominance began to pull off as their superiority was transferred to the scoreboard.

    Ryan Keenan converted another free to put them 0-03 to 0-00 up and they then followed this up with a point from Dermot Curran.

    Ciaran McElroy then put Tempo into a five point advantage before Brian Melanophy registered Kinawley’s first score of the game. This did not stop Tempo pushing forward. Quality early ball into the Tempo full forward line was causing all sorts of problems to the Kinawley defence and two goals in a two minute spell seemed to seal the result.

    Ryan Keenan finished the first to the bottom corner of the net and Conor Meehan scored the second after a high ball was broken into his path.

    This put Tempo into a 2-05 to 0-01 lead but a goal and a point from Kinawley just before half time gave them some hope for the second half.

    Colin Maguire pointed from the right and in stoppage time at the end of the half, Matthew Drumm netted along the ground after a high ball had caused the confusion in the Tempo defence.

    These scores left six points between the sides at the interval with the scores 2-05 to 1-02 which was the very least Tempo deserved after an excellent opening half.

    The second half was not as flowing as the first but again Tempo were quickest out of the blocks, opening up their lead to eight points with two points in the first two minutes.

    Dermot Curran scored the first of these after good work by Declan Campbell and this was followed by a fine effort from Ciaran McElroy.

    Tempo were not to score for another 20 minutes as the Kinawley defence began to tighten up.

    With Sean Leonard working extremely hard for Kinawley around midfield they began to pick off a few scores from Leonard and Shaun Doherty from long range.

    Doherty pointed again from a free to close the gap to five points with 15 minutes remaining.

    Ciaran McElroy seemed to have secured the win for Tempo with a point after a good piece of fielding by Ryan Keenan but Kinawley kept battling away and with two minutes left a Cathal Murphy goal cut the Tempo lead to three points.

    A good save by Gary Howe in the Tempo goal rebounded to Murphy who tucked it into the net.

    Kinawley pushed forward looking for another goal to equalise but Tempo defended resolutely as they had done throughout. Shaun Doherty’s pointed free was the final score of the game to leave it 2-08 to 2-06 at the finish.

    Tempo were probably deserving of more than a two point win but none-the-less they won which is all that matters in a final.

    For them, Damien Kelly was excellent throughout at centre half back with Declan Campbell and Stephen Cox also showing up well in defence.

    Up front Ciaran McElroy had a good second half while Ryan Keenan was superb in the opening half, wreaking havoc for the Kinawley defence.