Derrygonnelly 0-12

Erne Gaels 0-07

Derrygonnelly stayed on course for a historic league and championship double with a comfortable win over Erne Gaels that also saw the Belleek men slip out of contention of a league final.

The Harps were without Paul Ward and Ryan Jones for this encounter but with a strong defensive foundation they navigated their way to another victory in what has been a memorable year to date.

Tiaran Daly, Eamon McHugh, Michael Jones and Declan Cassidy were all much to the fore for the Harps in defence.

Derrygonnelly manager, Martin Greene was delighted with the win and is looking forward to a league final.

“It was a difficult day conditions wise and to be fair it was a day for defenders and I thought our defence was very good and gave us a good platform. But Erne Gaels had their spells in the game too. It was good to get into the league final though and we are looking forward to it now.”

Garvan McGinley, Declan Cassidy and Conal Jones all notched two points each in the first half although Erne Gaels were in the game throughout the opening period and went in just two points behind. Seamus Ryder was the main scorer in chief for Erne Gaels from placed balls. Ryan Lyons, who was excellent throughout at midfield also chipped in with a point during the first half.

Belleek boss, Maurice McLaughlin was philosophical at the final whistle as their chances of a league final slipped away.

“It has been tough for us. We worked hard and we missed some chances that maybe earlier in the year would have went in and when that happens you have an uphill battle,” he explained before adding;

“But it was definitely an improvement on the Roslea performance but in the second half they jumped ahead a bit and we found it very hard to bring it back to less than three points.”

In the second half Derrygonnelly continued to assert themselves as Erne Gaels struggled to get things going in attack. Conall Jones was again accurate with his kicking and scored another two points from play. Leigh Jones also split the posts with Stephen Jones and Declan Cassidy also raising white flags.

“We kicked on well in the second half and it was a good performance considering we were missing Paul Ward and Ryan Jones, so that was pleasing,” Greene revealed after the game.

Next on the Harps agenda is a league title although they have to play Ederney this weekend. A win for the Harps would keep Roslea’s chances of a league final alive while an Ederney win would see them seal a place in the final.

“I think to be fair to Roslea we have to go all out to win the game and we will do that. We want to finish the season well and try and win a league title. The club has never won a league and championship double and it would be important to try and create our own little bit of history,” Greene said.