Dromintee u15s opened their 2021 Division One campaign with a hard fought victory over near neighbours Killeavy in a rearranged away fixture on Sunday evening. It was a game where the visitors kept the home side in the contest through a series of missed opportunities in front of goal but in the end required considerable determination to close out.
Playing with the breeze in the opening half the Dromintee lads set a tone of misplaced passes and rushed shooting in front of goal which would stay with them throughout. Despite excellent approach play, final touches deserted the lads and at half time the game remained in the balance.
Dromintee dominated play throughout in no small part due to Mícheál McCreesh's dominance under kick outs, which enabled his team mates to play on the front foot for long periods.
With Dromintee not taking their opportunities to pull away, Killeavy stayed in touch with a series of converted free kicks. That wastefulness almost came back to haunt them as drama ensued in the closing moments. Killeavy were awarded a penalty to close the scoring gap but a superb diving save from James McBennett preserved the visitor's cushion and Dromintee closed the game out to win 2-11 to 1-09.
Dromintee: J McBennett, C Dunne, C Martin, D Harris, M Walker, D O'Rourke (0-02), C Laverty, M McCreesh, D Crilly (0-02), F Toale (0-01), E O'Neill, K McArdle (0-01), M McCoy, A Byrne (1-03), F Ó Tuathail (1-02). G O'Rourke, T Fox, O Byrne.