Seán Howard penalty key as Dromtariffe hurlers knock out Newmarket

Dromtariffe 1-13 Newmarket 0-15 

Dromtariffe squeezed through by the narrowest of margins in the Twohigs Supervalu Duhallow JAHL semi-final at Kilbrin.

Having trailed by three points at the interval, Dromtariffe managed to increase the tempo, boosted by a converted goal from a penalty by Seán Howard to help square up the contest. Though neither side operated at full strength, Dromtariffe’s greater sharpness surfaced during the latter stages.

In a repeat of last season’s championship decider won by Dromtariffe, possession was fiercely contested in every sector for much of the opening half and the middle third battle was immense. Newmarket points by Barry O’Connor and Donal Hannon  were offset by Brandon Murphy, Kevin Cremin and Seán Howard.

Coming up to the interval, Newmarket found their groove, Gavin Forde, Paddy Browne, Conor O’Keeffe and Barry O’Connor leading by example.  Points from O’Keeffe, Hannon and O’Connor in quick succession helped Newmarket lead 0-10 to 0-7.

Dromtariffe raced out of the traps for the second half, boosted by Howard’s penalty. However, Newmarket regained the lead thanks to Rory Lynn and Hannon.

Back came Dromtariffe, as Murphy levelled. For a spell, Newmarket regained the lead through a Mikey Browne point.

When the big questions were asked, Dromtariffe demonstrated their class,  responding with key contributions from Michael O’Brien, Conor O’Callaghan, Kevin Cremin and Gavin O’Keeffe.  

A point from O'Callaghan tied it up for the ninth time. Additional points from Christopher Byrnes and Howard pushed Dromtariffe two clear.

Newmarket were in no mood to throw in the towel, a Hannon free narrowed the arrears to the minimum. 

It made for a tense finish, Dromtariffe crowded the danger zones  to frustrate their opponents' hopes of taking the game to extra time, the battle-hardened experience of the divisional champions stood the test for a deserved victory to secure a place in the decider against Banteer or Kilbrin.

Scorers for Dromtariffe: S Howard 1-5 (1-0 p, 0-2 f), B Murphy 0-4 (0-2 f), K Cremin, J Murphy, C O’Callaghan, C Byrnes 0-1 each.

Newmarket:  D Hannon 0-6 (0-5 f), B O’Connor 0-5, C Crowley 0-2, R Lynn, M Browne 0-1 each.

DROMTARIFFE: D Cremin; D Dennehy, M O’Brien, A Daly; C Byrnes, C O’Callaghan, J Kelleher; K Cremin, S Howard;  J Murphy, G O’Keeffe, E Murphy; D O’Leary, M O’Callaghan, B Murphy. 

Sub: M Dennehy for D O’Leary.

NEWMARKET: B Newman; P Allen, J O’Connor, G Forde; P Browne, M Browne, M Lane; A Ryan, C O’Keeffe; C Crowley, D Hannon, J O’Keeffe; B O’Connor, R Lynn, K O’Sullivan. 

Subs: R O’Keeffe for K O’Sullivan, C Browne for P Browne.

Referee: M Sheehan (Liscarroll).