A calm wet evening welcomed Edendork and Dungannon for the junior championship final in Father Connolly Park, Eglish. It was Edendork who got off the mark almost immediately when Louise McCaffery fired over a long range point within the first minute. Rona Mallon doubled their lead and Niamh Forker extended it further with a fine point with five minutes gone. Cliodhna Colton then levelled the game with a brilliant goal.
The play was excellent from both sides all over the field and Dungannon were pressing at every opportunity as the Edendork back line were hard at work. A Chloe Little close range effort burst the back of the net on fifteen minutes. Dungannon were very clinical in their passing game and captain Catherine Casey seen a long range effort find the back of the net to extend their lead further.
Edendork had a lot of the play but Dungannon closed down every chance to frustrate their opponents. McCaffery added a point to her tally before Roisin McErlean took her first point from a free for Dungannon with twenty minutes of the half gone.
Edendork injected some urgency into their play and next five minutes saw Mallon add a point and an unbelievable over the shoulder effort from McCaffery saw the sliotar hit the back of the net. Edendork kept pressing and a McErlean goal line clearance calmed their nerves with three minutes remaining. Mallon added another free before Dungannons Aoife Morgan ran ¾ length of the field to finish off with what was as superb goal in the dying embers of the half.
Half Time Edendork 1-6 Dungannon 4-1
The mizzle continued at the resumption of the game at the start of the second half and a fired-up Dungannon team started where they had left off. Another brilliant free from McErlean was equally matched by Littles second goal of the game with only two minutes gone. Dungannon were again applying constant pressure at every turn and McErlean punished every awarded free with a point. Pauline Barker, a constant threat in front of the nets, was rewarded with a goal on the ten minute mark to extend her teams lead even further. Mallon and Morgan traded points as Dungannon pressured at every opportunity. Edendork were still working hard in defence and Aisling Mclaughlin cleared her lines for Dungannon as Edendork failed to capitalise with some good possession. Mallon took a long range free but a Morgan goal on twenty minutes put the contest to bed. There were some great blocking from both sides and a Mallon point from a free and a Morgan point from open play ended a skilful final.
Full Time Edendork 2-8 Dungannon 7-5
Edendork Scorers R Mallon 1-5 L McCaffery 1-2 N Forker 0-1
Dungannon Scorers A Morgan 2-2 C Little 2-0 R McErlean 0-3 C Colton 1-0 C Casey 1-0 P Berker 1-0
The winning trophy was presented by Julie Lagan, vice Chairperson of Tyrone County Board, to Dungannon captain Catherine Casey.
Dungannon’s Áine McNulty was awarded player of the final and received a crested t shirt. Dungannon will now go into Ulster to represent Tyrone in the Bridie McMenamin shield.
The Tyrone county board would like to thank Eglish for the use of their facilities and Leona Gallagher for officiating the game.