C.LG. Naomh Colm, An Droim : Ulster Junior Club Football Championship Quarter-Final Slick Bredagh stroll into Ulster semi-final Bredagh 5-13 :: Drum 0-04 Four second half goals eased the Down Junior Champions, Bredagh, into the semi-final of the Ulster Junior Club Championship, making Drum's first foray into the provincial series a very harrowing one indeed. Leading by 1-04 to 0-02 at the break, the Ravenhill Road men shifted into overdrive and sliced ribbons through the porous defence of the Derry champions. Five times in total they opened up the orange ranks to beat O'Kane, the youngest man on the field helpless as goals from Jonathan Cleary, Conor Owens (both two) and Henry Deazley rapped the Newcastle netting at his back. Enda Gormley, despite scoring just 0-02, was the catalyst up front, while his namesake Jody ruled the middle of the field alongside Paddy Heaney. Their Kilrea-born full-back line were hugely impressive under Drum's aerial bombardment, restricting the "oranges'" full-forward line to just three points in the entire game - all of which came from Paddy Moore. Rossa McManus and Shane McCartney were ineffective throughout, both replaced in the second half with the player-manager signing off his reign with a defeat in his final game for the club. One man who couldn't be blamed was the referee, Fermanagh's Fergal Cleary. Some referees could be well advised to take a leaf out of his book. He hardly put a foot wrong in the entire game, allowing the physical exchanges to roll and it resulted in an open game with a tally of frees that you could count with your fingers. Not that it suited Drum. Bredagh's attacking half-backs were earmarked as a problem area prior to throw-in, and they did raid on occasion but it was the Belfast mens' midfield pairing that was the essential ingredient. By my reckoning, Bryan McCartney made Drum's only clean catch from a kickout all day, Drum forced to break or force losing out. Then, when it was broken down, they lost it anyway. Donal Brolly moving to half-back helped stem the flow but Jody Gormley and Heaney ran the game without moving outside either 45'. Bredagh's "laziness," for want of a better word, didn't work in Drum's favour as they weren't clinical enough in possession. Attacks too often broke down and the half-forwards in maroon who didn't track back suddenly had the ball and acreage to run into. Up until Henry Deazley strode through unchallenged and rattled the ball into the top corner to give his side an insurmountable 2-08 to 1-02 lead, the game was evenly contested. Bredagh's superior supply to the inside forwards was proving the difference - while Gormley and Toland were making chances galore, Drum's inside trio were being forced to live off scraps. Drum's back-line contained their men reasonably well until Deazley's goal, the space ever more apparent as Kevin O'Reilly was pushed up field in a desperate bid to salvage something from the game. Throughout this historic run, Drum have consistently made it hard for themselves. Ogra Colmcille, Séan Dolans and Lissan all went into the interval with leads in the course of the Championship campaign, so, despite a five-point deficit, it wasn't that surprising and certainly not that worrying. The Down champions, however, represented different opposition entirely as they steam-rolled their way to a crushing 24-point victory. Having won Division Four as well as their Championship, Bredagh are a side punching below their weight and, without fear of contradiction, I can safely say that they would easily account for most of Derry's Intermediate ranks. No-one can deny that Drum were outclassed, simple as, but the absence of four key players hit them hard. Rory O'Reilly, Stephen McLaughlin, Ryan O'Hara and Patrick McCloskey missed out, the latter two with hurling commitments, the former both suspended. Without making excuses, any side would miss a forward that has tallied 3-101 this season, while McLaughlin guarantees at least four points a game. Put their contribution together though and you still don't have nearly enough. It was maybe only the difference between a thumping and respectability. Excuses were as scarce as decent ball to the full-forward line - there were none. The bottom line is that the better side won. Drum kicked several wides in the first half while Bredagh were more efficient in their shooting. The first score of the game was a goal, and a soft one at that, as Kevin O'Reilly couldn't stretch far enough to hold a long ball, possession falling at the feet of Jonathan Cleary and he lashed it through a melee of bodies to the bottom corner. The same man added the next two points, Conall Toland and Enda Gormley scores sending the "Belfast blow-ins" into the interval with a five point lead, Drum's only two scores coming from the boot of Paddy Moore. In terms of Drum scores, the second half painted a similar picture. Moore scored the best of his side's points (hard choice, that) when he shimmied on to his right foot and curled over from thirty metres. Picking Bredagh's best score would be considerably more difficult, perhaps a surging run from Deazley that resulted in him driving over yet another point, inches over the crossbar. Kevin O'Reilly got Drum's other point but the game had long since ceased to be a contest by that stage. Bredagh were picking off scores with monotonous regularity, their third and fourth goals coming with maroon and gold jerseys queuing up to be the one who knocked another nail into the North Derry side's premature coffin. The "accolade" fell to Conor Owens, a renowned goal-scorer for his club this season, and Cleary again. Owens rounded it off with the fifth, making him his side's top scorer despite being on the field for little over fifteen minutes. Both sides gave their squads a run out, the referee halting play more times inside five minutes for constant changes than he had cause to for the entire rest of a sporting match. When he eventually called for the ball to round off proceedings, it was something of a relief for Drum. Bredagh will now be automatically installed as favourites - if they hadn't already been - and the winners of the Coa v Naomh Brid tie should quake in their boots in anticipation of next Sunday's semi-final. Drum's boots can now hang for a couple of months at least, an exhausting season that took in 30 competitive games - the most of any team in the county - finally complete, nine months after it began with defeat to Ballerin. Rossa McManus' term in charge cannot be deemed anything other than a success. He took on a team that no-one else wanted, on the verge of folding, rooted to the foot of Derry's footballing ladder and turned them into Junior champions inside eighteen months, bringing them to within an hour of promotion and, no matter the result, a first ever Ulster championship match for the club. He's had plenty of critics, possibly none more public than me at times, but no-one can fault him for effort and commitment. However, the last word should go to Kieran McCaul. On 7th October this year, he took part in his fifth Junior final, winning on each occasion. Just a nice wee bit of trivia to round it off for the year - who was the only man to start each of the side's 27 competitive games in league and championship this year? Kieran McCaul. It was just a pity that his career, like that of McManus and possibly Shane McCartney, signed off on such a sour note. Drum scorers: Paddy Moore 0-03, Kevin O'Reilly 0-01. Bredagh scorers: Conor Owens 2-02, Jonathan Cleary 2-02, Henry Deazley 1-02, Fergus Coyle, Conall Toland and Enda Gormley 0-02 each, Raymond Gormley 0-01. Drum team and ratings: Cahair O'Kane 3.5; Kieran McCaul 4, Kevin O'Reilly 5, Christopher O'Neill 3.5; Conor O'Kane 4, James McCartney 5.5, Sean Colgan 4; Shane Burke 5, Bryan McCartney 5.5; Gavin Hasson 3.5, Donal Brolly 6*, Marc McLaughlin 4.5; Shane McCartney 3.5, Rossa McManus 3.5, Paddy Moore 4.5. Subs: Conal McGuigan 4 for Sean Colgan (inj, 35 mins); Nigel McCaul 4 for Kieran McCaul (44 mins); Niall O'Hara for Shane McCartney (49 mins); Cathal Kerlin for Rossa McManus (51 mins); Darragh Hogan for Gavin Hasson (53 mins). Bredagh team: Henry McDonald; Ollie McWilliams, Paul Bradley, Kevin Bradley; Kevin Harte, Mark Diamond, Barney McAnespie; Paddy Heaney, Jody Gormley; Henry Deazley , Fergus Coyle, Raymond Gormley; Conall Toland, Enda Gormley, Jonathan Cleary. Subs used: Conor Owens, Liam McGarry, Rory McDonnell, Niall Devlin, Paddy Cassidy. Referee: Fergal Cleary (Fermanagh). Club Development Draw All tickets for the Club Development Draw must be handed in by tonight (Wednesday) at the latest. The draw will be held in the Dolphin Bar on Saturday night at 8.00pm. Music will be performed by Dilly's Disco. Tweet

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