Gaelic Games

Dromore end ten-year wait for Tyrone football crown

Emmet McNabb leads the way with 0-6 as Coalisland cannot pull off another comeback

Dromore’s Emmett McNabb is carried shoulder-high in celebration. Photograph: Lorcan Doherty/Inpho

Francis Mooney at Healy Park
Sun Nov 14 2021 - 20:47

Dromore 0-15 Na Fianna, Coalisland 0-8

Dromore’s exciting young team bridged a ten year gap with a fourth Tyrone SFC title at Healy Park on Sunday.

Emmet McNabb led the way with a sparkling attacking performance and a six-point haul as they held off comeback specialists Coalisland with a dashing second half display.

Paddy McNeice had two points on the board inside the opening five minutes, but McNabb’s superb solo effort brought the sides level.

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Niall Devlin and Plunkett Kane finished off Coalisland moves to give them a 0-4 to 0-2 lead at the water break.

Dromore had been second best in terms of possession and territory, but out-scored their opponents by three points to one in the second quarter. Tommy McCarron, Odhran Rafferty and Sean McNabb were all on target to leave it 0-5 each at the interval, with Coalisland’s ace place-kicker Cormac O’Hagan out of action due to injury.

Niall Sludden grew in stature as the game progressed, firing over the point that pushed his side two clear, and the Fianna were unable to live with the pace and energy that drove their opponents to further scores from Ryan McCusker and Emmet McNabb.

With a four-point lead at the three-quarter stage, they were always wary of Coalisland’s powers of survival, but the work had been done, and all the avenues of threat were closed off, mostly through sheer intensity and workrate.

The finish line was coming into sight, but they had to keep the ball off the Fianna, and they did so, breaking at pace for the late scores from Sean McNabb, Cahir Goodwin and Emmet McNabb that sealed it.

Dromore: M McGale; C O'Hara, P McHugh, C O'Neill; T McCarron (0-1), R McCusker (0-1), N McCarron; P Teague, N Sludden (0-1); S McNabb (0-2), R McNabb jnr, R McNabb snr; E McNabb (0-6, four frees), T Sludden, O Rafferty (0-3). Subs: C Goodwin (0-1) for McHugh, E McCusker for S McNabb, A McGrath for T Sludden, C McCoy for R McNabb jnr, A O'Donnell for McCarron.

Na Fianna, Coalisland: F Coney; J Fee, P Hampsey, E Hampsey; N Devlin (0-1), N Kerr, S McNally; M McKernan, J Carberry; P Herron, P Kane (0-1), B Leonard; C O'Hagan, P McNeice (0-4), T Quinn (0-1). Subs: B Toner for O'Hagan, S Corr for Kerr, C Quinn (0-1) for Leonard, O McHugh for Fee, L O'Neill for Carberry.

Referee: K Enneatta (Omagh).