Five-star Dromara win Killough Cup

Five-star Dromara win Killough Cup

5 July 2023

DROMARA Village were the winners of the inaugural Killough Cup following a thoroughly entertaining competition at Ballyhornan Family Centre on Saturday.

Four local teams were in contention for the honours, with Killough facing Celtic Bhoys in their semi-final contest before eventual winners Dromara faced Ballynagross.

Hosts Killough enjoyed early possession in their clash with the Hoops but failed to capitalise on their chances which ultimately proved decisive.

Peter Casey fired Celtic into the lead with a coolly slotted bottom corner finish before Sean Ferris delicately chipped his strike into the Killough net to make it 2-0.

Tony McIlhone gave the Union a route back into the contest with his acrobatic finish five minutes later, but Conaill Kerr restored the two-goal cushion before half-time.

It was more of the same after the break, as hot-shot Ferris continued to give Killough problems.

His second goal was equally as impressive as his first and although Connor Kelly replied once more for Killough, Celtic never truly looked in danger of entirely loosening their grip on the tie.

The result was put beyond doubt when Ferris capped off a man of the match performance by impressively chipping the ‘keeper to complete his hat-trick.

A late own goal helped flatter the scoreline but the Hoops progressed into the final by way of a 5-3 victory.

Next up saw Dromara face off against Ballynagross, with the Villagers using a mix of players from their three senior teams.

Philly Kerr proved an early difference as he netted twice inside 13 minutes to give Dromara a 2-0 lead.

Dromara then added a third and it seemed to be well and truly over as a contest before the half had concluded. However, Ballynagross battled hard and pulled two goals back to make it 3-2 at the interval.

Dromara seemed a bit shell-shocked at this and were guilty of a few misplaced passes in defence which lead to an opening for new ‘Gross signing Michael Burns, who kept his composure and levelled the tie.

Moments later, Ballynagross’ comeback was complete as Luke Shields gave his side the lead.

However, Dromara showed their experience and failed to implode, with the impressive Kerr converting his second free-kick of the match to notch a hat-trick, bringing the tie to a penalty shoot-out.

Dromara had steadied themselves and progressed to the final as Marcus Murphy slotted home the winning penalty.

With an eagerly anticipated showdown ready, Celtic Bhoys prepared to face off against fellow Amateur League opposition in Dromara.

Despite a shaky performance against Ballynagross, Dromara put on a ruthless display against the Hoops which saw them race into a 4-0 lead.

Admirably, Celtic battled hard but ultimately Dromara showed too much class and ran out 5-2 winners.

The tournament acted as some much-needed game time for the players from each team in anticipation of a gruelling season ahead for all involved.

The event was kindly sponsored by The Anchor Bar, Killough, and Macmillan Cancer Support.A