A gallant Newmarket minor hurling team were defeated by Dromtariffe in the Duhallow Minor C Hurling Championship final played in trying wet conditions at Dromtariffe on Friday evening, a late burst from the home side confirming a 0-14 to 1-7 victory.

The home side opened the scoring with a second minute point but some fine industrious play from David Enright resulted in David Quinlan being on hand to finish the resultant delivery to the back of the Dromtariffe net in the seventh minute. Dromtariffe pointed next before David Enright converted a free for Newmarket. The sides exchanged another brace of points as once more David Enright was successful from a free as Newmarket led by 1-2 to 0-3 after the opening fifteen minutes. Conditions got the better of both sides as regards the scoring stakes but the endeavour and commitment of both teams was never in question throughout. Dromtariffe gained the upper hand in the closing minutes of the half as they claimed three points in the final five minutes to take a slender lead of 0-6 to 1-2 at the turnover.

Dromtariffe increased their advantage with a point five minutes into the second half but a neat finish from Paul Verling brought Newmarket to within the minimum margin again. Dromtariffe had the better of things again when they added four points in succession. As the contest entered the final ten minutes Newmarket managed to find an extra gear. Paul Verling and Jacko Flaherty were on target to rally a Newmarket revival and this gained further momentum as Paul Verling and David Enright points reduced the margin once more to a solitary point with less than three minutes to play. However, Dromtariffe had enough in reserve to finish on a high and they added three fine points to claim a four point victory.

A young Newmarket side can reflect on a very encouraging display. Goalkeeper Shane McAuliffe was assured and confident throughout while in defence Jack Birtley and Timmy O’Keeffe were outstanding. Bryan O’Connell tried tirelessly while Paul Verling and Jacko Flaherty made an impact in attack.

The Newmarket team was…

Shane McAuliffe
	Jack Birtley		Paudie Allen
Timmy O’Keeffe		Michael O’Leary		Patrick Kelly
	Darren O’Keeffe		Bryan O’Connell
Eddie Allen		Paul Verling (0-3)		David Enright (0-3)
	David Quinlan (1-0)		Jacko Flaherty (0-1)
SUB: Nicky Barrett