DERRY GAA: Swatragh tame Storm Ashley to defeat Kevin Lynch's and lift Intermediate hurling title

Swatragh 2-10, Kevin Lynch's 0-11

Two goals in the final five minutes of normal time saw Swatragh defeat favourites Kevin Lynch's to be crowned Derry Intermediate hurling champions for the first time in four years at a Storm Ashley hit Owenbeg on Sunday.

The Davitt's - the last club to be crowned Oak Leaf senior champions before Slaughtneil's current run of 11 consecutive titles - trailed 0-10 to 0-3 at the break having faced into the full force of the hurricane like conditions. That lead never felt enough for a Lynch's team who had shot 10 first half wides and managed only one point aginst the gale force wind in the second period.

Even still, that solitary Richie Mullan point still had Lynch's leading 0-11 to 0-9 until those final minutes when Cahal Murray and captain Sean Marty Quinn stepped forward to fire home the goals that capped a fully deserved victory for Declan McGuckin's team for whom Sean Francis Quinn was brilliant at midfield ahead of a defensive unit that was the platform for victory.

Murray's 55th minute goal was the game-changer. Four successive James Friel scores at the outset of the second half had eaten into Lynch's lead but Kevin Hinpehy's men were still hanging on when fortune conspired against them.

A Swatragh shot was blocked on the right hand side but the block inadvertently sent the sliothar flying straight to Murray who was in on goal. Murray gathered but with Lynch's keeper Sean Kelly out to close him down, he failed to get the contact he wanted on his shot, the ball rolling almost in slow motion across the line despite both defenders and forwards scrambling to get a touch to it.

Now one behind, Lynch's had to go for broke but against both a Swatragh defence who had been on top all afternoon and the increasingly hostile conditions they never looked likely. Instead, Swatragh grabbed a second when a huge Friel free dropped in front of the Lynch's posts and Davitt's captain Sean Marty Quinn reacted quickest not once, but twice to hook home after his initial shot had come off the inside of the post and rolled across the goal.

The new champions may even have had a third deep into injury time when Mick McCormick teed up the bustling PJ O'Connell whose goal-bound shot drew a superb save from Kelly but Swatragh had already done enough with a performance that match the intensity of the weather the trophy was lifted in.

With the senior final cancelled, Lynch's legitimately can question the decision to play the final but can have no complaints about the outcome thereafter.

The Dungiven men started with the storm at their backs but found the Swatragh backline not prepared to bow during an opening 30 odd minutes in which Lynch's shot selection let them down at times. And not only were Swatragh defenders tenacious, with Lynch's rarely afforded any room to shoot inside the Davitt's half, but Swatragh crucially ensured their tackling remained on the right side of the law as Lynch’s registered two scores from frees in the first half.

The loss of county man Corey O'Reilly from the starting 15 was undoubtedly a factor for Lynch's who raced into a 0-6 to no score lead after 14 minutes but Swatragh were never dominated. McGuckin's men had already hit three wides by the sixth minute, highlighting they were creating the openings just not navigating the unforgiving wind which made a mockery out of even the most accurate shot at times.

One man seemingly unfazed by the win though was Lynch's keeper Sean Kelly. After opening the scoring with a fourth minute free, the Dungiven net minder would go on to score an unbelievable point from around his own 20m line, a distance of approximately 120m or more.

The score was the highlight of Lynch's opening half which had them 0-10 to 0-3 up but still wondering if they had done enough given the conditions they had to face after the short whistle.

It was soon evident that they hadn't as Friel punished some early indiscretions with three long rage frees and one from play before Richie Mullan defiantly lashed a superb free for Lynch's against the conditions for 0-11 to 0-7.

A Friel '65' was following by an point from O'Connell after Sean Marty Quinn's effort on goal had been kept out. It left the margin two but Lynch's lead was creaking and it gave way under Murray's goal. Murray tagged on a point before his captain secured the trophy with the second goal on a day when Swatragh's intensity tamed the Owenbeg storm!

Kevin Lynch's scorers: Sean Kelly (0-2, 1f), Ronan Mullan (0-2), Richie Mullan (0-4, 3f), Darragh McGilligan (0-2), NIall McGonigle (0-1).

Swatragh scorers: Cahal Murray (1-1), Sean Martin Quinn (1-0), Cathal Quinn (0-1), PJ O'Connell (0-2), James Friel (0-6, 5f).

Kevin Lynch's: Sean Kelly, Jack Dunne, Paddy Kelly, Eoin McKeever, Thomas Brady, Richie Mullan, Mark Craig, Niall McGonigle, Darragh McGilligan, Steven O'Neill, Niall Ferris, Darragh Mullan, Odhran McElhinney, John Mullan, Ronan Mullan. (Subs) Corey O'Reilly for O McElhinney, 36mins; Tiernan McHugh for N McGonigle, 45mins; Odhran Murphy for Ronan Mullan, 53mins.

Swatragh: Niall McQuillan, Ben Kearney, Patrick Turner, John McKeagney, Tiarnan Walsh, James Friel, Cathal Quinn, Dominic Quinn, Sean Francis Quinn, Sean Martin Quinn, Paul Gunning, Fintan McGurk, Oisin O'Kane, PJ O'Connell, Cathal Murray. (Subs) Michael Kirkpatrick for D Bradley, 41mins; Malachy O'Hagan for J McKeagney, 52mins; Declan Quinn for O O'Kane, 57mins; Mick McCormick for C Murray, 61mins.

Referee: Tarlach Conway