Much was hope of this dream team from south down that was comprised for a strong Warrenpoint 7 Newry Shamrocks panel, but they were to meet an even stronger panel comprised of the cream of Castlewellan & Liatroim on Friday night on the Liatroim road pitch. With discos being the order of the day Cumann Pheadaír Naofa were already short of several influential players that would have had a telling influence on the outcome of the game on a dry and soft field.
From the very start O’Rahillys sent out a message with goals that Cumann Pheadaír Naofa could do little to stop. With Oisín Magone and Darragh Austin battling hard at midfield against much bigger opponents the trend of the game was set, as the many Cumann Pheadaír Naofa supporters who’d travelled to watch their son’s first venture into Division one was not a joyful one.
Although the boys in blue played in the true spirit of the Gael and never gave up, it was the experience of having played two to three years at a higher level that saw O’Rahillys crush the blue hope. To their credit Warrenpoint never dropped their heads as they chased, harried and harassed their orange shirted opponents. The sharpness and clinical finishing in front of goal for the home team saw them take a massive lead in the second half with not long to go.
