Annaduff's second half goal glut wins the day in tense Smith Monumentals Leitrim IFC Final

Goals win games and that simple fact is the reason why Annaduff are the 2026 Smith Monumentals Intermediate Champions after they hit three second half goals to break the obdurate and defiant challenge of St Patrick’s Dromahair to lift the Frank Reynolds Cup last Sunday in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada.

For the first 39 minutes of Sunday’s intensely competitive Intermediate decider, Dromahair looked the decidedly better team as they upset Annaduff’s rhythm, nullified their attacking threat and asked real questions of the Annaduff defence, raising the real possibility of an upset win for the north Leitrim side.

But then a moment of magic - sub Kyle Russell flicked a pass from Jack Hughes past an advancing keeper Noel Hynes, the ball beating two despairing defenders to the net and suddenly, the pressure valve was released on the Annaduff engine, the favourites springing into top gear.

The contest was still finely balanced six minutes later but then Darren Cox sprung into life - the Leitrim star had, by his standards, a frustrating afternoon up to that point, four points to his name but a series of missed chances were limiting his impact on the game, Dromahair’s Cian McMorrow fighting manfully to restrict his impact.

But when Eoin Gill’s superb pass found Cox in full flight, bearing down on goal from the right wing, the Annaduff man sprang into life, sidestepping defence and keeper to tap the ball into the net for the game that put Annaduff in a commanding position with 15 minutes still left to play.

And if that wasn’t enough, Cox then pounced on a loose ball from midfield, outpaced the retreating Dromahair defence and fired a rocket of a shot to the far corner, all but sealing victory for a transformed Annaduff who cruised to an eight point victory.

It might have been different had Dromahair landed a second goal 21 minutes into the game, or at least a penalty - a long ball to Adam Gethins broke to Gary Fowley, the Dromahair man going to ground under pressure from Conor Reynolds. To this observer, it looked like a penalty but referee Paul Martin, much closer to the action it has to be said, saw it differently and waved play on, Adam Gethins firing over.

A second goal at that stage would have opened up a five point gap for Dromahair and given how difficult Annaduff found to break them down, you’d have given Kenny Casey’s side fantastic odds to cause an upset as they would have been able to play on the break as they frustrated Annaduff time and time again.

Dromahair’s strength in the tackle, their ability to force turnovers and then hit on the break left Annaduff a little at odds with themselves, a fact complicated by 12 missed scoring opportunities for Annaduff between wides, shots dropping short and butchered chances. Dromahair were much more clinical, five missed opportunities, six if you discount Adam Gethins’ point that might have been a penalty, but when the opportunity presented itself, Annaduff finally found their killer touch to bring the Cup back home for the second time in four seasons.

Both sides registered an early wide, Darren Cox for Annaduff, Tom Sweeney for Dromahair before a long ball was expertly fielded by Senan Mooney on four minutes as he set up Jack Hughes for the opening score. But Annaduff’s joy was short-lived as Dromahair hit back in devastating fashion, going long to Gary Fowley who handpassed the ball to Karl Gethins, the wing-forward showing great wheels to escape the defence and plant a great shot in the Annaduff net.

Perhaps the early go unsettled both teams as, despite a Darren Cox free for a three man Dromahair breech, the scores weren’t coming. Cox and Adam Gethins both missed ambitious two pointers before a second Cox free tied the scores after ten minutes, a foul on Jack Hughes.

Annaduff almost grabbed a goal when Dillon Keane’s speculative long range effort fell short, Senan Mooney doing great to get the ball but his ball took a deflection as it went wide, Niall Quigley’s fifty falling short. Dromahair were also struggling, Adam Gethins seeing a free curl too much and go wide while Jason Ward and Cox both missed good chances.

Dromahair went back in front when a strong run from James Clancy saw him set up Oisin Conlon for a good point before Clancy was the target of a sideline, rounding his man to cut through for a good score.

Then came the game’s most contentious moment when Dromahair felt they should have got a penalty - a long ball into Adam Gethins saw the ball breaking for Gary Fowley who was tackled by Conor Reynolds, Dromahair claiming a spot-kick that could easily have been given but none came.

Fowley still managed to get the ball back to Gethins for a point as Dromahair now led by three points. Up the other end, Senan Mooney claimed a mark, some mistakenly thinking he had been awarded a free, to cut the gap on 23 minutes but dissent from Dan Bosquette saw Adam Gethins leave a goal between the sides once more with just over two minutes left in the half.

A quick free to Eoin Gill saw the Annaduff captain set up Darren Cox for a fine and with Ross O’Shea earning a yellow card, Annaduff could have gone in at halftime with the lead when they broke quickly, got the ball to Darren Cox but in attempting to work a goal opportunity, he held onto the ball too long and then disposed of it with a throw, leading to a free out.

That left Dromahair with a 1-4 to 0-5 halftime lead, the north Leitrim side good value for their lead and maybe even a little disappointed it wasn’t bigger. Annaduff’s struggles continued as Cox left a shot into the keeper before putting a two point free wide.

Dromahair went three clear again when James Glancy released Adam Gethins who, despite a tight angle, managed to fist the ball over the bar. Seconds later, Martin Clancy was desperately unlucky as his shot drifted at just the last moment, striking the woodwork before being cleared.

Annaduff answered with captain Eoin Gill leading the way, scoring a great point as his teammates yelled for a pretty obvious three-up breech. Dillon Keane saw a two point effort go wide while Dan Bosquette’s goal effort was superbly blocked by the Dromahair defence as Annaduff were upping the intensity.

Eoin Gill added his second in three minutes, a lovely point on the turn, but nine minutes into the second half, the game took a decisive turn when a long ball found Jack Hughes. His pass over the top found sub Kyle Russell bearing down on goal and rather than try to gather the ball, he cleverly flicked it past the advancing Noel Hynes for a huge goal that put his team two in front.

It was a double whammy for Dromahair as they also lost centre-back Cian Morrow who was doing a good job in restricting Darren Cox and they also also Michael Clancy to injury, Jason McKenny and Rory Kelly coming in, their mood not helped when Adam Gethins’ two point free fellow shot.

Annaduff had one hand firmly on a Cup on the three-quarters mark - Kenny Cox winning the ball back before getting to Eoin Gill, his superb pass finding Darren Cox who slalomed and side-stepped his way through the Dromahair defence to virtually tap in a crucial second goal for his team.

That lifting Annaduff enormously and the hesitancy and nervousness that typified their earlier form vanished, Dillon Keane lashing over after great work from Jack Hughes while Hughes providing the final pass for Cox to land another point, stretching the lead to seven points with just over 11 minutes of normal time left.

Whatever hope Dromahair had vanished on 51 minutes, a Dromahair kickout knocked back towards their goal, Cox on to it like lightning before surging clear of the defence and lashing a rocket of a shot to the far corner of the net, game virtually over.

A stunned Dromahair refused to buckle as Karl Gethins replied with a free before Kyle Russell broke a tackle to add to Annaduff’s tally. With both sides running the bench, the intensity drifted from the game with Adam Gethins converting a free and Oisin Conlon landing a fine two pointer.

But the last word remained with Annaduff as Russell’s strong run ended with a snap shot from his fellow sub Sean McNabola to seal an eight point victory for Annaduff.

ANNADUFF

Scorers: Darren Cox 2-4, 2f; Kyle Russell 1-1; Eoin Gill 0-2; Dillon Keane, Senan Mooney (M), Jack Hughes & Sean McNabola 0-1 each

Team: Shane Cox, Shane Morrison, Conor Reynolds, Niall Quigley, Ross O’Shea, Luke Fitzsimons, Eoin Gill, Dillon Keane, Daniel Bosquette, Jason Ward, Darren Cox, Kenny Cox, Alan Glancy, Jack Hughes, Senan Mooney. Subs: Kyle Russell for Glancy (35); Sean McNabola for Hughes (48); Keelan Lynch for Quigley (54); Frank McNabola for Ward (60)

ST PATRICK’S DROMAHAIR

Scorers: Adam Gethins 0-4, 4f; Karl Gethins 1-1; Oisin Conlon 0-3, tp; James Clancy 0-12

Team: Noel Hynes, Tom Sweeney, Martin Clancy, Kyle Harte, Keelan McLoughlin, Cian McMorrow, Michael Clancy, Oisin Conlon, Leon Harte, James Clinton, Adam Gethins, Karl Gethins, James Clancy, Niall O’Donohue, Gary Fowley. Subs: Jason McKenny for McMorrow (40); Rory Kelly for Michael Clancy (42); Shaun Conlon for Sweeney (51); Peter Cogan for Fowley (54); Declan Fowley for K Harte (60)

Referee: Paul Martin