By Niall McCoy

DROMINTEE manager John Kennedy has said that he was delighted to see his side finally clinch the club’s second-ever Senior A title after a campaign that lasted 13 months.

With the Covid pandemic playing havoc, the league campaign started in July 2020 and finally came to a conclusion last Sunday with the south Armagh side just holding off the challenge of a resurgent Armagh Harps after a comfortable win over Ballymacnab.

It means that Dromintee now have a second title to go with their sole Division One title claimed back in 2004.

“It was very important that we got over the line on Sunday,” said the Glenn native.

“It was a good win, a good win for the club and a good win for the underage players coming up to see silverware coming in from the senior team.

“It was a long two years. We led from the very first day (after a win away to Ballymacnab in round one) and it would have been disappointing not to get over the line.”

While that meeting with Ballymacnab last July was close, with a late Dromintee major securing the point, last weekend’s clash was more stress free. Their opponent’s attention was perhaps turned towards a championship meeting with neighbours Granemore in a couple of weeks’ time.

Shea McArdle hit the net midway through the first half and that allowed Dromintee to go into the break with a decent, but not match winning, 1-5 to 0-3 lead.

The visitors didn’t score after that. A second goal from Gareth Kilgallon, whose father Damian captained the team to that 2004 Division One success, secured a 2-14 to 0-3 win.

Now Dromintee will turn their attention to the championship arena as they face a difficult looking south Armagh derby with Silverbridge at the end of the month.

Kennedy said that while league titles are rightly to be enjoyed, championship football is a whole different ball game.

Since their last final appearance in 2010, Dromintee haven’t really made their mark on the competition and Kennedy is hoping that over the coming years they can start to reverse that trend.

With knock-out still in place this season, he knows just how dangerous a threat the ‘Bridge possess.

He will also be aware that when the core of the two squads met in an Armagh Minor final in 2013, the Harps made a mockery of their underdogs’ tag to ease to the title before seeing their campaign end in the Ulster final against an incredible Glen team from Derry.

“Winning a league is great but what we did against Ballymacnab will have no impact on our game with Silverbridge,” he said. “We hope it will give us confidence but this is a different day, a different game.

“It is nice to get some silverware back now to the club but we need to raise it now for Silverbridge.”

Mick O’Dowd’s Ballymacnab were relegated with one round to spare, and they were joined by Pearse Og who came close to sending Crossmaglen down to Senior B.

The Ogs led by three points at the break in Cross and were a point ahead at the second-half water break, but the hosts fought back to win 0-16 to 0-14.

The Senior B season concludes this Sunday and with Madden already crowned champions and Annaghmore and St Peter’s already relegated, the last remaining issue surrounds the final promotion place.

Clann Eireann are in pole position as they currently sit second in the table on 18 points, but a defeat in Mullaghbawn would complicate matters.

A seven-point or greater win for the south Armagh men coupled with Grange losing or drawing against Madden and Mullaghbawn would jump into second.

If Mullaghbawn and Grange both win their games, then three teams would be tied and it would come down to scoring difference. Clann Eireann currently have a scoring difference of +62, Grange +21 and Mullaghbawn +4, so the Lurgan side are in the box seat.

Sarsfields and Carrickcruppen have already been crowned Intermediate A and B champions respectively while Crossmaglen Seconds, Eire Og and Forkhill are battling it out for the honours in the Junior League as the final few pre-championship games get sorted.