Derrygonnelly eased their way into a quarter-final meeting with Irvinestown with a comfortable 3-12 to 0-09 victory over Division Two side Kinawley in the Quinn Insurance Senior Football Championship at Brewster Park on Saturday evening.

The Harps took control right from the off with Kevin Cassidy supplying the opening goal in the first minute of the contest, and they went on to remain in charge of affairs with a second goal from the excellent Declan Cassidy helping them to a 2-05 to 0-04 lead at half time.

With Kinawley struggling to make any sort of an impact on the game, Derrygonnelly were able to push on in the second half with a string of points before Terry Greene poked home a third goal late in the day in secure a 3-12 to 0-09 victory.

Derrygonnelly will know that tougher tests lie ahead in the championship but having got this one out of the way they will feel quietly confident that they will be able to see of the challenge of another Division Two side in Irvinestown in the next round and progress through to the semi-finals of the competition.

At the back they were steady with Eamon McHugh and Dermot Carroll impressive in the full back line while further up the field Daniel Ward and Declan Cassidy both had fine games with Cassidy particularly impressive in the opening 20 minutes when he got on the ball countless times.

For Kinawley, this was a disappointing performance with few players making the necessary impression. Best for them were defenders Mark Monaghan and Brendan McHugh while Tomas Corrigan offered a limited threat in attack.

If Kinawley were going to cause a surprise they could not afford to let Derrygonnelly open up an early advantage, but unfortunately for the Brian Borus that is exactly what happened with the Harps having the ball in the back of the Kinawley net inside the opening minute. Jonathan McGurn and Paul Ward combined to set up full forward Kevin Cassidy and he finished expertly under goalkeeper Darren Boyle.

With confidence high after this strike, Derrygonnelly went on to control the play throughout the first half with Declan Cassidy a driving force in the half forward line.

Aidan Gallagher registered a point from play and Ryan Jones was on target from frees for the Harps while Tomas Corrigan and Brendan McHugh replied with a couple of points for Kinawley

A second Derrygonnelly goal, though, gave the Harps a commanding lead as half time approached. Paul Ward was again provider as he played in Cassidy on the left and he carried forward before placing a delightful chip over the goalkeeper and into the far corner of the net.

Paul Ward then lobbed over a point on the stroke of half time to leave the Harps seven points clear at the break, 2-05 to 0-04.

Derrygonnelly were slow to get going at the start of the second half but with Kinawley failing to make inroads into the lead it was Derrygonnelly who pressed on to add to their advantage.

Paul Greene notched a point from play and Daniel Ward followed up with a super fisted point after a strong run down the right hand side.

Kinawley had scores in the second half from Shaun Doherty and Sean Leonard but with McGurn, Jones, Paul Ward and Francis McKenna banging over points, Derrygonnelly remained in control.

And the last action of the game saw Derrygonnelly hit the back of the Kinawley net for a third time as Terry Greene made sure that Paul Ward’s effort crossed the line.

From the Impartial Reporter