Belcoo 1-11 Derrylin 0-07

Belcoo secured their Division One status for next season with a decisive victory over Derrylin last Friday evening.

The home side emerged victorious by seven points, thanks to a pivotal second-half goal from Paddy Boylan.

And despite a late missed penalty by Jake Smith, Belcoo maintained their lead to win 1-11 to 0-07.

The match began with Boylan scoring for Belcoo after a well-placed pass from Michael Burns. Diarmuid Owens quickly responded for Derrylin with a long-range effort.

Both teams traded points, with Ciarán Flaherty and Jake Smith among the early scorers. Flaherty's accuracy from frees and marks helped Belcoo take a 0-06 to 0-04 lead into half-time.

Derrylin started the second half brightly, with Owens scoring over the bar. However, Belcoo soon found the net after a turnover allowed Michael Burns to drive towards goal and square the ball to Boylan, who sidestepped the keeper and rolled it into the net, making it 1-06 to 0-05.

Patient play from Belcoo put Burns in space to score a point, but McGovern responded for Derrylin after a quick interchange with James Dolan.

Flaherty then won possession and extended Belcoo's lead to 1-08 to 0-06.

When Oisin O’Loughlin forced a turnover from a Derrylin kick-out, Flaherty converted with 10 minutes to play.

Flaherty won another kick-out, and a few passes later, he fired over to make it 1-10 to 0-06.

McGovern managed one more point for Derrylin, reducing the deficit to six points, but Kieran Leonard replied for the home side.

In the closing stages, Derrylin applied pressure with high balls into the square. While Belcoo dealt with most of them well, James Dolan won one and was judged to have been fouled, resulting in a penalty being awarded.

Jake Smith stepped up but rattled the bar, and Gary Doherty made a superb save on the rebound, ending the match 1-11 to 0-07.

Belcoo’s win, combined with Roslea’s loss at Enniskillen, meant Derrylin and Roslea were relegated with a final round of fixtures still to play. Belcoo’s victories over Derrylin and Devenish secured their place in Division One.

Manager Mickey McGillen was "absolutely delighted" for his team.

He stated: "Two very tough games last week. Devenish, the local derby, was always going to be a tight game. We got the goals at the right time, which took us over the line.

"The Friday night game against Derrylin was always going to be a relegation battle right from the start of the year. We knew it was going to be a very, very tight game. We were absolutely delighted to get the result. We played good honest football and, once again, got the goal at the right time.

"Absolutely delighted that we regained Division One status, our goal at the start of the year. A huge achievement and something to build on for the Intermediate Championship."