The game started feverishly with both sides wanting to get on the scoreboard early to settle there nerves, it was Dillons through Horgan though who raised the first and second flags of the game to set up an early lead which Dillons wouldn't let go of. Large portions of this first half saw Dillons dominate throughout the park as they won most of the individual battles, this dominance aided by a string of wides by Mayfield allowed Dillons to open up a gap on the score board. During this period we were treated to some fantastic points, McCarthy got the ball rolling landing some great scores from tough angles on both wings, Ross Murphy who had been working tirelessly touched up a great ball to himself before sending the ball into the inside forward where another deft touch by Lynch and turn left the supporters witnessing a beautifully worked score. Mayfield were not dead just yet and managed to dust themselves down and knock over a few scores but again it was Dillons who pushed on through fantastic long distance scores from Lawrence, Coughlan and Horgan, the latter showing his defensive skills blocking down the corner backs clearance before slotting it over the bar. Mayfield with a late surge before half time snuck on 2 scores to keep them in it, the scores at half time were Dillons 0-11; Mayfield 0-7.

As was to be expected at the start of the second half Mayfield came tearing out of the traps and tacked over the first 2 points of the half to reduce the deficit to 2, the Dillons lads responded well again through McCarthy, Horgan and Lawrence to open up a 6 point advantage. At this point Dillons were in a commanding position and the tireless work in the backline, midfield and up front was putting all kinds of pressure on Mayfield, however poor decision making in front of goals was to cost them as they racked up a few wides. Mayfield buoyed by these misses hit a string of scores to claw themselves back into the game and only for a fantastic save at this stage by Triggs in goal, who charged the Mayfield attacker, Dillons could have been behind. Coming into the closing period of the game and trailing by 1 point it was Mayfield in the ascendancy and when they picked off the equalizing score from distance with 4 minutes to go it appeared as if Mayfield might pull off an astonishing comeback.

The Dillons lads mustered well and responded to this challenge by tightening up at the back even further, up front Horgan slotted over another free to put Dillons a point ahead. Controversy was always going to show its face in this local derby and we received what was deemed a controversial decision by some when running at the Dillons defense looking to generate something the Mayfield attacker was blown for over-carrying the sliothar by referee Colm Lyons a mere second or two before he flicked the ball to the Dillons net. This lead to much jeering from the crowd as they felt certain it should have been a goal, but the distance travelled with ball in hand made the journey taken in lord of the rings look short and was consistent work by the ref who had pinged a few people for over-carrying throughout the game. Dillons didn't let this unsettle them and Rodgers with a huge effort from his own half and Horgan from distance also, sealed this superb performance by the Tank Field outfit. A great contest from start to finish which the Dillons lads will be glad to see the back of as they go onto more pressing matters, with their rub of the green, they will look to bring the same level of performance to the Final.

They now face Nemo Rangers in the Final next Sunday the 6th of September at 12.15pm in Ballinlough, where they will look to avenge their semi final exit at the hands of the same opposition last year. As always the Dillons lads were aware after the game that even though they had won, there are still areas of of their game they can improve on and no doubt they will look to right these during their preparations this week. A fantastic performance throughout the game from 1 to 15, and it is onwards and upwards as we all in the club look forward to the privilege of contending another City Division Final.

Team: 1. T Triggs; 2. P O'Brien; 3. D Brosnan; 4. M Noonan; 5. C Brosnan; 6. D Rodgers; 7. M White; 8. D Cremin; 9. T Lawrence; 10. A Murphy; 11. R Murphy; 12. C McCarthy; 13. K Coughlan; 14. C Lynch; 15. J Horgan.

Subs: M Carey for A Murphy(52 min), J Murphy for K Coughlan(57 min)

Scorers: J Horgan, 0-10 (0-5f, 0-2 65); C McCarthy, 0-5; T Lawrence, 0-2; K Coughlan, D Rodgers and C Lynch 0-1 each.

Team: 1.T Triggs; 2.S Kearney; 3.D Brosnan; 4.E Hennessy; 5.P O'Brien; 6.C Brosnan; 7.M Noonan; 8.D Cremin; 9.K Coughlan; 10.S Maher; 11.K McCarthy; 12.R Murphy; 13.M Carey; 14.J Murphy; 15.J Horgan;

Subs: M Buckley, A Murphy, T Lawrence

Scorers: T Lawrence, 2-2; J Horgan, 1-5; A Murphy, 1-4; K Coughlan, 0-5; M Carey, 1-0; R Murphy, J Murphy, 0-2 each; P O'Brien, M Noonan, K McCarthy, M Buckley, 0-1 each;

This thrilling finish was preceded by 60 minutes of breathtaking football with both sides serving up a high quality contest for those in attendance. The game was only 30 seconds old when Horgan caught a great ball swiveled and buried the ball in the Barrs net, from here Dillons didn't look back and continued to play some great football going forward and kept the score board ticking over. With their defence ensuring that the Barrs were having to work hard for every score it gave the midfield and forwards a great platform to put the Barrs rearguard under a lot of pressure. With the game level after 20 minutes Dillons were dealt a blow as the referee blew for a penalty when a Barrs forward went down under pressure in the box in what a lot of people felt was a soft decision. With the Barrs converting the penalty and going into the lead for the first time in the game it lifted their performance and only for one of many super saves produced by Dillons net minder Kirby, which saw him make a point blank save from a one on one situation down low only to get back up and tip over the bar when the rebound was punched towards the empty net, they could have opened up a bigger gap. This save however galvanized the lads and they again began controlling the game for the final minutes of the half and trailed the Barrs by only 2 points at the break on a scoreline of 1-06 to 1-08.

The second half picked up where the first had left off as the lads controlled much of the possession but they were making hard work of turning this into scores and it was the Barrs who picked off the first two scores stretching their lead to four points, this didn't faze our lads however as they closed the gap and continued to pressurize the Barrs outfit all over the pitch and turned over ball after ball to ensure they kept themselves in the game. With the game getting close to its completion Dillons scored a great point to close the game to within a point when Cillian Brosnan tapped the ball down into Lawrences hands from the kick out and he in turn fed Rodgers who kicked a big point from distance, it seemed at this stage that the Dillons lads might get something from this game. This was when, showing the form of reigning champions the Barrs burst into life and added further points to put themselves 3 points up nearing added time and this could have been 6 points when with minutes left of normal time Kirby again made a fantastic double save which kept his side in it.

The comeback started with a point by Horgan in the first minute of added time to make it a two point game, from the resultant kick out the Dillons pressure on the Barrs which even at this stage didn't relent as they again turned over the ball. A long delivery saw Brosnan field the ball at the corner of the square and as he moved across the goal to attempt a shot he was hauled to the deck whilst surrounded by five defenders in the Barrs box, in what looked an entirely unnecessary foul at that stage. Brosnan dusted himself off and with the crowd awaiting in suspense he buried the ball in the bottom corner of the Barrs net to put Dillons one point up with time almost up. The Barrs however did get one more opportunity and when receiving a free kick inside the Dillons half, the ref then called it to be brought forward into what would have been a very kickable position they chose to go for a quick free, credit to the lads they reacted to this and put enough pressure on the player in possession to ensure that the shot that was eventually kicked sailed wide of the mark. Upon the kick out the referee blew for full time and put Dillons through to the Semi Finals of the Championship where they face St.Michaels.

There were great performances all over the park in what was a solid team performance, in goal Kirby mad vital saves at key stages and his kick outs were important to the dominance at midfield. The full back line saw two changes to the last round with McCarthy slotting into a role at full back he hadn't filled before, but this didn't stop them delivering a great example of how to play the man from the front and laid the foundation for many attacks. O'Brien, Lawrence and the two Brosnans covered vast yardage as they supported the attack and defence from half back and midfield respectively in what was a key battle area. In the forwards the half forward line of Triggs, Rodgers and Cremin ran themselves to a stand still and ensured the backline was given plenty of support whilst giving the Barrs half back line a torrid time as Rodgers and Cremin got themselves on the score sheet with a brace of lovely points for both. Corner forwards Buckley and Horgan worked tirelessly as they put the full back line under constant pressure with their intelligent running with and without the ball, while McGrath put himself about breaking ball for the other forwards to feed off.

Similar to the previous round the additional strength off the bench made a telling contribution with O'Leary kicking two high quality points, Crowley winning ball around the middle, while Mahers strength and pace caused headaches with his direct running. All in, it was a satisfying performance from the lads, however it was only a quarter final and nothing is won yet. They will put there heads down now and work hard to bring a similar performance when they meet St.Michaels in the Semi Finals.

Team: 1. J Kirby; 2. A Murphy; 3. C McCarthy 4. M Noonan; 5. P O'Brien; 6. N Fahy; 7. D Brosnan; 8. T Lawrence; 9. C Brosnan; 10. D Cremin; 11. D Rodgers; 12. B Triggs; 13. M Buckley; 14. D McGrath; 15. J Horgan;

Subs: S Maher for D McGrath, D O'Leary for M Buckley, S Crowley for B Triggs.

Scorers: J Horgan, 1-4 (0-3f); C Brosnan, 1-1 (1-0p); D Cremin, D O'Leary and D Rodgers, 0-2 each; T Lawrence, 0-1;

Great credit for this win has to go to the work ethic of the team as a whole, which saw no one individual shine throughout the game but rather the unit showing its strength. The game started as it was going to go on with high intensity and plenty of pressure on the player in possession, Dillons opened the scoring through two Cian McCarthy points from distance. This great start was somewhat setback firstly with the early loss of Dillons half forward John Noonan who had picked up an injury in the warm up that he couldn't shake off, and then after opening their scoring with a point the Barrs found their way through for an early goal to put them into a lead for the first time. 

The Dillons lads however didn't let this affect them as they refocused and got stuck back into the challenge at hand.  The Dillons half back line was performing exceptionally well  at this stage under the high ball dropping in on top of them as the Barrs tried to benefit from the strong breeze behind them and the decision to bring a sweeper into the Dillons defence closed up the space the Barrs had been exploiting. Up front a few scoring opportunities were squandered when shooting under pressure but overall we were treated to some great scores and after 15 minutes Horgan struck for a goal after a long clearance from the defence, which was contested by Lynch and Buckley, allowed the breaking ball fall to Horgan who through one on one made no mistake and rattled the net. Additional points were added by Horgan, Lynch and Murphy, Horgans coming after a neat little dink up to himself and Murphys after turning his man inside out before striking over put Dillons within three points of the Barrs with minutes left in the half. This three point deficit was wiped out in a great move that saw a great interchange of passes between a number of Dillons players before Tomas Lawrence finished to the back of the net while under a lot of pressure. This left us with a level game at half time, Brian Dillons 2-06; St Finbarrs 1-09; which showed the impressive work rate of the team as they played against a strong breeze.

The second half started with a fiery tension as the Barrs attempted to replicate the Dillons players massive effort of the first half and although they struck over an early score it was Dillons who began to dominate around the middle third, it was this domination which showed how well the puck outs for Dillons had worked in the first half as the Barrs struggled to get any go forward ball from their own puck outs. McCarthy again put over a few points aided by Lynch, Horgan and Murphy but it was the ball he played into Horgan after 12 minutes of the second half which was the decisive play in this game, a long ball in, Horgan gathered but was fouled when attempting to shoot at goal and a penalty was duly given which Lynch finished to the back of the net to open up a 5 point gap between the teams. The Dillons lads grew from here and some marauding runs by Lawrence, McCarthy and Cillian Brosnan all yielded scores which put the final seal on this game, the Barrs as expected came looking for goals in the final few minutes but after many attempts all they could come away with was a point. At the final whistle it was Dillons 3-16 to St.Finbarrs 1-12 after an enthralling contest throughout, the concession of only 3 points in the second half shows the commitment of the team unit in the second period to see this game out against such a strong opposition.

As highlighted previously no individual had a fantastic game throughout rather each player stepped up when it mattered and gave it there all, up front the scoring of McCarthy, Murphy, Horgan and Lynch at times were a treat to watch and added to that the work rate of all the forward players as a unit throughout and not giving the Barrs defenders a moments rest was a keystone in this victory. The engine room of Keith McCormick and Lawrence got through their fair share of work and never stopped running which left the Barrs struggling in the second half to win primary possession. At the back all 6 defenders stood up and were accounted for, the full back line started shaky due to the movement deployed by the Barrs forward line but they grew into the game with Noonan and Cremin giving top quality performances in the second half and the captain O'Brien being solid throughout whilst carrying an injury, the half back line of Rodgers, White and Brosnan was the rock upon which many a Barrs attack crashed as they plucked, batted and knocked ball out of the sky to ensure the Barrs forwards were living on scraps. While the importance of Triggs puck outs were highlighted in the second period when the Barrs struggled to gain primary possession from their own. Replacements Darragh Brosnan and Shane Maher brought great energy and physical presence to the Dillons forward line in the closing 15 minutes of the second half after replacing Carey and Buckley,both of whom had caused plenty of pain to the Barrs defence. 

Overall a solid performance by the Brian Dillons players and they will be happy with the fact that their summer continues into August and a championship Semi-Final. They will however look at the areas they can improve at, during the game at times they were guilty of some sloppy play and taking the wrong option when a better option was on and this group of players will look to rectify those areas and they have the opportunity to do this now knowing they are still involved in championship action as they await their opponents in the next round.

Team: 1. T Triggs; 2. P O'Brien (C); 3. M Noonan; 4. D Cremin; 5. D Rodgers; 6. C Brosnan; 7. M White; 8. T Lawrence; 9. K McCormick; 10. J Noonan; 11. C McCarthy; 12. A Murphy; 13. J Horgan; 14. C Lynch; 15. M Buckley;

Subs: M Carey for J Noonan (5 mins, inj); D Brosnan for M Carey (40 mins); S Maher for M Buckley (45 mins); N Fahy for M White (51 mins, inj); E Hennessy for P O'Brien (57 mins)

Team: 1. T Triggs; 2. M Carey; 3. J Murphy; 4. M Noonan; 5. P O'Brien; 6. C Brosnan; 7. M White; 8. T Lawrence; 9. D Coughlan; 10. R Murphy; 11. J Horgan; 12. A Murphy; 13. J Noonan; 14. C Lynch; 15. K McCarthy;

Subs: E Keane for A Murphy(inj)

Scorers: J Horgan, 0-5; E Keane, 1-0; A Murphy, C Lynch, R Murphy and T Lawrence 0-2 each; C Brosnan, J Noonan and K McCarthy 0-1 each;

Team: 1. M Sheedy; 2. M Feehan; 3. D McDonnell; 4. S Kearney; 5. E Hussey; 6. N Fahy; 7. R Burns; 8. D Coughlan; 9. K Coughlan; 10. S Coughlan; 11. E Keane; 12. A Cotter; 13. T McGrath; 14. J Shek

Dillons lining out with a weakened team started this game particularly poorly and it was this poor start which cost them the game going 2-03 to 0-2 down after the opening 15 minutes. Both goals scored came from poor play from the Dillons rearguard who were unable to cope with the runners from deep that allowed Delaneys the extra man to create space. After this devastating opening 15 minutes it was however the Dillons side who began to dominate this fixture as the team worked as a unit and building strong attacks from back to front added on a couple of points while they were unlucky not to add a goal or two put for some fine stops by the oppositions keeper and some aggressive defending. 

Dillons went in trailing at half time but again came out fighting in the second period however they couldn't find the crucial goals that were needed to get themselves back in this game. As the game wore on the Dillons team tired and without replacements, it was Delaneys who capitalized on this adding 1-3 in the last few moments to make the score a lot more unflattering on the Dillons team. 

Valuable lessons have been learned here however for the Dillons lads and the importance of the panel to step up has been made evident, most impressive on the day was Paul McCarthy in goal who made some great stops to keep Dillons in the hunt at times. Lets hope they carry these lessons on ahead of the next round of the championship against St.Finbarr's.

Team: 1. P McCarthy; 2. M Noonan; 3. C Daly; 4. J Murphy; 5. D O'Donoghue; 6. D Rodgers; 7. N Fahy; 8. C Brosnan; 9. T Lawrence; 10. D O'Leary; 11. B Triggs; 12. D Coughlan; 13. T McGrath; 14. D McGrath; 15. J Horgan;

Subs: T Triggs for C Daly(inj)

Team: 1. T Triggs; 2. E Hennessy; 3. D Rodgers; 4. M Noonan; 5. D Cremin; 6. C Brosnan; 7. M White; 8. K McCormick; 9. C McCarthy; 10. S Maher; 11. J Horgan; 12. J Noonan; 13. M Buckley; 14. C Lynch; 15. M Carey;

Subs used: K McCarthy; D Coughlan; K Coughlan; S Kearney; D O'Donoghue.

Scorers: J Horgan, 0-10; C Lynch, 2-3; C McCarthy & J Noonan, 0-2 each; K McCarthy, 0-1;

Nemo opened the scoring in this game after only ten seconds but it was Dillons who took over on the scoring front for the first ten minutes, Cillian Brosnan through on goal after six minutes was pulled down cynically and rightfully had a penalty awarded which he dispatched to the bottom left corner of the Nemo net. At this point it seemed like Dillons would build a lead over Nemo, but like all Nemo sides they know when to strike important blows and in the 11th minute did just that after poor Dillons defending the ball ended up in the net. Dillons responded well to this, rattling off the next three points with some fantastic inter play in the forward line and looked to have steadied the ship, Nemo had other ideas and when a scrappy ball broke a Nemo forward swung his leg at it on the half volley and found the bottom corner of the Dillons net in what was a fantastic looking goal to put them out in front again. This wasn't to be the end of Nemos ascendancy, three minutes later the ball was in the back of the net again with the Dillons defence on the ropes Nemo were pouring through with runners off the shoulder from a move that started in their own back line. Like many occasions throughout the season and not for the last time in this game the Dillons lads didn't stay on the ground for long and fought their way back into this game to ensure they went in level at half time at 1-10 to 3-04.

Dillons supporters had every reason to be worried going into the second period as their lads had played with a strong breeze at their back in the first and Nemo made sure to heighten those worries in the first few moments as they got stuck back in where they left off. However in this period when they could have landed the knockout blows they squandered a number of chances and instead traded scores with Dillons to leave only 2 points between the sides after 15 minutes. Old heads will tell you that surviving a teams good period and to still be in touching distance is key and Dillons did just that, going into the final moments of the game they gave themselves a chance. Even though they hadn't looked like threatening the Nemo goals it was goals they needed when trailing by 4 with minutes to go. Tomas Lawrence duly obliged, picking the ball up around midfield he drove through the heart of the Nemo defence and struck an unstoppable shot to the top corner of the net putting Dillons firmly back into this contest. Nemo responded well and put themselves two points clear, what in their minds, one can only imagine they thought a winning position. The Dillons lads though, dragged themselves up again and like an old boxer who doesn't know when he is beat went looking for the knock out blow. This they found after great inter play, Dave Cremin hand passed across the box where Barry Triggs waited to punch the ball Maradona style into the Nemo net and to the amazement of the Nemo faithful put Dillons 1 point up with seconds remaining. Nemo went looking for the equalizer but it was Dillons who playing in the Nemo style of old shut the game down and ran the clock down to record an impressive fight back victory.

On what was an extremely warm and humid day credit must be given to all 6 of Dillons rearguard as they certainly were made cover every blade of grass on the pitch by a lively Nemo forward line. At midfield Tomas Lawrence and Cillian Brosnan, when moved out, turned in fantastic performances to drive this game home, all 6 forwards got on the score sheet which is not surprising considering the quick inter changing of play that was evident in their style from the outset. Overall Dillons can be happy to be progressing to the next round of the football championship, they will however not look back on this game too fondly in terms of the score conceded. At the moment Dillons are shipping too many goals and if they want to progress further in this championship this needs to stop, from front to back they will need to identify how they are going to ensure this problem is resolved before lining out against St.Finbarrs in the quarters. But for now they will enjoy their victory and for the management team they know they have a unit of players that can resolve this issue.

Scorers: T Lawrence, 1-2; C Brosnan, 1-1; J Horgan, 0-3; M Buckley 0-3; B Triggs, 1-0; D Cremin, 0-2; D Rodgers and D O'Leary 0-1 each.

Team: 1. J Kirby; 2. E Hussey; 3. C Daly; 4. M Noonan; 5. P O'Brien; 6. C McCarthy; 7. S Maher; 8. D McGrath; 9. T Lawrence; 10. D Cremin; 11. D Rodgers; 12. D O'Leary; 13. M Buckley; 14. C Brosnan; 15. J Horgan.

Subs: N Fahy for D O'Leary; B Triggs for M Buckley

Referee: Brian Coniry

Both sides started the game at a frantic pace but it was Dillons who settled faster and began to slot over a few points, two frees from John Horgan and scores from Murphy, McCarthy and Lynch, the latter came after a neat interchange of tight passing between Noonan and Horgan before Lynch pointed, had Dillons ahead 0-5 to 0-2 after the opening 15 minutes. However instead of capitalizing on their ascendancy in the game it was Mayfield who began to take control and struck over a few points to draw level before pouncing for an important goal with a few minutes left in the half. At this point it looked with Mayfield winning key battles around the park that they may extend their lead before half time and leave Dillons chasing the game, this was not to be as the Dillons lads responded with key scores from Buckley, Horgan and Lynch to ensure they went in only one point behind at half time instead of four. The half time score was Brian Dillons 0-09; Mayfield 1-07.

Into the second period and after a few positional switches Dillons continued to work hard and pick off scores, with the forward unit working as a tight unit together, no easy ball was escaping the Mayfield back line whilst quality ball was continuing to be delivered by the midfield and half back line. Early frees and and a point from play for Murphy had Dillons level after exchanging scores with Mayfield, before they pulled away again. In this period Dillons were guilty of missing good opportunities for scores by taking the wrong option when the easy pass inside was on, this is an area where improvement will be needed before their next championship outing. Tomas Lawrence had Dillons ahead with eight minutes to go when he buried the ball in the bottom corner of the Mayfield goal from all of 25 yards, this lead was not to be relinquished by Dillons, who added further scores from placed balls and from play, until the equalizing point in the last puck of the game.

Although a frustrating game due to the high numbers of frees given, when the game was allowed to flow we saw some great hurling from both sides. Dillons will be disappointed to not come away with the win but still learned a lot from the game and give themselves a good insight on the areas of improvement before their championship outing against St.Finbarrs.

There were strong performances all over the park for Dillons, but two of note were Phil O'Brien at half back and Tomas Lawrence at midfield who gave vital contributions at key points in the game.

Scorers: J Horgan, 0-10 (0-8f); T Lawrence, 1-1; C Lynch, 0-3; R Murphy, 0-2; M Buckley and C McCarthy 0-1 each.

Team:  1. T Triggs; 2. E Hennessy; 3. D Rodgers; 4. M Noonan; 5. P O'Brien; 6. D O'Donoghue; 7. M White; 8. T Lawrence; 9. D Cremin; 10. C McCarthy; 11. J Horgan; 12. C Lynch; 13. J Noonan; 14. R Murphy; 15. M Buckley.