Kilcoo made it the round dozen in terms of Down Senior Football Championship titles in the past 13 years by virtue of this thoroughly comfortable victory over their great rivals Burren at Pairc Esler, Newry.
At no stage was Kilcoo’s dominance seriously challenged in a match which was devoid of artistic flair and spectacular scoring.
Instead, Kilcoo clinically called the shots and underlined their authority in virtually every move. Their dominance on the scoreboard may ultimately have been enhanced by a 64th minute goal from skipper Darryl Branagan but this merely added insult to injury from a Burren perspective.
While Kilcoo as a team can take considerable satisfaction from this particular outing, defender Callum Rogers has special cause to reflect on yet another coup for the Magpies given that he walked off with the man of the match trophy.
“We knew it was going to be tough against Burren because they have a number of Down county players in their side and we wanted to get off on the right foot and then maintain our momentum. That was the aim and, while we succeeded to a large extent, we knew that we could not afford to take our foot off the accelerator,” said Rogers afterwards.
“We may have collected a number of Down titles over the course of recent years but we take nothing for granted. You know you have to work hard if you hope to gain the upper hand and that’s why we just kept going.
“The fact that we stepped up on our scoring in the second quarter was a bonus and this allowed us to finish on a high. That late goal was a bonus and it helped to seal our victory.”
And Rogers has certainly lost no time in pinpointing precisely what is on the Kilcoo menu going forward.
“Obviously now that we have landed this Down title we would like to get our hands on the Ulster crown again. You only have to take stock of the teams who have already won county titles and others who still have to participate in finals and you will very quickly see that there is a tough road ahead.
“There is no doubt that the provincial series will be tough but we have to be up for it if we are to have a chance of making any impression.”
Certainly Kilcoo’s experience and fluency will stand them in good stead on the Ulster stage but Sunday’s match did not quite offer them the examination that they might have welcomed as they target the future.
When Kilcoo’s Paul Devlin and Burren goalkeeper Donal O’Hare both whipped over a brace of points in the opening minutes, there was a feeling that a score fest might be launched.
But this was not to be. With both defences having erected the shutters and leaned on a strong ration of physicality to restrict their opponents, it soon became clear that a showpiece was not on the menu.
Instead, in a somewhat one-sided second quarter Kilcoo called the shots, with Devlin very much to the fore along with Niall Kane, Michael Rooney, Jerome Johnston and Christopher Rooney, who joined in piloting Kilcoo into their 0-7 to 0-2 interval lead.
The possibility of a Burren response flickered briefly in the opening phase of the second-half but they were unable to find the space and time in which to maximise the scoring chances they created. Indeed, time and time again their raids were foiled by smart Kilcoo interceptions that led to counter-attacks which kept their opponents on the back foot.
Yet when the agile Liam Kerr fired a double blast between the 51st and 53rd minutes by converting a free and whipping over a fine score from play, his team were still in the picture at 0-8 to 0-4.
But that was as good as it got for Burren. They tended to flatter to deceive when it came to making the most of scoring chances and the fact that they surrendered possession rather too easily on occasions certainly did not help their cause.
Indeed, Kilcoo’s desire was vividly illustrated in the closing moments when they claimed ownership of the game.
Burren were forced back and when Kilcoo skipper Branagan broke free, he thundered through to sweep in a stunning goal that garnished a Kilcoo victory which will fire the side up for their Ulster Club Championship campaign.
Most teams have to settle for one game in the series – Kilcoo tend to do things rather differently.
Kilcoo: N Kane 0-1 (f); N Branagan, S Og McCusker, C Rogers: M Rooney 0-1, D Branagan 1-0, E Branagan; Aaron Morgan, R McEvoy 0-2; C rooney 0-1, Anthony Morgan 0-1, S Johnston; J Johnston 0-1, P Devlin 0-3 (1f), C Doherty.
Subs: J Devlin for C Rooney (48), C Laverty for S Og McCusker, (55), N Rogers for P Devlin (64).
Burren: D O’Hare 0-2 (2f); P Burns, G McGovern, M McAvoy; P McCarthy, R Magill, P Fegan; A Cole, O Murdock; D McEntee, L Kerr 0-2 (1f), C McGovern; D Magill, N Toner, R McGrath.
Subs: R Cunningham for McGovern (40), D McEntee for Toner (41), R Kelly for Treanor (42), K McKernan for Cole (48), C Toner for McEvoy (52).
Referee: Michael Moore (St Peter’s Warrenpoint)