Cootehill 1-12
Lavey 2-9

Enda Hessin's penalty in the third minute of injury-time gave Cootehill a share of the spoils against Lavey in the senior championship first round clash at Kingspan Breffni.

Having endured a nightmare start in which they conceded 2-1 in the opening three minutes, the Celts battled back to within one-point by the halfway stage but looked certain to endure defeat after points from substitute Shane Tierney and Karl Duke had Lavey up by three going into the added minutes.

The town side never threw in the towel though and earned penalty through Caoimhin Carney's endeavours in the square which Hessin held his nerve to dispatch.

Without the services of Ray Cullivan, Lavey could not have asked for a better start to this championship opener with Karl Duke's point inside 25 seconds being backed up by back-to-back goals from Darren Jordan.

Jordan's first major came from the penalty spot after Duke had been tumbled, forcing referee Jim Giblin to wave horizontal arms, and Lavey's no 10 found the net again a minute later after pouncing quickly on a mix up at the back from the Celts.

Enda Hessin's free got the town side off the mark six minutes in and although Oliver Smith erased it at the far end, Paddy Kelly's side began to hit their stride into the town end goals, rattling off 0-6 without reply over the ensuing 12 minutes.

Colm Smith (4, one a free) and Hessin provided the finishes to make sure Cootehill profited from the dominance, leaving the scoreboard reading 2-2 to 0-7 after 20 minutes, before Duke's second point stopped the rot for the men from New Inns.

Gerry Smith and Dean Connolly each traded fine efforts to maintain the two-point margin and while Cootehill upped their wides' tally to seven, Dean Rutherford was able to find his range on the opposite end as the interval approached.

Hessin landed a quick brace (one a free) ahead of the short whistle, leaving the margin at the minimum (2-5 to 0-10) when the teams went in, which Kelly's men would have gladly taken after such a catastrophic start.

A free from Hessin tied things up four minutes into the resumption but 15 scoreless minutes would ensure as the teams registered poor wides at both ends.

A Darren Jordan free had Lavey's noses back in front and they'd double the lead when the resultant kick-out hit Jordan on the chest and he sailed over with ease.

Some good work inside from Caoimhin Carney saw the dual player pull one back for the Celts but they looked to be in some peril after sub Tierney and Duke fired back-to-back scores, with the latter in for a clear-cut goal opportunity moments after Tierney had been black carded.

Kevin McDonnell's men would end up ruing not hitting Jamie Smith's net on that tour, as Cootehill bored through them and found Carney who was impeded and Hessin coolly applied the finish to ensure the Hoops a share of the spoils before they lost Paul McCarney to a second yellow late on.

Cootehill: Jamie Smith; Sean O'Connor, Barry McGahan, Gerard Argue; Shane Sexton, John Carney, Dean Connolly (0-1); Josh Hayes, John McCutcheon; Damien Sherlock, Enda Hessin (1-6, 3f, 1 pen), Caoimhin Carney (0-1); Stevie O'Connor, Colm Smith (0-4, 2f), Paul McCarney. Sub: Diarmuid Carney for D Sherlock (42mins).

Lavey: Conor Martin; David Conroy, Fergal Smith, Joey Jordan; Finbar Jordan, Paul Gilcreest, Gerry Smith (0-1); Diarmuid Conaty, Dean Rutherford (0-1); Darren Jordan (2-3, 1 pen, 1f), Chris Conroy, Darragh Conaty; Oliver Smith (0-1), Karl Duke (0-3), Ciaran Tierney. Subs: Shane Tierney (0-1) for D Conaty (48mins), Aogan Sheridan for S Tierney (60, BC).

Ref: Jim Giblin (Arva)

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