By their convincing victory over Banagher on a scoreline of 3-18 to 2-11 last Saturday evening in the County S.H.C. Final, Lavey reaffirmed their position as the dominant force in Derry club hurling as they claimed their tenth county title since 1985. The South Derry club's triumph can be attributed to the accuracy of their forwards on this occasion, as all six of them scored, with only three of the Erin's Own scores coming from frees. On the otherhand their opponents Banagher had a total of 15 wides over the hour - many of these from scoreable positions, mainly from frees, and this in the end played a big part in their eventual defeat. The opening half was very competitive, and Mickey Collins goal on the quarter hour was to prove a decisive score as Lavey led at the break by 1-9 to 0-6. Banagher upped their game in the third quarter and when county star Gary Biggs fired home a Banagher goal after just two minutes of the restart we looked to be in for a thrilling encounter. As the game approached the closing quarter the scoreline was 1-10 to 1-6 in favour of Lavey an it still was all to play for. Lavey responded to the challenge in the closing quarter and as we entered the last ten minutes of play had forged ahead by 2-16 to 1-10. Banagher to their credit never gave up and were rewarded with another Gary Biggs goal with three minutes to play. Almost immediately, Lavey showed their superiority to go downfield and Paul Hearty added another goal to emphasise his sides superiority in this county decider. A good all round team performance from the Lavey side, with many of their key players showing excellent form. Midfielder Ollie Collins finished the game with 0-6 (four frees), while Paul Hearty 1-2 and M. Collins 1-3 can also be proud of their contribution to this Lavey success. They now go on to meet Down champions, Portaferry in the Ulster Club hurling championship semi-final and that should be an interesting encounter between two in-form teams. For Banagher, county player, Garry Biggs scored 2-4 (three frees), while his county colleague John O'Dwyer chipped in with three points. To their credit they more than matched the Lavey side in most departments over the hour, but on this occasion accuracy in front of goals was to prove their downfall. Tweet

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