BELCOO .................................. 2-18

DEVENISH .............................. 2-10

First division league holders Belcoo took an important step towards securing the double when they stepped up their performance over the final quarter to dispatch a determined Devenish side in this high scoring quarter final tussle.

Belcoo with two first half goals had reached the break in a fairly comfortable position, six points to the good, but they had a nervous third quarter. Devenish put in a sturdy challenge and they were to break through for scores which saw them trim down the gap to two points.

All finely poised at that juncture but Belcoo were able to resurrect themselves and they regained command, pressing forward to shoot a stream of points over the final ten minutes or so to once more hoist themselves well clear.

A clear signal here too from the league holders that they have the appetite and the talent to be the side the remaining championship hopefuls will have to reckon with.

For a forceful winners there was again a lot of strong individual contributions from the usual suspects but key to their success was also the solid support all round.

Goalkeeper Paul Duffy had to be on his game to deny Devenish with some excellent shot stopping while corner back James Stewart and full back Michael Leonard were also top notch performers.

For Devenish, Caolan Woods was perhaps their most consistent figure over the course of the hour and he got through an enormous amount of work in the middle third of the park. Half back Vincent O'Brien was another who played steadily with John Treacey and Chris O'Brien featuring brightly.

Devenish certainly gave the game their best shot but in the end the superior all round balance of Belcoo was to be the decisive factor in fashioning the result.

Belcoo had a bright opening with a quick goal giving them early impetus, a Gavin Leonard punt in being allowed to slip into the net. Devenish responded smartly with a neatly taken goal on ten minutes but goal number three arrived shortly after that, Ronan Ferguson planting home a crisp shot for Belcoo.

Feature of the half was not to be the goals but a couple of exceptional long range points for Belcoo tossed over by Brian Cox and Ryan Leonard. Other points for Belcoo were added by Jonathan Feely and Ronan Ferguson and they tallied eight in all before the break

Devenish had kept themselves within range with five points in reply and on the changeover they were to make a feisty effort to recover the lost ground.

For some minutes they had an edge and they were lifted by a 35th minute goal from Chris O'Brien and with the lead down to just two points there was a genuine glimpse of a full assault on their part.

But Belcoo steadied their ship and they began to dictate matters once again. They foraged their way in for a stream of points, Eunan Mullally, Jonathan Feely and Ronan Ferguson on the mark and though Devenish did have sporadic answers from Gavin Gallagher especially they had slipped out of contention some distance from the finish.