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HAVING finished bottom of their group and exited the championship at the earliest possible juncture in the past two seasons, Dromintee have booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Armagh SFC for the first time since 2022. And they did so in a group that contained the reigning county champions Madden along with 47-time winners, and the kingpins of the Orchard County club scene, Crossmaglen. A draw with Madden on the opening day, followed by a first ever championship win over the Rangers, gave Dromintee a huge opportunity to top the group when they hosted Tullysaran on Sunday. They knew it could all come down to score difference and Joe O’Kane’s side were leaving nothing to chance, emerging with a 4-25 to 0-12 victory in the end. “When the draw came out and we saw the current champions Madden, Crossmaglen and Tullysaran, who gave us a good run for our money in the league, our first mission was to get out of the group to be honest,” said O’Kane. “The last couple of years we haven’t got out of the group so that was the target. “Getting up for Madden wasn’t difficult because they are the county champions and we put in a decent performance against them and probably left it behind us but Madden could say the same. “Going into the Cross game, in Cross, it doesn’t take a whole pile to motivate the team, particularly Dromintee and both teams were probably disappointed with their finishing on the night although it was a typical championship game with the hits and the intensity. “We knew going into Sunday we had to put up a score, which we hadn’t done so far. “We had to assume Madden were going to beat Cross and we knew the 14-point (score) difference and luckily enough we got our scores on the board so we’re happy.” Read more: Culloville and Niall Rowland embracing unique situation in Armagh SFC Dromintee’s new beginning and the framework with which they’re building their way up The Dromintee team has been boosted by a raft of young and hugely talented footballers that have found their feet at Senior Championship level extremely quickly. Michael O’Neill, Fergus Toale, Keane McArdle and Diarmuid O’Rourke all started against Tullysaran, with O’Rourke top scoring with 1-8 and Toale chipping in with 1-1 on the night. Michael Walker, Fionn Toale and Conor Dunne came off the bench as well. The aforementioned players were all members of the minor team that won the Ulster Championship at St Paul’s on New Year’s Day. “First of all, they are good, honest footballers and there’s no airs or graces about them,” the Derry native continued. “They’re not coming in expecting to get into the team, they’ve earned their spots. “The likes of Keane McArdle, he was probably the first minor we saw this year because he wasn’t involved with the Armagh U20s so he’s been with us from day dot and it’s testament to him. “Once he got into that centre half forward spot, he hasn’t let it go and he’s doing everything his should be doing. “The honesty of the lads is great, numbers wise it’s massive and it creates competition for the first 15 and it creates competition for the 24 (matchday panel). “There’s a lot of unhappy men and that’s a good thing because 12 months ago we were going down to Carrickcruppen (in round three of the group stages) struggling for a panel never mind a first 15. “It’s amazing the impact a wee injection of bodies can have, not only on the fellas coming in but the seniors that are already there. “They know they have to up their game or they’re not going to be playing too much football.”