Top of the flops

Billed as the main attraction of the SFC second round, Summerhill's re-match of the 2008 Keegan Cup final against Navan O'Mahonys proved to be a box office flop for the south Meath side at Dunsany on Sunday. With an appearance in the final two years ago and an unlucky semi-final loss a few months ago, Summerhill were the popular tip to claim honours this time around, but they were handed a lesson on Sunday. O'Mahonys had all the star acts including hat-trick hero Paddy Smyth, while Summerhill's supporting cast cut a poor swathe as they struggled to find any form, let alone their best. Just two scores from play, the second four minutes into injury-time is an indication of how poor Summerhill were. Their normal attacking flair, midfield creativity and defensive stubborness was non-existent. Instead they were timid in the tackle, overwhelmed at midfield and clueless and leaderless in attackl. O'Mahonys were vastly superior and worth every one of their 10-point win. Impressive as O'Mahonys were, they still couldn't raise their the game above mediocrity. Much of the play was fractious and scrappy with very few decent passages. When there was some good football most of it was played by the Navan men. Smyth was the name on everyone's lips as they left the picturesque Dunsany venue. His three goals were a mixed bag, but all were excellent finishes against a Summerhill rearguard renowned for tight marking and solid defending. However, Summerhill displayed very few of the traits they are known for. Richie Hatton did well at full-back for the second-half while Davy Dalton and Mark O'Reilly worked tirelessly. The forward division never got going with Dalton's injury-time point their sole contribution from play. While Summerhill can accept the defeat as 'just one of those days,' a lot of credit must go to O'Mahonys are they worked hard, closing down every Summerhill player, throwing the ball around with abandon and always looking to attack. An indication of the strength and elusiveness of the O'Mahonys forward division was that all their scores came from play with the two decisive goals coming in a minute towards the end of the first-half. Even when Summerhill did threaten to build up a little momentum they found the outstanding defending of Stephen O'Toole, Kevin Reilly, Cormac Reilly and Shane Crosby an impenetrable wall to breach. After a slow start during which both sides shadow-boxed it was O'Mahonys who landed the first blows with points from Stephen Bray (two), Shane Gillespie and Gary O'Brien between the seventh and 13th minutes for a 0-4 to 0-0 lead. Summerhill were living on scraps, but kicked four wides in the opening 20 minutes and had claims for a 24th minute penalty turned down by referee John Farrelly after Stephen Kennedy looked to have been fouled by Stephen MacGabhann. A minute later Kennedy opened Summerhill's account with a free, but O'Mahonys responded with Smyth netting after his initial effort had been blocked on the line by Hatton. The former Keegan Cup-winning captain bagged his second goal before Bray pointed in injury-time to give O'Mahonys a 2-5 to 0-1 interval lead. Points from Kennedy (free) and Paul Rispin in the opening four minutes of the second-half suggested a way back for Summerhill and when Kennedy brilliantly netted a penalty after Kevin Reilly had bodychecked Bobby Lyons off-the-ball it closed the gap to 1-3 to 2-5 and threatened to set up a great finish. Gillespie was denied a goal by a great save from Tony McDonnell before Smyth completed his hat-trick of goals with a cool finish from close range. MacGabhann and Gillespie added points either side of Smyth's goal. As the game petered out Ross Geraghty and Seanie Dalton traded scores, but it was all over a long time before Farrelly's final whistle. Navan O'Mahonys - M Brennan; S O'Toole, K Reilly, C Reilly; S MacGabhann (0-1), S Crosby, G O'Brien (0-1); C McGuinness, M Ward; P Smyth (3-0), R Geraghty (0-1), H Finnegan; S McKeigue, S Bray (0-3), S Gillespie (0-2). Sub - B Regan for McKeigue 38 mins. Summerhill - T McDonnell; C Young, A Kenny, D Dalton; P Rispin (0-1), M O'Reilly, R Hatton; C Gillespie, D Byrne; M Byrne, B Lyons, B Ennis; S Dalton (0-1), P Larkin, S Kennedy (1-2, one penalty, two frees). Subs - S Husband for Kenny half-time, P Comey for Kennedy 53 mins. Referee - John Farrelly (Syddan).