Goals vital as Moynalvey earn a final ticket

Are Moynalvey the new force in Meath football? They will want to play down their re-emergence going into the IFC final with Gaeil Colmcille, but it will be difficult to keep a lid on growing expectations after this victory over Dunderry at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday evening. At the start of the year few punters would have bet on them getting into the final yet they have defied the doomsayers, side-stepped some stiff challenges in the group stages and deservedly powered past Dunderry in this semi-final encounter. Everybody was in agreement after this game - Dunderry and Moynalvey supporters and neutrals alike - that the best team on the night won. When it mattered most Moynalvey were able to do the business, close the deal and consign Dunderry to yet another painful defeat at the semi-final stage. There was a lot to admire about the Moynalvey performance most notably the manner in which they swatted away Dunderry's challenge with some swashbuckling, confident football. A predominantly young side with one or two seasoned players to add some hard-nosed experience Moynalvey always looked like they had an extra card to play. It took a little while for Alan Kelly's side to settle into the game, but once they did there was no stopping them. One of their young guns is two-goal Cillian O'Sullivan and he provided two pieces of sublime skill to twice open up the Dunderry defence and leave Barry Callaghan's men facing an uphill battle that ultimately proved too steep. The first of O'Sullivan's two goals arrived after 22 minutes. Moynalvey put together one of their more promising moves with John Donoghue, Barry O'Keeffe, Mark O'Sullivan and David Donoghue involved in getting the ball to Cillian O'Sullivan about 20 metres out and close to the right touchline. There didn't seem to be too much on for the Moynalvey corner forward. He moved one way, then the other, switched on the after-burners and simply swept past a few tackles before firing high to the Dunderry net. It was a brilliant individual effort and must have impressed the watching Seamus McEnaney. McEnaney may have been even more impressed with O'Sullivan's second goal on 47 minutes - it was conjured up out of nothing. Again the young player showed real pace and confidence to scoot past backs and shoot home. That goal left the scoreboard reading 3-3 to 1-5 and there was no way back for Dunderry. Moynalvey's other goal came from a John Donoghue penalty early in the second-half. Ken Hyland was fouled in the square and Donoghue hit his powerful shot to the corner of the net giving David Jennings no chance. Moynalvey led all the way with David Donoghue, Mark O'Sullivan, Raymond Ryan and Hyland others to split the posts for scores that helped to keep their side in front for most of an entertaining contest. One note of concern for Moynalvey was the fact that they hit 10 wides (compared to nine from Dunderry). They did take enough of their chances to wrap up the win while their defence was also impressive comfortably absorbing a lot of pressure in the closing stages as Dunderry pushed forward looking for redemption. Dunderry, despite missing some good chances, enjoyed a decent opening half and were ahead by 1-4 to 1-2 at the break but, as the evening wore on, they tended to give the ball away too much betraying a certain nervousness that undermined their cause. They won a lot of possession from kick-outs winning 15 compared to Moynalvey's nine yet they couldn't translate that into enough scores to win. Dunderry were ahead by 0-3 to 0-1 midway through the opening half with points from Andy Coogan, Stephen Coogan and Keith Callaghan but Cillian O'Sullivan's first goal appeared to rock their confidence and they were on the backfoot after that. Dunderry's found the net after 27 minutes and in dramatic circumstances. A good move involving Darren Fay, David Callaghan and Simon Carty resulted in Peadar Callaghan winning the ball before he was fouled in the square. TJ Garry's penalty rebounded off the bar but he followed up and punched to the net and a mini melee ensued. The goal gave Dunderry renewed hope although that was to prove unfounded. Fay was employed at full-back for most of the game and he effectively pushed forward in the latter stags to try and spark a revival while Peadar Callaghan and Damien Clarke also showed up well. However, with Moynalvey displaying plenty of confidence and panache they marched on to the final. Moynalvey - O Regan; R Kiernan, P Weldon, P Donoghue; A Forde, B O'Keeffe, D Donoghue (0-1); J Donoghue (1-0 penalty), S Donoghue; M O'Sullivan (0-1), W Byrne, D Treacy; C O'Sullivan (2-1 one free), W Mahady, R Ryan (0-1 free). Subs - K Hyland (0-1) for Ryan half-time; P Harnan for Treacy half-time; J Kelly for Byrne 37 mins; B Conneely for M O'Sullivan 58 m. Dunderry - D Jennings; Darren Callaghan, David Callaghan, D McCormack; D Clarke, E Stephens, J Kelleher; D Fay, P Callaghan; A Coogan (0-1), TJ Garry (1-0 penalty), S Coogan (0-3 frees); K Dowd, S Carty, K Callaghan (0-1). Subs - G Newman for Kelleher half-time; R Doherty for Carty 47 mins; I McCormack for Dowd 48m; C Harte for Darren Callaghan 48m; A Newman for A Coogan 54m. Referee - Liam O'Brien (Duleek/Bellewstown).