Dunshaughlin 1-10, Blackhall Gaels 1-6

Dunshaughlin found enough momentum in the second-half to gain some form of compensation for their SFC final defeat by Summerhill when they negotiated local rivals Blackhall Gaels in the Feis Cup final at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday afternoon. The Dunshaughlin players had to work hard for a victory they almost kicked away with a tally of 16 wides, but they seemed to last the pace better and took control in the closing stages. Blackhall were well in contention at the interval, but they could muster only one second-half point and that ultimately proved costly as Sean Whelan emerged as their only scorer. Whelan had Blackhall on the scoreboard with a point after 14 seconds, the only score they managed from play. He converted a free soon after following a foul on Jonathan Meyler. At the other end Cathal O'Dwyer hit the crossbar with a blistering shot that was eventually cleared. The Dunshaughlin player required attention subsequently, but resumed in the full-forward line. Not so lucky was wing-back Anthony Johnson who lasted only six minutes before limping out of the action due to injury. Tadhg Delaney got Dunshauglin going on the scorebaord in the eighth minute. Following that Dunshaughlin substitute Kevin Ward made a probing run, was fouled with a lazy type of challenge and Trevor Dowd drew the sides level when he converted the resultant free. Dunshaughlin were playing good football at that stage and hit the front when Ray Maloney fired over from play. However, Dunshaughlin were pegged back by a hard-working and economical Blackhall Gaels outfit who found the net from Whelan's 13th minute penalty after Meyler was clearly fouled after fielding a high ball. Whelan converted three more frees before the break which gave Blackhall a 1-5 to 0-4 interval lead. Fergus Toolan's point from a free was all Dunshaughlin could muster as they finished the half with eight wides to their credit. Some of those wides were terrible although they could also have had a goal near the break. Blackhall full-back Noel O'Hora made a superb block on the goal line after another O'Dwyer rasper beat Thomas Dalton. It was an inspirational type of save. The tempo increased in the second-half and Dowd showed quick feet for an early point, Maloney added another in between the almost mandatory brace of wides as Dunshaughlin's off-target tally hit double figures (10). After another wide, John Crimmins split the posts and reduced the deficit to the minimum, Dowd broke the cycle of wides versus points when he drew the sides level (0-8 to 1-5). Subsequent wides by Conor Devereux and substitute Niall Kelly restored a type of normal service for Dunshaughlin, but they were in safe enough territory at this stage. After enduring 18 blank second-half minutes Whelan converted a free that heralded a brief period of dominance for the Gaels, but they failed to add to their tally and were rocked when O'Dwyer finished to the net for Dunshaughlin with eight minutes remaining. Devereux added a point from play and then Kelly sent over what used to be his trademark score, a mighty free out of his hands from near the stand sideline. Blackhall were running on empty at that stage and had nothing left in the tank. Dunshaughlin - R Gogan; A Doyle, K McTigue, D Kealy; A Johnson, C King, T Johnson; J Crimmins (0-1), R Maloney (0-2); F Toolan (0-1 free), T Dowd (0-3 one free), C Devereux (0-1); T Delaney (0-1), N Murphy, C O'Dwyer (1-0). Subs - K Ward for A Johnson six mins, N Kelly (0-1 free) for T Delaney 41m, F Delaney for Ward 57m, E Hagarty for T Johnson 58m, P McHale for Devereux 60m. Blackhall Gaels - T Dalton; D Dalton, N O'Hora, JM Kelly; D Tobin, G Beirne, D Beirne; T Brosnan, E Broad; C McElligott, A Dalton, D O'Neill; A Nestor, J Meyler, S Whelan (1-6 penalty goal, five frees). Subs - P O'Brien for Dalton 41 mins, JJ Kelly for JM Kelly 45m, S Morrris for O'Neill 56m, M Crampton for McElligott 59m. Referee - Colm McManus (Gaeil Colmcille). The under-8 players from Dunshaughlin and Blackhall Gaels provided the interval entertainment with a couple of mini-games that were contested with great enthusiasm.