Dunboyne edge out St Paul's in thrilling replay
Dunboyne eventually got across the line in first place when they edged out St Paul's NS, Navan by 1-9 to 1-3 in a thrilling Meath Primary Schools Boys Div 1 final replay at Pairc Tailteann this afternoon.
Like the drawn encounter five dayes earlier there was liitle to choose between the teams for 45 or the 50 minutes of this absorbinh encounter.
Dunboyne deserved to win as they were physically a little bit stronger, but they had to dig deep into their reserves of character and determination to repel a gallant St Paul's team that certainly lost nothing in defeat, apart from the sought-after piece of silverware.
CELEBRATIONS FOR DUNBOYNE TODAY AT PAIRC TAILTEANN
And the trophy had a little bit of history attached as it commemorated a former pupil from St Oliver Plunkett's NS, Navan who was fatlly injured in an accident some 20 years ago.
The prize for Dunboyne was the Kyle Gavigan Memorial Cup and team captain Tadhg Brennan proudly raised the trophy after acknowledging the superb contribution that St Paul's made over the two games.
Dunboyne were ahead by 0-3 to 0-2 at the interval following a fast-paced opening half that saw only one point in the opening quarter, a fine effort from Cian Dunphy of St Paul's who sent over in the third minute.
The pace was relentless during the early exchanges, but it was only when the players settled into the game that the pattern of Dunboyne dominance began to emerge.
Points from Charlie Gallagher, Cormac Horan and Harry Healy had Dunboyne in front, but they were hauled back when gutsy St Paul's closed the gap to the minimum through a Jack Collier pointed free.
Dunboyne resumed after the break with points from Gallagher (free) and Senan O'Mahoney, but again they were hauled back, this time to parity when Cormac Maguire finished to the net.
It was the type of goal that had the Dunboyne supporters groaning even before he took the shot as it was clear to see that he would find the net.
Cue the cheering from the St Paul's supporters, briefly, until Dunboyne forged ahead again when Matthew Cunningham split the posts.
Now it was a sea of black and amber flags fluttering in the stand, briefly, because once more this gallant group of St Paul's footballers found a response for parity (1-3 to 0-6) from a Cormac Fitzsimons free.
It was the kind of statement from St Paul's that said - "answer that Dunboyne, if you are good enough" - and the response was in the affirmative, eventually.
Four minutes remained when James Lonergan eased Dunboyne into the lead again, a good point, and 60 second later it was as good as over when Lonergan finished to the net.
St Paul's kept pushing forward, Dunboyne countered and added points from Gallagher and Cunningham.
What a pity that it wasn't another draw, then we would all have had the chance to see two very good teams in action again.
However, the trophy will reside in Dunboyne for 12 months and each team had a Spirit of the Final winner with Dunboyne's Jake Lawlor earning selection on Thursday.
SCORERS
Dunboyne:James Lonergan 1-1; Charlie Gallagher 0-3; Matthew Cunningham 0-2; Cormac Horan 0-1; Senan O'Mahoney 0-1; Harry Healy 0-1.
St Paul's: Cormac Maguire 1-0; Jack Collier 0-1; Cormac Fitzsimons 0-1; Cian Dunphy 0-1.
SEE THE PRESENTATION