Premier FC - 32 years on the clock for Curraha player Declan Hanly
Curraha's Declan Hanly marked a significant milestone when he lined out for his club in the Premier FC at the weekend - it was his 32nd year playing for the club and he was joined on the pitch by his nephew.
Hanly helped his team to a one-point first round win over KIlmainham with a valuable two points off the bench
See report from Div 7 Premier FC below.
Some 25 games were played in the Meath GAA new-look Football Championships for second teams (third and fourth with some clubs) started at the weekend with action in the PREMIER FC across eight separate grades.
In Div 1 - Div 6 there are A and B groups while in Div 7 and Div 8 it's just one group in each grade. There will be eight Premier FC finals.
All the results are featured and a summary of the action from 13 games from reports submitted by excellent PROs to the Meath Chronicle.
Some of the reports appeared in print, but some others missed the deadline - they are all here.
DIVISION 1
Div 1A - Donaghmore / Ashbourne 1-11, Dunshaughlin 0-12; Dunboyne 5-14, Wolfe Tones 3-9.
Dunboyne5-14 Wolfe Tones3-9
Thomas Blaney's return of 2-4 proved to be in vain as Wolfe Tones were well beaten by Dunboyne.
Blaney's first goal from the penalty spot kept Wolfe Tones in contention, but Dunboyne finished the half strong to lead by 3-6 to 1-5 at the interval.
Tom Gavigan also managed a goal for the Tones after Blaney's second penalty.
Wolfe Tones - D Kenny; S Moriarty, G Ó Briain, S Kendall; S Penny, R Murray, P Carroll; A Lynam, A O'Neill; G McFadden, T Gavigan (1-1), T Blaney (2-4); E Corrigan, (0-3), D Canny, A Tolan (0-1). Sub - O Ó Beaglaoich for Murray.
Div 1B - Skryne 1-14, Summerhill 0-9; Seneschalstown 4-9, Gaeil Colmcille 1-12.
Seneschalstown 4-9 Gael Colmcille 1-12
Seneschalstown open their Premier Football Championship campaign with a win at home to Gaeil Colmcille.
Seneschalstown opened the scoring with a point in the first minute from Mark Fox.
Gaeil Colmcille followed their opening score from a free.
The home side went ahead just before the first quarter when Darren Laird found the back of the Gael Colmcille net and continued with a hat-trick of goals from William Finnegan for a 4-4 to 0-5 interval lead with two more points from James Conlon.
Seneschalstown opened the second-half with points from Robert Wogan, Ryan O’Dowd, Sean Carey, but Gael Colmcille scored a penalty in the 12th minute but even with five additional points it wasn’t enough to see off the home side.
Seneschalstown - David Gordon; Colin Gleeson, Kevin Casey,Conor Cowley; Mark Fox (0-1), Sean Carey (0-1), Jamie Kirwan; Ryan O'Dowd (0-1), Robert Ruddy; Sean Commons (0-1), Robert Wogan (0-1), Seanie Dalton; William Finnegan (3-0), James Conlon (0-2), Darren Laird (1-0). Subs - Eoin Finnegan for Darren Laird, Damian Sheridan for Sean Commons, Cillian Lawlor for Mark Fox, James Meade for Seanie Dalton, Kit Waddington (0-1) for Ryan O’Dowd
Skryne1-14 Summerhill0-9
Niall Morley's 12th minute goal provided hosts Skryne with the perfect platform to get the better of Summerhill on Sunday.
The winners led by 1-8 to 0-5 at the break and increased that advantage with Jason Reddy, Paddy Fox and Ronan McCabe on target.
Skryne - D McAvinney; T Lennon, D McGoldrick, B Clarke; F Carty, M Doherty, K Kinsella; M Harrington (0-1), C Doherty (0-1); P Fox (0-2), N Burke (0-1), R McCabe (0-2); N Morley (1-1), A Tuite, J Reddy (0-4). Subs – J Fox (0-1), C Nolan (0-1).
DIVISION 2
Div 2A - Simonstown 2-15, Navan O'Mahonys 2-11; Dunboyne 2-7, Na Fianna 1-9.
Dunboyne 2-7 Na Fianna 1-9
Na Fianna lost away to Dunboyne on Sunday. This was an exciting and hard fought game throughout and it was the home side who held out to claim the points.
Na Fianna - Connor Heffernan; Adam Hyland, Andy Glynn, Rob Walsh; Seanan Fagan, Anthony Neary (0-1), James Geagan; Cian Slattery, Daniel Devine; Lee Hyland (0-2), Ben Caldwell, Ciaran McDonnell (1-3); Paul Kennedy (0-1), Daire Slattery (0-1), Stephen Maher. Subs - Oran Smullen, Damien Downey (0-1), Eoin Downey, Ciaran Keogh, Evan Mullally.
Simonstown2-15 Navan O'Mahonys 2-11
Simonstown got the better of their Navan rivals O'Mahonys. Goals from Chris O'Neill and Mark McCabe at the start of the second-half helped turn a one-point interval deficit into an eight-point lead.
Simonstown - R Duffy; S O'Reilly (0-1), D Curran, S Kavanagh; E Nash, B McGarry, M Devlin (0-1); S Conlon (0-1), I O'Rourke; C O'Neill (1-2), S Kenny (0-3), A Chinchilla (0-2); S McEnery (0-2), M McCabe (1-1), E Gough (0-2). Subs - C Wickham for Kavanagh, F O Hanliun for McEnery, S Gallagher for Chinchilla.
Div 2B - St Patrick's v Trim nrs; Ratoath 5-19, Duleek / Bellewstown 0-6.
DIVISION 3
Div 3A - Walterstown 0-12, Moynalvey 0-8; Nobber 2-16, Ballivor 2-10.
Walterstown0-12 Moynalvey0-8
After a tight opening Moynalvey fell 0-2 to 0-4 behind and never got back on terms, trailing 0-5 to 0-8 at the break, despite points from James O'Neill, Shaun Deering and Sean Duggan.
Moynalvey - C O’Malley; C Egan, S Tuite, A Brien; R Keane, C Shirren, B O’Reilly; B Conneely, P Kelly; E Murphy, S Duggan (0-2), P Corcoran; E Clarke (0-1), J O’Neill (0-2), S Deering (0-3). Subs - W Harnan for Clarke, M Brennan for Brien, A Jackson for Conneely, P Brennan for Keane, A Gilsenan for O’Neill.
Nobber2-16 Ballivor2-10
Visitors Nobber got their Premier FC Div 3 campaign off to a winning start as they recovered from 0-8 to 2-5 interval deficit to stun Ballivor. A 1-4 salvo from Nobber, including a goal from Anthony Owens, put them in command and Joseph Tierney's goal ensured Nobber claimed the win.
Nobber - N McMahon; C Clarke, B Bradley, S Fagan; P Clarke, S O'Brien (0-1), C Donohue; A McEntee (0-1), D Halpin (0-2); D Larkin (0-7), M Condra, S Clarke (0-3); J Donohue (0-1), A Owens, J Tierney (1-1). Sub - J Duffy for Donohue.
Div 3B - Dunsany 2-8, Donaghmore / Ashbourne 1-11; Dunderry 1-12,
St Colmcille's 1-12.
DIVISION 4
Div 4A - no games played
Div 4B - Carnaross 1-16, Blackhall Gaels 1-8; St Michael's 1-10, St Paul's 0-9.
Carnaross 1-16 Blackhall Gaels 1-8
Carnaross overcame a stern physical challenge in the form of Blackhall Gaels to achieve victory in Div 4 Premier Championship.
It was a perfect evening for football involving two teams with contrasting styles battling it out right till the very end.
Blackhall Gaels began brightly when they scored two points, but this proved to be a false dawn.
The full back line of Carnaross thwarted any potential scores which was spearheaded by the in-form Cormac O’Reilly and Sean Carpenter.
The Hoops forward line began to click with John L McGee’s menacing runs causing havoc which were rewarded with two points.
Carnaross upped the intensity and dominated the remainder of the half.
Richard Mulvey and Dermot McGee were linking up well in midfield to supply ammunition to the eager forward line.
Cormac Yore, Shane Casserly and Paul Donoghue all pointed as the scoreboard continued to tick over.
Dermot McGee blasted to the net after a well worked free flowing move that involved four different players.
The men in marron and saffron continued to drive home their advantage when Dermot McGee kicked over a magnificent 45.
Cormac Yore followed this up with his own effort from the ground from a similar distance and the north Meath men showed no signs of letting up.
The last three scores of the half were supplied by Cormac, Dermot and John L for a 12-point interval lead.
Blackhall Gaels were keen to stem the tide and they achieved this in the second half through a higher level of work rate, physicality and a number of substitutes.
The game entered a barren period after the restart as the home side struggled to regain their momentum.
Blackhall kicked over three points as they poured men forward.
Darragh O’Reilly’s attempted effort was blocked down but after chasing down an apparent lost cause, he was rewarded with his first point.
John L doubled claimed a lovely effort after selling his man with a delightful dummy.
Blackhall then hit a purple patch where they registered 1-3 without reply.
Carnaross needed the water break to settle and refocus for the job at hand.
After a few positional changes, the final quarter was evenly contested and Carnaross victory was never in doubt.
Carnaross - Shane McNiffe; Odhran Farrelly, Cormac O’Reilly, Sean Carpenter; Cian Gillic, Sam Reynolds, Dean Connell; Dermot McGee (1-3), Richard Mulvey(0-1); Darragh O’Reilly (0-1), Shane Casserly (0-1), Killian Porter; Cormac Yore (0-4), John L McGee (0-5), Paul Donoghue (0-1). Subs - Ryan McGlynn for Donoghue.
DIVISION 5
Div 5A - Syddan 3-9, Rathkenny 0-9; Wolfe Tones 3-15, Summerhill 1-5.
Syddan 3-9 Rathkenny 0-9
Ben Blakemore’s goal boosted Syddan to a 1-6 to 0-6 interval lead against hosts Rathkenny on Monday as full-forward
Gary Farrelly hit four points. Boosted by a penalty goal from Farrelly shortly after the restart Syddan dominated the
third-quarter and when Conor Meade found the net it left it 3-7 to 0-6.
Cormac Rafferty, Cathal Duff, Andrew White, Eoin Lynch Duff and Conor Meade impressed
Syddan - C Farrelly; A Smith, C Duff, T Meade; P Sheehy, A White, C Rafferty (0-1); R Farrelly, G McManus (0-1); J Donoghue, M Smith, E Lynch Duff (0-2); B Blakemore (1-0), G Farrelly (1-4), C Meade (1-1). Subs - M Sweeney for Sheehy, F Ross for R Farrelly, D Carry for M Smith, M Rafferty for C Meade.
Wolfe Tones 3-15 Summerhill 1-5
Bhí an laimh in uachtar ag foireann Bhulf Tón o thus deireadh ach mar sin fein ní raibh ach tri chúilíní idir na foirne le daichead nóimead imeartha. Ina dhiaidh sin, taréis an sos uisce, chuaigh Bhulf Ton ar “scoring blitz” le dha chúl ó fear ionad Jason Carr agus cúl ó fear lár páirce David Coleman agus bhi bearna mór idir na foirne ag an deireadh.
On a balmy bank holiday evening in ideal conditions these teams served up a very open and enjoyable game of football.
Tones featuring a number of veterans were prominent in the early stages but misfired in front of the posts before finding their scoring boots in the second quarter.
Rossa Mc Donnell registering their opening point on 13 minutes. Rossa would finish the half with four points to his credit,
Dan Foley with three points while Ben McDermott contributed a point.
Iarlaith O Kelly-Lynch was also prominent with his surging runs at the Summerhill defence.
Summerhill drew a fine save from Tones 'keeper Connor Brennan early in the second half.
Substitute Laochra O Fionnagain responded well with two points to push Tones tally to 10 points.
However, Brennan could do nothing to keep out a blistering shot minutes later when a Summerhill counter attack ran through the Tones defence to lift the visitors.
Laochra O Fionnagain added to his tally to leave the score at the second water break Tones 0-11 Summerhill 1-4. After the break it was all Tones with substitute Jason Carr finding the net twice.
Wolfe Tones - Conor Brennan; Oisín Mac Ghinneartaí, Darragh Browne, Conall O Fearraigh; Jake McFadden, Ray Dorran, Aonghus McLoughlin (0-1); Stephen Corrigan, David Coleman (1-0); Iarlaith O'Kelly-Lynch, Rossa McDonnell (0-5), Ben McDermott (0-1); Dan Foley (0-3), Paddy Caffrey, Robert Mac Aleese. Subs - Laochra O Fionnagáin (0-3) for Paddy Caffrey, Ciaran McLoughlin for Robert Mac Aleese, Donnchadh County (0-1) for Dan Foley, Sean Óg Foley for Ben McDermott, Jason Carr (2-1) for Iarlaith O Kelly-Lynch
Div 5B - Skryne 2-16, Moynalty 2-16; St Colmcille's 3-21, Simonstown Gaels 1-8
Skryne 2-16 Moynalty 2-16
Skryne and Moynalty played out an exciting high scoring draw in this Premier Division 5 in Skryne on Monday evening. This was Skryne’s third string versus Moynalty’s second team.
But as far as entertainment and effort is concerned this was as good as it gets. Both teams gave their ‘all’ and on a beautiful evening for football neither side deserved to lose.
Moynalty had the upperhand in the first half and their all important score, a goal, came 24 minutes into the game and ensured they enjoyed a 1-10 to 0-8 interval lead.
The Blues began the second half in whirlwind fashion and Alex Grendon sent a rasper to the back of the Moynalty net in less than a minute.
Veterans Martin Mulvaney and Allan Carty added points before Moynalty settled and pressed on into a seven point lead which seemed to be enough to gain victory.
Then the youthful Grendon fisted his second goal to give Skryne a boost and with time almost up they had turned the seven point deficit into a one point lead. Vital points from Aidan Gill and Thomas McKeown had twice given Skryne the lead but Moynalty fought back each time and got the equalising point from a free well into injury time.
Skryne goalkeeper Gary Browne's handling under the high ball was flawless. In front of him Thomas McKeown, Ciaran Finnerty and Aidan Gill kept the defence together.
Up front Grendon was excellent and got great help from the third veteran on the pitch Felim O’Rourke who chipped in with five points and Sean Keogh who kept the Moynalty defence busy all through.
Skryne - Gary Browne; Shane McEnroy, Thomas McKeown (0-1), Aidan Gill (0-1); Michael Doyle, Ciaran Finnerty, Kieran O’Rourke; Allan Carty (0-3), Alex Grendon (2-2); Paul McGoldrick, Felim O’Rourke (0-5), Sean Cassidy; Brian Clarke, Sean Keogh (0-1), Martin Mulvaney (0-3). Subs – Conor Whelan and Oisin Coyle.
DIVISION 6
Div 6A - Dunshaughlin 5-14, Dunboyne 0-8; Ratoath 3-16, Bective 0-2.
Div 6B - Ballinabrackey 2-18, Cortown 2-8; Castletown v Longwood nrs
Ballinabrackey 2-18 Cortown 2-8
Ballinabrackey’s second team opened their Premier Championship with a great win over Cortown on August Bank Holiday Sunday under sunny conditions at the Boyne Park.
Cortown were the first to get on the scoreboard with a point from play. The Bracks responded with a goal from Gavin Quinn.
Points from both sides were built up before Brendan Byrne hit the back of the net, leaving it Ballinabrackey 2-2 to 0-2 at the first water break.
Cortown came back well and pushed up for a goal, but the Bracks knocked on two more points before the half time whistle with Aron Kennedy and Trevor Bannon getting their names on the scoresheet.
A goal was all that was separating the teams into the second half.
Cortown pushed on with scores from frees and play, but points from Gavin Quinn, Collie McNally and Aron Kennedy kept the Bracks firmly in front, entering the second water break at 2-11 to 1-8.
Cortown were then down to 14 men but responded well with a goal from play, but once again points from Gavin Quinn, Oisin Gannon and Aron Kennedy finished off the game strong for the Bracks.
Ballinabrackey - Dean Pluck; Diarmuid Meleady, Ray Kearney, Shane Dunning; Kevin Coyne, David Thompson, Oisin Gannon (0-2); Collie McNally (0-1), David Finn; Gavin Quinn, (1-6), Simon Finn, Ronan Thompson; Brendan Byrne (1-1), Trevor Bannon (0-3), Aron Kennedy (0-5). Subs - Colin Quinn for Brendan Byrne, Mark Kavanagh for Trevor Bannon.
DIVISION 7
Div 7 - Curraha 2-6, Kilmainham 0-11; Meath HIll 3-9, Kilbride 2-11.
Curraha 2-6 Kilmainham 0-11
Curraha's second string got their campaign off to a winning start while hosting Kilmainham on a sunny Bank Holiday afternoon.
The visitors opened the scoring soon after the throw in with a point from Matthew Mullen, scores were hard to come by thereafter with the home side guilty of some wayward shooting.
A pointed free from Ciaran Phelan levelled matters just before the water break. Kilmainham edged in front again with a Shane Butler point and then on 22 minutes Ben Heagney was in the right place to find the back of the net as the ball was played across the goalmouth
Kilmainham responded with two well taken Denis Newman points as the opening half drew to a close with the sides level, 1-1 to 0-4.
On the resumption Kilmainham were in control and posted three unanswered points, Ben Farrelly, Pat O'Sullivan and Mullen, until Robert McGovern split the posts with a fine effort for Curraha who lost midfielder Evan McGovern to a second yellow card on 41 minutes with the visitors converting the resultant free.
A further Kilmainham point before the second water break gave them a four-point advantage.
Another Kilmainham point followed until Curraha responded with a second point for Robert McGovern and a point from Ruari O'Sullivan followed by a Declan Hanly point who came on as a substitute to mark his 32nd season having made his debut back in 1989.
With Hanley sending over another free the gap was down to the minimum with time ticking away.
Kilmainham will rue some missed opportunities as Curraha launched another attack and with the ball running loose in the goalmouth it was Ben Heagney again on hand to steer it to the net, KIlmainham managed a late point, but it wasn't enough for them.
It was interesting to see that club veteran Declan Hanley is an uncle of young Ben Heagney who marked his championship debut with two goals.
This was an entertaining game with both sides giving their all and from a Curraha perspective there were good performances from several championship debutants as well the the more experienced players.
As well as Heagney, Robert McGovern, Matthew Webb, Simon McDermott and Joey Coyle showed well in a spirited team performance.
Curraha - L Mccarthy; M Phelan, M Webb, C McAleese; J Coyle, S McDermott, R McEntee; C Joyce, E McGovern; R O'Sullivan 0-1, A Coyle, R McGovern 0-2; C Phelan 0-1, A O'Connor, B Heagney 2-0. Subs - D Hanley 0-2 for A O'Connor; PJ McMahon for C McAleese.
Kilmainham - Trevor Lynch; Stephen Woods, Darren Morgan, Philip Mahon; Mathew Mullen (0-2), Fergal Black, Stephen Lynch; Denis Newman (0-2), Joe Mahon; Shane Butler (0-1), Pat O’Sullivan (0-4), Tom Monaghan; Brian Black, Ben Farrelly (0-2), Aodhán Healy. Subs - Paul Daly for Newman, Ros Mooney for Healy, Peter Smith for Woods, Mattie Mulroe for B Black, Padraic Black for Morgan.
DIVISION 8
Div 8 - Donaghmore / Ashbourne 2-12, Boardsmill 0-8;
Navan O'Mahonys 1-10, Trim 1-8; Dunshaughlin 1-13, Slane 0-7.
Donaghmore / Ashbourne 2-12 Boardsmill 0-8
Boardsmill's second team travelled to Ashbourne to take on Donaghmore / Ashbourne's fourth team. A mixture of a young and old team gave some great experience across all areas of the pitch.
Starting brightly James Ashe slotted over a 45 in the 4th minute. He then went on a blazing run to convert a great point from play.
Eric McKay started brightly also and converted a great point from play.
Don/Ashbourne after a run of possession netted two goals in quick succession to leave Boardsmill chasing the game. Boardsmill showed some great football from the likes of James Ashe, Eric McKay, Cathal Wall and goalkeeper Stephen Dixon pulled off one hell of a save in the second half, but proved futile in the end. Final score 2-12 (18) v 0.08 (8).
Boardsmill - S Dixon; D Hoey, J Roche, E Roche; J Dixon, S Newman, M Hatton; C Wall, E McKay; T Eivers, J Ashe, B McLoughlin; E Cribbin, V Guy, S Gibbons. Subs - A McGrath for S Gibbons, A Eivers for D Hoey.