Dunshaughlin's young guns find a way to win

A big crowd was in attendance at Dunshaughlin for a 10am throw-in for the Boys Div 1 football county final last Sunday morning.

The local side certainly showed they weren't put off by the early start as they powered to a 4-12 to 2-8 victory over Simonstown Gaels to claim the title.

Dunshaughlin official Ultan Burke was on hand to recount how the contest worked out.

Simonstown won the toss and elected to play with the breeze in the first half. This looked to be a good decision when they raced into a 1-01 to no score lead after 5 minutes.

Dunshaughlin were settling into the game but found scores hard to come by with several good chances going to waste. Simonstown were moving the ball well through the lines with Joe Kearney, Dara Cromwell and Rian Carolan very prominent.

Both teams traded points before a good pass from Cian O'Donnell found Jamie Quirke running deep from midfield and he finished low in the corner for Dunshaughlin’s first green flag.

In the second quarter Simonstown had several wides from good positions whilst Dunshaughlin also missed a few goal chances. Just before the half-time break a long ball from out the field dipped under the Dunshaughlin crossbar which meant Simonstown turned around leading 2-3 to 1-3.

Dunshaughlin opened up the 3rd quarter with three quick points and got the breakthrough with a good goal finished from close range from Cian O Donnell. Dunshaughlin continued to tack on the points from Jack Lynch, Jamie Quirke and Cian O Donnell.

Craig Foley got on the end of a loose ball around the square for a three pointer and this put daylight between the teams for the first time. Score at the end of the 3rd quarter Dunshaughlin 3-9 , Simonstown 2-4. Simonstown had to go for it in the final quarter and started to move the ball well in towards their full-forward line.

Kyle Smyth , Nevan McNally and Aidan Faughnan were up to the challenge and dealt capably with the waves of Simonstown attacks. The intense tackling and blocking from Dunshaughlin resulted in several turnovers and whilst Simonstown scored four final quarter points a superb finish to the top corner of the net by Cristian Connolly and a great left foot point by Chris McEntagart closed out the result for Dunshaughlin.

For Dunshaughlin , Ryan Tracey was dependable in goals with solid kick-outs throughout. Bobby Lynam and Kyle Smith were rock solid in the full-back line. Nevan McNally, Chris McEntagart and Aidan Faughnan led from the front.

Jamie Quirke , and Craig Foley were on top in the centre of the field with a scoring return of 2-09 between them. Conor McCarthy covered acres of ground and was well supported by AJ McDonald , Peter Finnegan and Cristian Connolly.

In the inside line Cian O'Donnell worked tirelessly and also contributed 1-3. Jack Lynch chipped in with two points and ran at the Simonstown defence all day. For a gallant Simonstown team Joe Kearney was outstanding and was well supported by Sam McGuinness, Dara Cromell, Rian Carolan and Isaac McGarry.

The quality of the game was very high with a mix of long kick passes and supported running by both teams. Both clubs will be well served in future by these two fine teams .

* The cup was presented to Dunshaughlin joint captains Cian O'Donnell and Conor McCarthy on behalf of Coiste na Mi by Frank Gallogly. He thanked the ground staff in Dunshsughlin for turning out the pitch in such good condition in particular Pat Moloney, Jim Smith and Christy Purcell. He also thanked referee Henry Clifford from Trim and his team of four umpires. It was a nice touch by Cosite na Mi to recognise this fixture with such a capable team of officials.

Thanks to the Gourmet Food Parlour for the Refreshments and food provided upstairs afterwards.