GAA Round-up
RESERVE CUP
Meath Hill 1-11
Ballinlough3-3
Ballinlough and Meath Hill met on a cold but dry Friday evening last for this Reserve Cup Division 4 final, and it was the men in blue who got off to the brighter start with two early points from play before Ballinlough finally got motoring with a super Joshua Lynch point from play in the seventh minute.
Despite the shaky start Ballinlough were getting plenty of the ball but they were quite wasteful in the scoring area and failed to add to their solitary point for a long period. By contrast Meath Hill were having no such issues at the other end firing over four points from play between the 15th and 20th minute to leave them five points clear.
Balinlough were struggling to find any foothold in this game but they were gifted a lifeline when Conor Rennicks sent a long ball in and Peader Byrne was quickest to react flicking the ball to the back of the net to bring Ballinlough right back into the game. That score was followed up by a point from play from Podge Muldoon in the 24th minute to leave just a point between the sides.
After reducing the gap significantly all Ballinlough had to do was try get to half-time with out conceding too much more but disaster struck in the 30th minute when a misplaced pass in the Centre of the field gifted Meath Hill possession and they made great use of it working the ball quickly forward and powerfully finished to the back of the net. A point from play swiftly followed that score so when Referee Larry McEntee blew the half time whistle Ballinlough trailed by five on a score line of 1-02 to Meath Hills 1-07.
Upon the restart Meath Hill kicked on from where they left off with two pointed frees and a point from play to push their lead out to eight points by the 38th minute, and what followed then was a period of pretty much nothingness as Ballinlough struggled to keep hold of the ball while Meath Hill were happy enough to pass the leather around amongst themselves and eat away a bit of time.
The next significant moment of the game came in the 50th minute when Ballinlough substitute Daire Shine secured possession and bore down on goal, only to be hauled down before he could get his shot off and Referee Larry McEntee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot for the penalty, which Shine duly dispatched to lower the deficit to five points again.
Meath Hill responded well enough to that goal concession and worked the ball forward winning themselves a free in the process which was sent over the bar to give them a six point cushion in the 56th minute and they were probably beginning to think they were home and hosed at that stage. But huge credit must be given to the Ballinlough lads who refused to lie down and kept battling to the final whistle.
A perfectly placed pass from Oisin McDermott into Kit Óg Lynch in the 58th minute and he turned his man and danced away towards the goals to finish with one of his trademark finishes to leave three between the teams.
A Daire Shine pointed free in the 61st minute meant there was just one score separating the sides and given the number of inexplicable minor injuries to the Meath Hill contingent we knew there was still plenty of time left to play.
With that knowledge Ballinlough pushed for a late winner, and on a couple of occasions they came close, none more so than the 65th minute when a high ball was dropped into the square amid a mountain of bodies, but after a bit of a scramble Meath Hill were able to clear their lines safely.
With that action Referee Larry McEntee blew the full time whistle, Meath Hill holding on to win on a score line of 1-11 to Ballinlough’s 3-03.
Unfortunately this is not the way we wanted the season to end but Manager Kevin Devine can be very proud of his efforts over the year in getting over 20 lads togged out and playing for our Reserve team on a regular basis and this competition provided some vital games for lads who otherwise may have had little to no football for the year. Hopefully many of those lads will be back in action again next year and pushing towards a place on the first team.
Ballinlough - K McGuinness, L Finnegan, H Briody, N McDonnell, C Rennicks, J Lynch(0-1), S Tunney, D Galligan, J Casserly, J Reilly, P Muldoon(0-1), B Brady, N Farrelly, P Byrne(1-0), K Óg Lynch(1-0). Subs - E Briody for B Brady, O McDermott for J Reilly, D Shine (1-1) for N Farrelly, D Caffrey for N McDonnell, T McCullen for D Galligan, B Jordan for C Rennicks.
MFC
St Peter's, Dunboyne3-8
Navan O'Mahonys2-11
Navan O'Mahonys and St Peter's, Dunboyne must do it all again after they ended up on level terms at the end of this entertaining MFC Div 2 final at Skryne on Wednesday evening of last week.
Two goals in quick succession in the closing minutes left St Peter's, Dunboyne salvaging a game that looked like it had slipped away from them.
St Peter's Dunboyne opened the scoring with an early score, before Tiarnán Black started his incredible contribution with a point from play. Almost eight minutes passed before Black put his side in the lead for the first time. Ivo Fitzherbert, who covered every blade of grass on the field, added to this with a well-taken point from play.
It was very much tit for tat until Black got a touch to a high ball going into the square, putting his side four points ahead. Two minutes later, St Peter's, Dunboyne were awarded a penalty for an infraction in the square as they were through on goal. In spite of netminder Ciaran Scott saving the shot, the rebound found its way to the net. Two rapid points from play propelled St Peter's, Dunboyne into the lead.
Approaching half time, Riain Porter converted a free to leave things level before Navan O’Mahonys were awarded a penalty on the cusp of half time. Black made no mistake in converting this, putting the side three points to the advantage at the interval. Ciaran McAreavey and Evan Cully made good contributions for their side in this time.
At the break the scoreboard read: Navan O’Mahonys 2-5 St Peter's, Dunboyne 1-5
Just as in the first half, St Peter’s, Dunboyne got the early score, reducing the gap between the sides to two points. This was extended to four points with a score from play from Black and a mark converted by substitute Jack Quinn. After ten minutes, it was three points that separated the sides again with a St Peter's, Dunboyne point from play.
What followed next was probably the best period for Damien Moran’s men, with four excellent points in a ten-minute period. These came from Porter, Paddy Yourell and Cormac Nugent. With four minutes remaining in normal time, St Peter's scored to bring the gap to six points Navan O’Mahonys were also well served by Sean Betson and Mark Murphy, who made an impact when he came on.
Navan O’Mahonys full back line of Colm O’Toole, Riordan Russell and Jack Lafford, with support from half backs Kian McGee, Jamie Maguire and Podge McEvoy was put to the test with attacks launched by St Peter's. With the goal-mouth crowded, the free-taker left only a goal between the sides when he converted a 21-yard free. Scott pulled off an excellent save to deny the Dunboyne side another goal but they broke through in the fourth minute of injury time with the last kick of the game.
With the sizeable crowd left wondering if there would be extra time, it was announced that a replay would ensue at the same venue next Wednesday.
Navan O’Mahonys - Ciaran Scott, Colm O’Toole, Riordan Russell, Jack Lafford, Jamie Maguire, Podge McEvoy, Kian McGee, Sean Betson, Evan Cully, Tiarnán Black (2-4), Cormac Nugent (0-1), Ciaran McAreavey, Paddy Yourell (0-1), Riain Porter (0-3), Ivo Fitzherbert (0-1). Subs - Jack Quinn (0-1) for McAreavey, Mark Murphy for Yourell.
St Michael's/Nobber4-15
Wolfe Tones2-5
St. Michael's/Nobber added the MFC Div 5 title to their division 7 league triumph earlier in the year to cap a very successful season.
Mental strength is one thing, composure and class is another and the St. Michael's/Nobber players had all of the above when it counted and they had the games most dominate performers in Gearoid O'Malley, Conor Owens, Declan Reilly and C.J Lynch to name but a few.
O'Malley opened the scoring with a goal after only four minutes play but it took the 'Tones lads just two minutes to pull level with a well struck goal, O'Malley put his side back in front with a point only for it to be cancelled out a minute later and the 'Tones posted another minor five minutes later to take the lead for the first and only time, they could only add a pointed free for the rest of the half.
The remainder belonged to the north Meath combination side with Conor Owens converting a penalty, Evan Nelson rattling the 'Tones net again, while O'Malley posted a further three minors with CJ Lynch popping over a brace for a 3-4 to 1-4 interval lead.
Straight from the re-start Lynch added his third minor before O'Malley converted from a placed ball. O'Malley added another minor after a brilliant run up field by Omokorede Otubango, Wolfe Tones struck back with two points of their own and they brought out the best in Ben Forte who pulled off two fine saves in quick succession mid-way through the third quarter, however there was nothing Forte could do when the 'Tones put their second major past him after 43 minutes which proved to be their final score of the final.
The St. Michael's / Nobber defence were working their socks off keeping their opponents at bay while giving quick and direct ball into their forwards who made great use of it with O'Malley, Lynch, Owens and substitute Jamie Murray all getting on the score sheet to run out easier than expected winners in the end.
St. Michael's / Nobber - B Forte; L Kelliher, C O'Loughlin, R O'Reilly; E Nelson (1-0), J Griffin, R Gaffney; D Reilly, C Owens (1-4); C O'Sullivan, M Moriarty, O Otubango; CJ Lynch (1-5), G O'Malley (1-4), Subs: J Murray (0-2) for Gaffney, G Povecivious for Sheridan, F Murray for Lynch, L McGovern for O'Reilly, J Carolan for O'Sullivan, E Sheridan for Reilly.
LADIES
Navan O'Mahonys5-15
St Colmcille's0-5
Navan O’ Mahonys faced St Colmcille's in the Girls u-16 Division 1 semi- final in Paddy O'Brien Park on Tuesday night. Previous encounters between these sides have always been close, competitive affairs and the opening 30 minutes of this match followed a similar pattern.
O’ Mahonys were first on the scoreboard with a point from Muireann Nelson. Immediately from the kickout, Lauren Woods got on the end of some great interplay between Neasa McDermott and Milly Murray and O'Mahonys led by 2.
St Colmcille's had numerous attacks turned over by some tenacious defending from the halfback line of Annie Hogan, Dayna Keogh and Aoibhinn Kielty. Eventually St Colmcille's broke through the O Mahony’s defence to register their first score on the 10th minute.
O'Mahony’s midfield duo of Isabel Thorp and Julia Collins and half forwards Neasa McDermott, Sadhbh Mellet and Lauren Woods began to drop back to break up the St Colmcille's attacks and deliver quick ball into the full forward line of Cara Ratty, Muireann Nelson and Milly Murray.
O ‘Mahonys tagged on points from Muireann Nelson and Lauren Woods before Cara Ratty turned over a St Colmcille's kick out and scored a great point to leave O Mahonys leading by 4 points . St Colmcilles then split the posts at the other end before Lauren Woods and Muireann Nelson finished out the first half with two points for the Brews Hill side.
The hoops were were first on the scoreboard in the second half when Lauren Woods was fouled in front of goal and Muireann Nelson converted the free.The home side then went on a goal scoring spree with Milly Murray getting the first of O Mahony’s goals when she calmly rounded the goalkeeper and finished to the back of the net . This was followed immediately by goals from Neasa McDermott and Isabel Thorp leaving O Mahonys in a strong position halfway through the second half.
St Colmcille's fought back and started to exert sustained pressure on the O'Mahonys defence as they went in search of scores. However, the full back line of Grace Cahill , Mia McDonald and Abbie McCullagh were immense and there was no way through for the Colmcilles girls. Timely interceptions and strong running out of defence laid the foundations for further goals from Aoibhinn Kielty and Cara Ratty.
Credit to the Cilles girls who never gave up and their hard work paid off when they broke up the pitch to score three unanswered points. The visitors continued to launch attack after attack as they went in search of further scores but they were denied that elusive goal by the superb Rebecca Crowley who dealt comfortably with any threats on her goal.
Katie Blake ,Kitty o Rourke and Aranita Bajqinca came on for the hoops and all three had an immediate impact. Their work rate and distribution ensured a plentiful supply of ball to the O Mahonys forwards .As the game neared the fulltime whistle Sadhbh Mellett linked up with Isabel Thorp and coolly slotted the ball over the bar.
The final whistle blew shortly after with Navan O'Mahonys comfortably qualifying for the Div 1 final. Credit to both teams who served up a great, open, fast-paced game of football which was enjoyed by the sizeable crowd who came to watch.
Navan O'Mahonys panel - Rebecca Crowley; Mia McDonald, Grace Cahill, Abbie McCullagh; Annie Hogan, Dayna Keogh, Aoibhín Kielty; Neasa McDermott, Julia Collins; Isobel Thorpe, Lauren Woods, Sadhbh Mellet; Millie Murray, Cara Ratty, Muireann Nelson, Kitty O’Rourke, Katie Blake, Aranita Bajqinca, Kate Skelton.