Dunderry no match for rampant Gaels

JFC

Having laboured for much of the championship, Clann na nGael delivered their best performance by swatting aside the challenge of neighbours Dunderry on Sunday afternoon in Sean Newman Park to seal their ticket through to the semi-finals and a date with Slane.

Clann na nGael looked the superior and the more experienced team, playing the difficult conditions much the better of the two teams.

Aided by two first-half goals from Tomas Doyle and Liam Kelleher against the strong wind, Niall McLoughlin’s team had a comfortable six-point buffer at the interval which was significant.

Their youthful neighbours did show flashes of undoubted quality but the few times they did manage to breach the Clann’s defence, they found an inspired Eoin Griffin in their way. The netminder made five stunning stops, three from the luckless Ciaran Sheridan who could find no way beyond Griffin.

Dunderry led for the first and only time inside two minutes thanks to an excellent Sean Brennan two-point free against the elements. It was short lived however as Tomas Doyle finished a sweeping Clann’s counter-attack with the feintest of touches to push the ball beyond Brennan. Adam Kelly and Ciaran Sheridan notched points either side of a Doyle free to restore parity but two points in the 13th minute from Darragh Swaine and Ben Corkery had the Athboy/Rathcairn men back in front 1-3 to 0-4.

Liam Kelleher palmed in Clann na nGael's second goal at the end of the first quarter.

Another beautifully constructed move through the hands of Paul Tuite, Doyle and Corkery presented the wing back with the simple task of touching into an empty net.

Brennan hit his second two-point free of the half but Clann na nGael tagged on a further four points before the break to wrestle complete control.

Dylan Doherty and a hat-trick of efforts from the excellent Corkery handed their side a 2-7 to 0-7 half time advantage.

Clann na nGael held Dunderry scoreless in the third quarter whilst also adding three scores of their own, a free from Doyle and one from Corkery followed by a goal by the Meath under-20 star after clever work from Doherty in the build-up.

Kelly opened Dunderry’s account for the half with a couple of quickfire frees at the start of the final quarter but the one-way traffic continued with Cormac Smith (two), Doyle, Daragh Griffin and a two-point effort from Ryan McNamee. Diarmaid Ó Donnchadha punished a rare error from Sean Brennan to finish to an empty net for a fourth goal to compound Dunderry’s misery.

Rian Liggan and Sheridan’s late consolation scores were cancelled out by a couple on the trot from the impressive Doherty with Griffin standing firm between the posts for Clann na nGael to preserve his unblemished record.

Clann na nGael – Eoin Griffin; Philip Garry, Jack Doherty, Darragh O’Reilly; Diarmaid Ó Donnchadha (1-0), Cormac Smith (0-2), Liam Kelleher (1-0); Daragh Griffin (0-1), Eoin Kelleher; Sean Óg Tiernan, Paul Tuite, Dylan Doherty (0-3); Ben Corkery (1-5), Darragh Swaine (0-1), Tomas Doyle (1-3 three frees). Subs – Josh McGrath for Swaine 46m, Ryan McNamee (0-2 two-pointer) for Óg Tiernan 49m, Andrew Smith for Garry 52m, Liam McNamara for O’Reilly 56m, Darragh Brogan for D Griffin 59m.

Dunderry – Sean Brennan (0-4 two two-point frees); Padraic Stephens, Sean Traynor, TJ Loughran; Cormac Liggan, Aaron Newman, Oisin O’Neill; Conor Sheridan, Conor Leavy; Jamie Duffy, Mark Leavy, Donagh O Laoire; Ciaran Sheridan (0-2), Adam Kelly (0-5 three frees), Callum Bartley. Subs - Cathal Barron for C Leavy half-time, Sean McLaughlin for Newman 38m, Kryan Woods for O’Neill 40m, Rian Liggan (0-1) for Stephens 45m, Isaac McKeever for M Leavy 55m.

Referee - Adrian Corcoran (Drumbaragh).