Moors impress in win over Dunshaughlin

Donaghmore/Ashbourne were full value for the margin of their victory over Dunshaughlin on Thursday evening

Donaghmore/Ashbourne 1-4-13 (24)

Dunshaughlin 1-2-10 (17)

Evan Kelly’s late goal was the cherry on top for Donaghmore/Ashbourne as they stunned Dunshaughlin and blew Group D of the SFC wide open in a thrilling contest in Ratoath on Thursday.

For the large majority, Donaghmore/Ashbourne were well on top and four two-pointers in the first-half helped them build a commanding seven-point lead before the interval. Dunshagughlin made their move in the final quarter and Mathew Costello’s two-pointer in the 53rd minute capped 1-4 on the spin for Richie Kealy’s side.

Timmy O'Regan's side responded well though and closed out the contest by outscoring their opponents 1-3 to 0-1. In truth, Donaghmore/Ashbourne were full value for the margin of victory. Zach Thornton was absolutely sublime and worked his socks off. He linked up well with Stephen Carton on a few occasions during a dominant spell for the Moors in the first-half.

The stalwart Andrew Tormey will have an extra pep in his step this weekend when he walks down the aisle for his wedding after he contributed four points to the cause. The midfield duo of Bryan Menton and Jamie Browne more than held their own in a titanic battle with Charlie O’Connor and Conor Duke.

Dunshaughlin started brightly as Donaghmore/Ashbourne struggled to get to grips with runs from deep from the likes of Jared Rush, Niall Byrne and Fursey Blake. Aaron Murphy who scored a dozen points in round one picked up where he left off and split the posts twice early on. A well-worked move in the 10th minute was polished off by Blake and that gave Dunshaughlin a two-point lead.

Momentum shifted a minute later when Thornton started to dominate proceedings. Thornton raised an orange flag to restore parity. He then set up Stephen Carton for a nice score and the pair were involved in the move that led to Brian Menton’s two-pointer two minutes later. Kevin Cully slotted over Donaghmore/Ashbourne’s third two-pointer and at the end of the first quarter, Timmy O’Regan’s side led by five.

That lead was increased to seven with scores from Tormey and Sean Tyrrell which Thornton and Stephen Carton were again both involved in the build-up to. Costello pulled two points back for Dunshaughlin but they were cancelled out when Darragh McGovern raised Donaghmore/Ashbourne’s fourth two-pointer.

The men in green and white pressed home their advantage with further scores from Stephen Carton and Tormey. On the cusp of half-time Charlie O’Connor scored a cracking two-pointer but at the break Donaghmore/Ashbourne held a commanding lead of 0-15 to 0-7.

On the scoreboard, the third quarter was somewhat uneventful but the pace and intensity of the contest never dropped. Dunshaughlin missed two goal chances and all they could muster in that period was a fantastic individual point from O’Connor.

Meanwhile, Donaghmore/Ashbourne kept their tally ticking with points from Darragh McGovern, Conor Carton and Tormey. After 45 minutes, the eventual winners led by 0-18 to 0-9 but Dunshaughlin to their credit still had more to give to the contest.

Points from Costello and O’Connor shifted momentum into Dunshaughlin’s favour. In the 49th minute, a super low ball from wide off the boot of Jeff Foley was gathered by fellow substitute Luke Mitchell and he found the back of the net.

Costello was afforded far too much space when he split the posts with a two-pointer in the 53rd minute and that score reduced the gap back to three points. That was as close as Dunshaughlin got though as Donaghmore/Ashbourne responded well and points from Thomas McGovern and Evan Kelly gave the Moors some breathing space again.

Murphy traded scores with Menton before Kelly ensured there was no way back for the 2024 champions with a soccer-style goal in the 61st minute.

Donaghmore/Ashbourn: Andy Colgan; Evan Quinn, Shane Melia, Sean Curran; Sean Tyrrell (0-1), Conor Carton (0-1), Kevin Fenton; Bryan Menton (0-3 one two-pointer), Jamie Browne; Thomas McGovern (0-1), Andy Tormey (0-4 three frees), Kevin Cully (0-2 two-pointer); Darragh McGovern (0-3 one two-pointer), Stephen Carton (0-3), Zach Thornton (0-2 two-pointer). Subs: Evan Kelly (1-1) for Cully 46m, Michael O’Sullivan for Thornton 56m, James Crumlish for S Carton 58m, Oisin Daly for Tyrell 59m.

Dunshaughlin: Tim O’Sullivan; Fursey Blake (0-1), Jared Rushe, David Fildes; Ciaran McCarrick, Niall Byrne, Fiach Hartigan; Charlie O’Connor (0-4 one two-pointer), Conor Duke (0-1); John McDonagh, Colm Keane, Adam Keely; Tadgh Ó Dushlaine, Mathew Costello (0-5 one two-pointer), Aaron Murphy (0-3 one free). Subs: Luke Mitchell (1-0) for Keane half-time, Niall Murphy for Keely 40m, Jeff Foley for Blake 41m.

Referee: Patrick Coyle (Curraha).