Donaghmore/Ashbourne end drought with final victory

Donaghmore/Ashbourne 2-12

Dunderry 1-12

The cheer that erupted from the Donaghmore/Ashbourne bench on Saturday as referee Henri Clifford sounded his final whistle suggested this win over Dunderry in the Junior B HC final at Kiltale was the equivalent of an All-Ireland final.

For these lads, the young, the old, the brave and the bold on both sides, this was their moment in the sun, their chance to shine and they certainly served up an entertaining encounter.

The pace, touch and skills weren't at the levels of the higher grades, this was the sixth tier of Meath hurling, but for many it is the pinnacle of their ambitions and their dreams were realised.

For others this competition with their club's second teams could be the spring board for bigger and better things. For some of the older crew it was the last flicker of a fading light, one last hurrah before the sidelines beckoned permanently.

Success on the hurling fields has been scarce for Donaghmore/Ashbourne and at one late late in the second-half it looked as if nerves would get to them again.

Despite playing against the stiff breeze that blew into the road goals on the superb pitch in Kiltale, Donaghmore/Ashbourne led by three at the break. They scored three of the first four points after the resumption to stretch their advance to five and they looked home and hosed.

However, Dunderry were determined too and they clawed their way back into contention, getting back on level with five minutes remaining.

Donaghmore/Ashbourne looked rattled, but they settled again and as Dunderry faded after their Herculean effort to get back on terms the Moors kicked on again with the last three points to seal the win.

It was far from a classic, but the determination and entertainment never waned.

Dunderry opened the scoring inside 10 seconds with Ben Clarke pointing to suggest they would take full advantage of the strong wind, but that expected flurry never materialised.

It took another seven minutes before Stephen Coogan doubled Dunderry's lead and in the following three minutes Mikey Dowling (from inside his own 45-metre line) and William Tracey both pointed to make it 0-4 to 0-0.

Jack Butler and Colm O Mealoid settled Donaghmore/Ashbourne before Daire O'Driscoll and Jack Ryan traded frees to maintain the two-point gap.

O'Driscoll made it 0-6 to 0-3 with his second free, but then Donaghmore/Ashbourne were boosted when O Mealoid drifted in from the right to gather Butler's centre and fire to the net to tie up the scores.

Cian Dowling edged his side in front for the first time 90 seconds later and even though Coogan restored parity Donaghmore/Ashbourne made sure of their 2-4 to 0-7 interval lead when Colm Randle found the net after O Mealoid's magnificent catch.

Just as Dunderry found in the opening half, Donaghmore/Ashbourne struggled to gauge the wind, but they still added points from Luke Herron, Randle and Butler, in response to a Ronan Healy score, to stretch their lead to 2-7 to 0-8.

An example of just how difficult it was for Donaghmore/Ashbourne to measure the wind came in the 39th minute when John Broderick's puck-out sailed the full length of the field and out for a wide.

Playing against the wind seemed to suit Dunderry better as Conor Sheridan had a positive impact snuffing out the threat of O Mealoid while Sean Fulham caused [problems up top.

Healy and Clarke closed the gap to three, but another Ryan free ensured Donaghmore/Ashbourne kept themselves at arms length.

That distance became a hair's breadth when Daire O'Driscoll's sublime control created a yard of space before he fired to the net to make it 1-10 to 2-8.

Fulham points sandwiched a Ryan free as the teams were tied, 1-12 to 2-9 heading into the final minutes.

However, Dunderry faded.

Randle shovelled over from close range to regain the lead for Donaghmore/Ashbourne and when Ryan (free) and Joe Concannon tagged on late scores it secured the win and a rare hurling championship success for the Moors.

Donaghmore/Ashbourne: John Broderick; Stephen Leahy, Colin Garry, Faolan Smyth; Dylan Morrissey, Eoin Byrne, Dannan Donnelly; Jack Ryan (0-4 frees), Cian Dowling (0-1); Luke Herron (0-1), Shaun Byrne, Jack Butler (0-2); Colm Randle (1-2), Colm O Mealoid (1-1), Killian Hogan. Subs - Joe Concannon (0-1) for Butler 48m, Padraig Gaughan for Donnelly 53m, Fiach O Loingsigh for Leahy 59m.

Dunderry: Killian Heffernan; Shane O'Brien, Kyran Woods, Ben Feeney; Ciaran Brady, Mikey Dowdall (0-1), Matthew Moran; Dermot Kelly, Ben Clarke (0-2); William Tracey (0-1), Daire O'Driscoll (1-2 two frees), Sean McLoughlin; Ronan Healy (0-2), Stephen Coogan (0-2), Alan Casey. Subs - Sean Fulham (0-2) for Casey 20m, Conor Sheridan for McLoughlin 31m, McLoughlin for Coogan 46m, Jack Darcy for Healy 53m.

Referee : Henri Clifford (Kildalkey).