Donaghmore / Ashbourne cruise to debut victory

Donaghmore / Ashbourne2-15

Kilmainhamwood1-5

DONAGHMORE / ASHBOURNE announced their arrival in the SFC with a blistering start which set them on the road to a comprehensive victory over Kilmainhamwood at Seneschalstown on Sunday.

When the championship draws were made, last year's intermediate kingpins would have viewed this as an ideal opportunity to bag an early brace of points against a side that has turned survival in the top flight into an art form.

Andy McEntee's team started without injured trio Niall Farrell, John Broderick and Andrew Tormey, but they still won pulling up as Kilmainhamwood did little to suggest that they possess the talent to avoid falling into another fight against relegation.

They battled with great heart, particularly in the second-half when they restricted Donaghmore / Ashbourne to seven points, but far too much damage had been inflicted in the opening period when the winners played with a flair and poise which suggested they should have little difficulty reaching the knock-out stages.

Rory O'Connor and Eoin Reilly give Donaghmore / Ashbourne a powerful presence at midfield and although Ken Russell did everything in his power to turn the tide, Kilmainhamwood struggled to win ball on a consistent basis around the middle third of the field.

Cormac McGill enjoyed a tremendous outing at full-back and it was significant that Kilmainhamwood's biggest attacking threat, Ray Magee, had failed to sparkle by the time he was sent off by referee Seamus O'Connor for a straight red card after an incident with McGill towards the end of the third-quarter.

Donaghmore / Ashbourne's Sean Harmon was also dismissed two minutes later on receipt of a second yellow card and by that stage the teams were simply going through the motions with the issue beyond doubt.

Indeed, the outcome looked almost a formality after only eight minutes, by which stage Donaghmore / Ashbourne had goaled twice to stun a Kilmainhamwood team that is coached by former Bailieboro and Cavan player John Donnellan.

David Morgan, who contributed 1-7 from play in a highly accomplished performance, found the net after only 90 seconds when he ran onto a superb through ball from the impressive Ciaran Ellis and finished confidently.

Morgan's brother Tony added the second goal when he forced the ball home after Kilmainhamwood 'keeper Mark Kiernan failed to hold a point attempt from Colm O Mealoid and that boosted Donaghmore / Ashbourne to a 2-2 to 0-0 lead which left the relegation favourites with a mountain to climb.

Paddy Carolan had a glorious opportunity to reduce it to something resembling a hill after nine minutes, but he shot wide with a goal for the taking after a move which involved Russell and Francis Owens.

To their credit, the 'Wood knuckled down to the enormous challenge and the deficit was reduced to four points at the start of the second-quarter after Stephen Kiernan had slotted over a free and Carolan made amends for his earlier miss by netting following good approach play by Colm Gilcreest and Russell.

The Donaghmore / Ashbourne defence was far from convincing in the concession of that score, but it was only a brief revival by the losers as the intermediate champions rediscovered their poise and pushed into a commanding 2-8 to 1-2 interval lead.

David Morgan led the way in the opening period with 1-4 and by the time he opened his side's second-half account with a point they had already tallied five wides in as many minutes as they continued to dominate.

The game became increasingly scrappy and physical as the second-half went on and the dismissals added to its fractious nature, with a Kieran Shankey pointed free the only other score in the third-quarter.

However, Donaghmore / Ashbourne moved up a gear again and four points in five minutes from Reilly (two), Eoin Carroll and David Morgan merely emphasised the gulf in class between the teams.

Kilmainhamwood never stopped battling, but this is likely to be the first of many difficult days for them in this championship.

SCORERS

Donaghmore / Ashbourne - D Morgan 1-7; T Morgan 1-1; E Carroll 0-3; E Reilly 0-2, one free; K Lanigan 0-1; N Farrell 0-1. Kilmainhamwood - P Carolan 1-1; S Kiernan 0-2, two frees; K Shankey  0-1, one free; P Owens 0-1, one free.

THE TEAMS

Donaghmore / Ashbourne  - P Durkan; J Long, C McGill, P Finn; C Ellis, C O Mealoid, J Finnegan; R O'Connor, E Reilly; K Lanigan, S Harmon, E Carroll; I Dowd, D Morgan, T Morgan. Sub - N Farrell for Carroll, 52 mins.

Kilmainhamwood - M Kiernan; E Clarke, S Smith, K Shankey; A Farrelly, R Madden, P Barker; K Russell, L Shankey; H Corbally, F Owens, C Gilcreest; P Carolan, R Magee, S Kiernan. Subs - P Owens for Gilcreest, 40 mins; P Moran for Farrelly, 43m; D Russell for Kiernan, 54m.

REFEREE

Seamus O'Connor (Carnaross).