No problems as O"Mahonys sail on

TO win a championship a team must be tested on all their characteristics. On Tuesday of last week Navan O"Mahonys showed a reserve of persistence to overcome Donaghmore / Ashbourne at Pairc Tailteann and book their place in an SFC semi-final against Blackhall Gaels. For the vast majority of the contest O"Mahonys were the superior team. They were helped in that department by Ciaran Ellis" petulant kickout at Barry Regan that resulted in an 13th minute red card for the Donaghmore / Ashbourne player, but O"Mahonys struggled to press home their advantage until well into the final quarter. The key spell came in the late minutes of the opening quarter. Ellis"s dismissal was followed by a brace of O"Mahonys goals in the following three minutes. Suddenly the pre-championship favourites found themselves 2-2 to 0-1 ahead, playing into the breeze and with a numerical advantage against a young Donaghmore / Ashbourne side in senior football for the first time. It should have been a cruise for O"Mahonys, but it wasn"t. They did manage to restrict Andy McEntee"s IFC champions to just two points from play and that is a credit to their superb defence, but they made hard work of disposing of a determined Donaghmore / Ashbourne side who have plenty of individual talent, but lack inventiveness and ingenuity. When the wind was at their backs Donaghmore / Ashbourne persisted with pumping long hopeful balls into their full-forward line where they found Kevin Reilly and Niall McKeigue in impeccible form. There was little or no variation in that tactic and when starved of possession the Donaghmore / Ashbourne player"s confidence drained away. They missed a couple of goal chances, slipped 14-metre frees wide and had more handling errors than an junior rugby team. The terrible weather conditions may have a part to play in the mis-handling, but the rain was the same for both sides and O"Mahonys coped a lot better when in possession. Despite being the superior side and having an immaculate defence, O"Mahonys struggled to put their opponents away. With less than a quarter of the game to go Donaghmore / Ashbourne trailed by 0-5 to 2-7, the goals were effectively the difference. However, aside from an Andrew Tormey flick at a hopeful long ball, they never looked like seriously troubling Mark Brennan. Sean Curran was Donaghmore / Ashbourne"s most impressive player and Rory O"Connor, Brian Menton, Eoin Riordan and Tormey worked hard, but O"Mahonys were vastly superior. When Keating pointed inside 60 seconds the signs were ominous for Donaghmore / Ashbourne. Henry Finnegan added a free before slipping a great goal chance wide when it appeared easier to score. Tormey responded from a 21-metre free, but any hopes of victory were quashed when Ellis reacted negatively to a clash with Regan and was issued a straight red card. Within three minutes Mark Ward netted brilliantly and Lee Russell took advantage of a mistake by Cormac McGill to net a second goal. Game over. Padraig Durkan did well to tip a Ward point attempt over the bar before David Morgan closed the first-half scoring with a free to trail by 0-2 to 2-3 at the break. Stephen Bray and Menton traded points in the opening four minutes of the second-half, but a 90-second spell brought points from Keating and David Bray (two) to move O"Mahonys into a 2-7 to 0-3 lead. Eoin Reilly"s well-struck '45" and Menton"s point from a great goal chance raised Donaghmore / Ashbourne"s hopes, but they were their last scores as O"Mahonys closed out the game with points from David Bray (two) and substitutes Gary O"Brien (two) and Shane McKeigue. SCORERS Navan O"Mahonys - D Bray 0-4, one free; M Ward 1-1; L Russell 1-0; G O"Brien 0-2; S Keating 0-2; H Finnegan 0-1, free; S Bray 0-1; S McKeigue 0-1. Donaghmore / Ashbourne - B Menton 0-2; E Reilly 0-1, '45"; A Tormey 0-1, one frees; D Morgan 0-1, one free. TEAMS Navan O"Mahonys - M Brennan; N McKeigue, K Reilly, D Moran; S MacGabhann, C McGuinness, S O"Toole; B Regan, M Ward; L Russell, S Bray, H Finnegan; D Bray, P Smyth, S Keating. Subs - R Geraghty for Russell 46 minutes, S McKeigue for Ward 50m, G O"Brien for Keating 51m, C Reilly for O"Toole 55m, S Crosby for McGuinness 57m. Donaghmore / Ashbourne - P Durkan; J Finnegan, C McGill, S Curran; C Ellis, M Lynch, E Riordan; R O"Connor, E Reilly; B Menton, A Tormey, J Broderick; E Carroll, D Morgan, K Lanigan. Subs - C O Mealoid for Carroll 18 minutes, I Dowd for Broderick 27m, T Morgan for Menton 51m. REFEREE Seamus O"Connor (Carnaross)