Disciplined approach rewarded

Discipline was the key to Donaghmore / Ashbourne"s MFC final victory over Round Towers at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday as they completed a hat-trick in the competition and now have their sights firmly focused on making it four-in-a-row. The Donaghmore / Ashbourne boys adopted a disciplined approach in the face of tremendous antagonism from an unruly Round Towers side with a couple of players fortunate to remain on the pitch. One Round Towers player in particular was ticked, yellow-carded and lectured, in that order, for blatant foul play and any one of the three offences surely merited a straight red card from referee Liam O"Brien who gained no plaudits for failing to dismiss the player. That he remained on the pitch, and that Donaghmore / Ashbourne refused to be drawn into what could have been an unsavoury scene, speaks volumes for the calibre of the club"s mentors and augurs well for the future of both the club and the highly-talented group of players. And why did Round Towers feel that it was necessary to adopt such a negative approach with a team packed with talent? Maybe that was the problem in the first instance, they thought they were good enough to win and could handle the pressure! Perhaps the Round Towers mentors could have taken action after they witnessed that same player gesturing crudely to the crowd. Had they taken him off at that stage it would have made a definite statement to the other players, especially as the referee also opted out. Minor Board chairman Ultan Fitzpatrick also papered over the cracks in his after-match presentation speech. 'It was a good sporting game,' he stated, but he could also have referred to the unacceptable behaviour of some of the Round Towers players which spoiled what could have been a thriller. Take nothing away from Donaghmore / Ashbourne, they were worthy winners. The fact that Round Towers failed to score in the second-half adequately reflects their football contribution which was disappointing from a team which contained four players who helped Meath to the Leinster MFC title earlier this year. That quartet was William Carry, Enda Nulty, Michael Newman and Darragh McNamara who was a member of the panel in the early part of the year before opting to play soccer for Drogheda Utd. The first-quarter was a low key affair with only a brace of points on the scoreboard for Round Towers. Barry Tormay got the combined side off the mark from play and Newman added a free soon after as both teams struggled against the elements. Donaghmore / Ashbourne got off the mark in the 17th minute when Shane Rock finished to the net after Gary Naughton"s shot was blocked. Bryan Menton made the opening with a fine pass. Paul Gilligan converted a free to extend the lead and when Rock added another goal close to the interval it left Round Towers well adrift, despite enjoying the benefit of a strong wind. Rock"s goal was a superb individual score. He fielded the ball about 40 metres out and set off towards the swimming pool end chased by a posse of defenders. The chase was in vain and he rifled the ball past Gary McGovern. Then, on the stroke of half-time Round Towers grabbed a lifeline from Newman"s free. Gaeil Colmcille"s Brendan Murray flicked the ball to the net which left his side adrift by two points, 1-2 to 2-1. Round Towers put DJ Carry between the posts for the second-half with Cormac Ferguson taking over outfield. They also made a number of positional changes, but Donaghmore / Ashbourne took complete control after the resumption as Round Towers adopted a totally indisciplined approach. Stephen Kavanagh added two more goals in the third-quarter to seal the result and for the remainder, Donaghmore / Ashbourne refused to rise to the bait and were very impressive as they showed all the positive aspects of Gaelic football. Team captain Andrew Tormey"s display at midfield earned the man-of-the-match accolade and he praised selectors Colm Menton and Gerry Delaney in his accepetance speech. Menton was full of praise for his players when he spoke to the Meath Chronicle. 'Our first objective at the start of this competition was to avoid Round Towers in the semi-final, they were the one team we had never beaten in under-age competition,' he stated. 'We were in a good position at half-time and I told the lads to keep their discipline, I also explained to them that the only people who could beat us was ourselves. 'They were a credit to the club, they were very disciplined and that was important, they didn"t get involved in any skirmishes and continued to play football, it worked well for us and I"m pleased for everyone involved with the club,' he concluded. Donaghmore / Ashbourne - Darren Marcello; Daryl Lawlor, Sean Curran, Robert O"Connor; Matthew Devine, JP Casserly, David Carey; Andrew Tormey (0-2), Gavin Kennedy; Paul Gilligan (0-1), Cathal Field (0-1), Gary Naughton; Bryan Menton, Stephen Kavanagh (2-0), Shane Rock (2-0). Sub - Ross Hanaway for Field. Round Towers - Gary McGovern; Paul Tormay, Darren O"Sullivan, Barry Tormay (0-1); William Carry, Enda Nulty, Sean Curran; Brendan Murray (1-0), Cormac Keegan; Darren Tormay, Darragh McNamara, Shane Reilly; Thomas Carry, Michael Newman 0-1), DJ Carry. Sub - Cormac Ferguson for McGovern. Referee - Liam O"Brien (Duleek / Bellewstown).