Light at the end of the tunnel

After a difficult year that saw their senior team briefly flirt with relegation there was finally something for Walterstown to cheer about when they overpowered Duleek / Bellewstown in the u-21 A FC final at Donore on Saturday. Duleek / Bellewstown felt aggrieved at many of referee Michael McDonagh"s decisions including the late dismissal of Jamie Flaherty for a second yellow card, but they played second fiddle to a superior Walterstown outfit throughout. For 32 minutes Duleek / Bellewstown put it up to their opponents. Chris Carney caused problems and Mick Dowling was an inspiration at midfield, but once Walterstown settled after the interval they were impossible to contain. The Blacks were physically stronger than Duleek / Bellewstown and with Tom Walsh providing a massive threat from midfield they soon lorded proceedings as Colm Nally"s side lost their shape and eventually their way. Walterstown were the better team and although Duleek / Bellewstown had their moments in the fleeting sun there was always the sense that Eoin Carroll"s team had an extra gear in reserve and could kick on at any time. David Reynolds was a constant threat from centre-forward and with Alan O"Keeffe and Richard Barry also impressive it was no surprise that Walterstown went on to record a double scores victory. When the early part of the contest was dry and bright Duleek / Bellewstown were in contention, but as the weather deteriorated and heavy showers swept in over historical Newgrange, Walterstown had the bottle for the battle by the Boyne. The advantage swayed and shifted several times during the first-half. Firstly Walterstown looked in command when Walsh (free) and Colm Reilly gave them a lead inside four minutes, but then Duleek / Bellewstown took over. Flaherty was denied by the crossbar when his point attempt dipped over Conor Daly, but Stephen McArdle opened the scoring for the newly-formed club after seven minutes. Another superb score from Walsh restored Walterstown"s two-point cushion and despite a Carney free that advantage was stretched to 0-5 to 0-2 when a couple of excellent sweeping attacking moves ended with a fisted point for David Maguire and a fine score for Barry. The game threatened to get away from Duleek / Bellewstown, but they finished the half brilliantly. Meath minor Mark Collins prompted the recovery with a well-struck free and in the same minute Carney struck a wonderful point from over 45 metres. Walterstown were on the back foot and when Eoin O"Mahony added a tick to his yellow card for a foul on Flaherty it showed the Black"s frustrations. Collins" free struck the upright, but Walterstown failed to clear and Darren Mills pointed to make it 0-5 each at the break. O"Mahony was replaced by Anwar Khan for the second-half and while Duleek / Bellewstown did briefly lead after a superb Dowling point, Walterstown controlled the remainder with their power and accuracy. Barry, who was a close contender for man-of-the-match with Walsh, restored parity and from the subsequent kick-out the break fell to Reynolds who pointed Walterstown in front again. It was a lead they didn"t relinquish. Reynolds made it 0-8 to 0-6 before further points from Walsh and an O"Keeffe free made it 0-10 to 0-6 just nine minutes into the second-half. It was all over bar the shouting, and there was plenty of that. Some of the Duleek / Bellewstown mentors and substitutes took umbrage at many of McDonagh"s decisions, but their protests counted for nothing as Walterstown continued to press forward. Barry brilliantly made it 0-11 to 0-6 and Walsh struck a difficult free between the posts to stretch Walterstown"s lead to six points. Duleek / Bellewstown"s frustrations resulted in a Flaherty"s first yellow card following an off-the-ball clash with Joseph Coogan. Missed chances and awful wides from close range frees were symptomatic of Duleek / Bellewstown"s problems. Coogan piled on the misery with his first point before Stephen Nolan kept alive Duleek / Bellewstown"s slim hopes with a decent score. However, those hopes evaporated when Flaherty was red-carded following a late tackle on Walsh, but it was academic. SCORERS Walterstown - T Walsh 0-4, two frees; R Barry 0-3; D Reynolds 0-2; A O"Keeffe 0-2, one free; C Reilly 0-1; D Maguire 0-1; J Coogan 0-1. Duleek / Bellewstown - C Carney 0-2, one free; C McGroggan 0-1; M Collins 0-1 free; D Mills 0-1; M Dowling 0-1; S Nolan 0-1. THE TEAMS Walterstown - C Daly; S O"Keeffe, B McGrane; K McGrane, D Maguire, E O"Mahony; C O"Sullivan, T Walsh; C Reilly, D Reynolds, J Coogan; A O"Keeffe, R Barry. Subs - A Khan for O"Mahony half-time, M McCormack for Reilly 35 mins, M Clarke for S O"Keeffe 56m, A McLoughlin for McGrane 56m. Duleek / Bellewstown - B Heavey; J Martin, P Callaghan; S McArdle, C McGroggan, D Moore; M Dowling, S Nolan; J Flaherty, M Collins, C Carney; K Campbell, D Mills. Subs - D Martin for Carney 37 mins, J Flood for Campbell 37m, A Everard for Flood 52m, C Connell for McGroggan 55m, O Curley for Mills 57m. REFEREE Michael McDonagh (Clann na nGael)