Facile victory in decider

Finals are normally hard won, but Dunshaughlin Community College found this exercise a very simple one at Dunganny on Thursday afternoon when they hammered Dundalk De la Salle to lift the North Leinster Schools Juvenile (u-14) FC C title. The gulf in class was enormous and Dunshaughlin were worth every bit of the 26-point margin against the school which won the trophy 12 months ago. Dundalk were physically superior in most departments, but they had no answer to the brilliance of Dunshaughlin who initially qualified from a group which contained O"Carolan Collge Nobber, Ratoath College and Boyne CS. As well as being technically efficient in the basic skills, the Dunshaughlin boys played with a superb cohesiveness and showed outstanding passion, commitment and hunger to obliterate their opponents. They dominated every sector, rarely allowing their below-par opposition any sort of possession. When Dundalk did have the ball they were closed down quickly and any attacks were easily snuffed out. Going forward was where Dunshaughlin looked really impressive. The wing-backs ensured any Dundalk attacks were broken up and with the magnificent Paul Donnellan from Walterstown dictating from midfield, Dunshaughlin had plenty of chances. Donnellan"s ability to carry the ball to his opponents and then skip by them with a shimmy left Dundalk defenders trailing and he was also clever in possession and wasn"t selfish when a colleague was in a decent position. Dunshaughlin had so many impressive individual performances, but it was the way they played as a team that impressed most. They never relented and battled for every ball. There was always a colleague in support and an outlet available. Daniel Benson was a menace and caused Dundalk countless problems and with Conor O"Brien, Paddy Darby and Jake Harlin providing a solid attacking platform, the scores came thick and fast. If Dunshaughlin had any fears about their bigger opponents they didn"t show. Dundalk started well, but their early forays were broken up as Dunshaughlin used the strong wind to their advantage to alleviate danger with booming clearances. Donnellan opened the scoring after a superb run, but Dundalk missed a great chance when James Doherty rattled a penalty off the crossbar and had the rebound well saved by Stephen McCarthy. That let-off sparked Dunshaughlin into life and between the eighth and 12th minutes they raced into a 0-5 to 0-0 lead through Glen Fitzpatrick, O"Brien, Donnellan (free) and Benson. Donnellan executed a brilliant block to deny Ciaran Byrne a goal, before Robert Lynch finally got Dundalk off the mark after 19 minutes. Dunshuaghlin"s response was overwhelming. A superb move which involved Fergal Cleary and O"Brien ended with Paul Clarke netting. Two minutes later Harlin tagged on a second goal for Dunshaughlin and further points from Clarke, Darby and a brace from Benson left Dundalk with a mountain to climb. They did give themselves a chance when James Doherty utilised soccer skills to score a goal and leave his side trailing by 1-1 to 2-9 at the break. Much more was expected of Dundalk when they had the advantage of the wind for the second-half, but instead it was Dunshaughlin who burst from the traps. Darby pointed within 30 seconds of the restart and two minutes later Shane Gallogly put the game beyond doubt with a simple tap in goal. Dundalk struggled to even muster an attack and while Dunshaughlin did manage 19 wides for the hour, they also scored at ease. Further goals from Oisin Foley and O"Brien put the icing on the cake and by the final whistle, Dunshaughlin were still full of running. Dunshaughlin CC - Stephen McCarthy; Josh Wall, Aidan Wall, Michael Lennon; Sean Fitzpatrick, Glen Fitzpatrick (0-2), Conor Whelan; Jonathan O"Connor, Paul Donnellan (0-2, one free); Conor O"Brien (1-2), Paddy Darby (0-3), Jake Harlin (1-0); Daniel Benson (0-4), Paul Clarke (1-2), Fergal Cleary (0-2). Subs - Ben Duggan, Stephen Kinsella, Emmet Jordan, David Reilly, Oisin Foley (1-0), Shane Gallogly (1-0), Daniel Aloba, Nathan Plevin, Niall Thynne, Shane Lambe, Lorcan Byrne, Peter Butler, Josh Finnegan, Tom Sharp, Sean Doyle, Gareth Rooney, Michael McNally, Michael Montague, Dean Ryan, Jordan O"Reilly, Lorcan Bannon, Cathal Burke. Dundalk DLS - C McArdle; P Hoey, J Devitt, Sean Waters; Ryan O"Hanlon, C Lenehan, S McCann; J Connolly, E Murray; J Clerkin, D McKeown, C Byrne; R Curran, J Doherty (1-1), R Lynch (0-2). Subs - J Shiels, C Doherty, B McCarthy, J Murphy, C Connolly, S McQuillan, O Oroga. Referee - Gus Martyn (Dunderry).