Moylagh 3-11, Dunboyne 0-7

Moylagh maintained their unbeaten record in the JFC when they proved too strong for Dunboyne in a fourth round tie at Dunderry on Saturday evening. Moylagh were a goal up after only 40 seconds when full-forward Justin O'Reilly anticipated the bounce from a long ball and finished to the net. Dunboyne goalkeeper Gary Timoney got it badly wrong as he raced towards the 13-metre line in an effort to avert the danger, but it was just the start Moylagh needed to settle the nerves. They repeated the feat a minute into the second-half when O'Reilly again judged a long ball to perfection, this time it eluded a Dunboyne defender, and Timoney had no chance. "The goals made the difference at the start of each half, but we could have won by a bigger margin, qualification might yet be determined by scoring difference," Moylagh manager Dessie Hamilton told the Meath Chronicle. "We will have to improve our finishing, we missed too many chances and we were fortunate to get away with it in this game. "I suppose it's a case of so far, so good, but we now have to get ready for the final game in the group against Kilmainham, that will be a tough one," he added. Moylagh owned the ball for the opening 20 minutes on Saturday night, but at the end of that period they had a paltry 1-4 on the scoreboard. As the goal arrived in the opening minute, after Colm Fanning won possession around the midfield with a fine interception, a return of four points was really abysmal for the amount of energy which the team expended. They were also grateful to full-back Brian Geraghty who made a vital block on Dunboyne's Kevin Delaney to prevent a goal. The points arrived from Thomas O'Reilly (free), Justin O'Reilly, Fanning and Willie McGrath. Under pressure Dunboyne gradually got into the game, centre-back Kevin McDonald was a key performer as he broke up a number of promising Moylagh attacks. David Moen, Alan Carr, Rory Kavanagh and Andy McWeeney also worked hard and Dunboyne finished the half with a flourish. Corner-forward Donal Lenehan, their best player, reeled off three unanswered points from frees as the Moylagh challenge petered out. Referee Niall Foran's half-time whistle saved Moylagh for further damage on the scoreboard as they took a meagre 1-4 to 0-3 lead into the break. Moylagh had more of a cutting edge about them in the second-half with Fanning and Joe Melia shading midfield, although they were fortunate to add that early goal. Soon after, they had what one umpire deemed a point ruled out by the other umpire and that generated some debate along the sideline, especially as the referee did not consult with either man and waved it wide. "I hope it's not a costly point by the time the group is finished," one Moylagh official commented close to the sideline. Eanna Brody pointed from play in the fourth minute and then Timoney denied McGrath a goal with a smart save while at the other end, Declan Traynor saved well from Lenehan. Lenehan continued to torment the Moylagh rearguard and added three more Dunboyne points with McWeeney also splitting the posts. However, as the second-half progressed, Moylagh took control and while they finished with eight wides, they had enough in the tank to make it across the finishing line. Brody added a goal 10 minutes from time with Justin O'Reilly (three), Thomas O'Reilly (two) and Fanning completing the point tally. Moyagh - D Traynor; P Traynor, B Geraghty, K O'Reilly; S Martin, M Quinn, E Boyle; J Melia, C Fanning (0-2); T O'Reilly (0-3 two frees), D O'Growney, W McGrath (0-1); D Hand, J O'Reilly (2-4), E Brody (1-1). Dunboyne - G Timoney; A Carr, D Moen, R Kavanagh; P Hayes, K McDonald, A McWeeney (0-1); P Curran, G O'Toole; M Convey, K Delaney, P Conway; S Skettle, S Reilly, D Lenehan (0-6 four frees). Subs - E Dolan for Convey 35 mins, M Beggy for Skettle 45m. Referee - Niall Foran (Simonstown Gaels).