Parkvilla record an important victory

Parkvilla took the bragging rights following Friday night's historic all-Meath Leinster Senior League Div 1A clash against Dunboyne at Claremont Stadium. Dunboyne's first LSL visit to Navan ended in disappointment when they were undone by hosts Parkvilla who struck two second-half goals for a valuable three points. The Meath derby clash produced a tough encounter with both teams enjoying periods of dominance although Dunboyne created more clear-cut chances, but were punished for some wayward finishing. Dunboyne were without regular centre-half Brendan Lee, but he should be back in action next weekend for the FAI Intermediate Cup clash against Postal Utd in Tallaght. The first-half exchanges were evenly balanced with both sides denied by the woodwork. Parkvilla's Ciaran Rogers hit the crossbar after 20 minutes with a fine effort and soon after headed narrowly over as the Navan men applied some intense pressure. The home defence was solid with Stephen Gough and Chris Kennedy coping well with Dunboyne's attack and that duo received good support from Andy Williamson and Dunboyne man Gary McCrossan who joined the Navan club last season. However, Dunboyne looked more potent in the closing minutes of the first-half, a period when Andy Farrell caused a lot of problems for the Parkvilla rearguard. Farrell was denied by the crossbar from a well-stuck free after 32 minutes and then Ger Robinson headed narrowly over from Karl Healy's centre close to the interval. Dunboyne had a gilt-edged opportunity to break the deadlock only 50 seconds after the resumption, but Ciaran Carr was unable to beat Parkvilla's French goalkeeper Jean Claude Mariau. Carr and substitute Michael Cunniffe had good one-on-one chances subsequently, but the finishing was poor and Dunboyne ultimately paid the price. Parkvilla hit the front after 59 minutes when Kevin Dunphy's speculative wind-assisted centre from the left deceived Dunboyne goalie Paul O'Reilly (pictured) and dipped under the crossbar. That gave Parkvilla a lift and they dictated the remainder as Dunboyne tended to moan and argue about fairly marginal decisions. That trait seemed to deflect their focus and it was no real surprise when they were unhinged again with three minutes remaining. Rogers, who was a constant threat, made the opening and Dunphy finished confidently to the net to secure an important victory. Parkvilla - JC Mariau; G McCrossan, A Williamson, S Gough, C Kennedy, C Lynch, M Power, W Russell, D O'Neill, C Rogers, K Dunphy. Subs - I Brazil for Kennedy, J Blake for O'Neill. Dunboyne - P O'Reilly; T McAuley, S Roarty, R O'Toole, C Sylvester, D O'Reilly, A Farrell, C Carr, K Healy, N Connellan, G Robinson. Subs - M Cunniffe for Healy, D Kennerney for D O'Reilly.