Cilles in the fast lane as they secure place in knock-out phase

St Colmcille's ensured they will be involved in the knock-out phase of the SFC when they defeated St Patrick's 1-14 to 0-13 at Duleek this evening. 

This victory, along with the fact that Rathkenny and Moynalvey drew, means that Des Lane's troops are going to be in the mix as the championship progresses. This is the first time the club have reached the quarter-finals of the SFC. 

To engineer a victory St Colmcille's had to work very hard as they came up against a typically gritty St Pat's side who now face the real prospect of a relegation battle. St Colmcille's trailed by four points at one stage in the opening half but with the help of a Conor O'Byrne goal they led 1-6 to 0-8 at the interval and pushed on from there. 

St Colmcille's combination of power and pace had their opponents on the rack for long spells in the second-half with O'Byrne finishing with 1-4 while Grahan Reilly bagged four points. Conlon (two), Jack Reynolds (two), Robbie McCloskey and David O'Byrne also registered points. 

St Patrick's Niall Mooney hit six points, three frees, one '45' while Padraig Nulty registered four point. Donal Landy (two) and Darren Hagan also fired over but their inability to work a goal proved costly. St Pat's now face a crunch final group game against Moynalvey. 

See full match report in next issue of the Meath Chronicle.