Wins for Summerhill and Rathkenny at Trim
In glorious conditions at Trim this evening it was supporters from Rathkenny and Summerhill who were celebrating as their sides scored respective SFC wins over Longwood and Moynalvey in two hugely enjoyable contests.
Rathkenny gave themselves a glimmer hope of surviving in the SFC as they produced a superb come-from-behind performance to claim a 1-14 to 2-9 victory over luckless Longwood.
Trailing by 0-10 to 2-8 heading into the final quarter Rathkenny looked like a lost cause, but Jack Gore scored a wonder a goal that sparked his side into life and they didn't look back.
Longwood looked very impressive throughout and fully deserved their early lead given to them by Thomas Coloe's cool finish to the net, but Rathkenny were tough to put away and they hung on in there until Coloe's second goal boosted Longwood to a 2-4 to 0-7 interval lead.
When Joey Stenson stretched Longwood's lead to 2-8 t0 0-10 in the final quarter they looked on course for their first SFC win since the 1940s, but Gore's unbelieveable goal gave Rathkenny hope and they kicked on, outscoring Longwood 1-4 to0-1 in the final 14 minutes to seal the win.
Summerhill got their SFC ambitions back on track with a hard earned 1-14 to1-9 win over Moynalvey and while the five-point winning margin suggests a comfortable evening for Declan McCabe's charges it was anything but.
Summerhill started well and raced into a 0-5 to 0-2 lead inspired by Barry Dardis, but when they lost their Meath star to injury they lost their way a little as David McLoughlin bagged a brilliant goal and inspired Moynalvey to a 1-4 to 0-5 lead by the 27th minute.
However, Summerhill settled again and a fine goal from Sean Dalton boosted them to a 1-8 to 1-4 interval lead.
Moynalvey closed to within two points four minutes after the break, but Summerhill continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over with Dardis's deputy Liam Shaw converting a couple of frees and a fine '45' to maintain his side's lead.
James weldon did threaten to drag Moynalvey closer to contention, but every time Summerhill were hit a blow they responded positively to get their first win on the board.