Ratoath stroll to last four
It was all too easy for Ratoath in Pairc Tailteann this afternoon as they strolled to an easy 4-16 to 1-6 SFC quarter-final victory over a Skryne side that were without their injured talisman Paddy O'Rourke.
Ratoath burst from the traps and used the phenomenal pace of Eamon Wallace, Joey Wallace and Bryan McMahon to blow Skryne out of the water, so much so that by the end of the first quarter the life had been suck out of the game and the atmosphere.
McMahon opened the scoring in the third minute from a free and less than a minute later Ratoath turned on the afterburners as Joey Wallace set-up Gavin McGowan for a goal dribbled to the net despite Robbie Clarke's despairing effort to get the block in.
Eoin Smyth replied with a point for Skryne, but it was only token resistance at that stage as four minutes later a careless foul by Niall Lenehan on Joey Wallace led to a penalty which Eamon Wallace rolled to the net to make it 2-1 to 0-1 after less than 10 minutes.
McMahon tagged on another free and two minutes later he clipped over a brilliant score despite intense defensive pressure. Joey Wallace made it 2-4 to 0-1 before Conor Rooney blasted a goal chance over the bar.
With the comfort of a 10-point cushion Ratoath eased off the gas and Skryne slowly, but without much conviction, attempted to claw their way back into the game.
Paddy Carpenter accounted for the Tara side's second point before a wonderous point with the outside of his right boot from Eamon Wallace woke the crowd from their afternoon snooze.
A free from Ian Davis and a Darragh Campion score closed the gap to eight points, but another McMahon free with the last kick of the half ensured a 2-7 to 0-4 interval lead for Ratoath.
Skryne needed a bright start to the second-half, but playing into a slight breeze they never got going and after Eoghan Greene cancelled out a McMahon free in the 33rd minute Skryne didn't score again until the 48th minute as Rooney added 1-1, McMahon kicked another free and Joey Wallace and Emmet Boyle scored points to make it 3-12 to 0-5.
Skryne's eventually bothered the scoreboard again when Niall Morley found the net, but that goal didn't inspire a late rally as three minutes later David McGowan bagged Ratoath's fourth goal before Cian O'Brien and McMahon added points to put 18 points between the sides.
Morley did reply with a pointed free, but despite already well assured of their passage Ratoath continued on the front foot and added to their margin of victory with Joey Wallace and Connell Ahearne (free) concluding the scoring.
SCORERS
Ratoath – Bryan McMahon 0-7 six frees; Conor Rooney 1-2; Eamon Wallace 1-1 1-0 penalty; David McGowan 1-0; Gavin McGowan 1-0; Joey Wallace 0-3; Emmet Boyle 0-1; Cian O'Brien 0-1; Connell Ahearne 0-1 free.
Skryne – Niall Morley 1-1 one free; Ian Davis 0-1 frees; Eoin Smyth 0-1; Paddy Carpenter 0-1; Darragh Campion 0-1; Eoghan Greene 0-1.