Dunshaughlin narrowly defeat determined Donaghmore

Dunshaughlin opened their Meath SFC campaign with a one point win over Donaghmore Ashbourne

Dunshaughlin 1-13

Donaghmore Ashbourne 1-12

When the fixtures were released, many would have earmarked this clash as being the stand-out game in round one of the Meath SFC, and by god, it lived up to expectations. Dunshaughlin needed a late point to sneak a win over a gritty determined Donaghmore Ashbourne side in Ratoath.

There is no doubt about it, Donaghmore Ashbourne will be hurting after this loss as they looked the stronger side for most of the contest. A Zach Thornton free in the 60th minute put them ahead in the clash but two very late points from Matthew Costello and Aaron Murphy sealed a win for Dunshaughlin that looked unlikely for the majority of this contest.

Michael O’Sullivan, making his championship debut, kicked off proceedings for Donaghmore Ashbourne but it wasn't long before Dunshaughlin found their groove. Matthew Costello was gifted possession before he busted through the Donaghmore Ashbourne defence and would have likely buried to the net had he not been dragged down inside the rectangle. Ruairi Kinsella made no mistake with the penalty and moments later, Kinsella followed up with a point to give Dunshaughlin an early three-point lead.

A Costello free extended Dunshauglin’s lead before Donaghmore Ashbourne responded with points from Thomas McGovern and Jamie Browne. Luke Mitchell and Dillon Brady traded scores before O’Sullivan scored his second to reduce the gap back to one.

Bryan Menton levelled the contest with five minutes left in the half and Donaghmore Ashbourne could have delivered a sucker blow right before half time but net-minder Tim O’Sullivan denied Jamie Browne a fantastic goal-scoring opportunity. The sides went in at half-time level. An early goal had given Dunshaughlin a lead but it was Donaghmore Ashbourne who looked the much stronger of the sides in the second quarter.

Straight from the throw-in, Costello ploughed through the Donaghmore Ashbourne defence before setting up Luke Mitchell for his second point. Donaghmore Ashbourne responded well and Thomas McGovern drew the sides level once more before Donaghmore Ashbourne made a massive move on the scoreboard.

Conor Carton produced a wonderful run forward before linking up with Jamie Browne. Carton then found O’Sullivan who buried the ball to the top of the net. There was some confusion over whether the ball had hit the crossbar or not and a scramble ensued for the ball in the square, however in the meantime, the green flag was raised much to the delight of the Donaghmore Ashbourne support.

The men in green and white were now three points to the good with 25 minutes left in the contest. Dunshaughlin responded with points from Mitchell and half-time sub Aaron Murphy. Goalscorer O’Sullivan and Mitchell traded points before Aaron Murphy drew the sides level for the third time in 15 minutes of play.

Consecutive scores courtesy of the McGovern twins, Thomas and Darragh handed the advantage back to Donaghmore Ashbourne. Darragh then traded points with Ruairi Kinsella. Kinsella’s work rate and scores had kept Dunshaughlin afloat for large parts of this clash.

Kinsella got the equalizing point with a minute of normal time to go in the contest. However, this topsy-turvy clash hadn’t finished providing drama yet. Having come off the bench, Jack Doran did really well to pick up the ball wide and run straight at the Dunshaughlin goalposts only to be dragged down just outside the 21. Zach Thornton polished off the free and the Ashbourne supporters believed they had won it.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Matthew Costello, who had not scored since the seventh minute, popped up with the equalizing point deep into injury time. With the resulting kick out, Dunshaughlin managed to turn over possession and the ball found its way to Aaron Murphy. Murphy slotted the ball over with the last kick of the game and Dunshaughlin came away with the win. Dunshaughlin will feel like they probably didn’t deserve the points on offer but in the group of death, they will take what comes their way.

Dunshaughlin – Tim O’Sullivan; Ciaran McCarrick, Fursey Blake, Jarod Roche (0-1); David Fildes, Adam Kealy, Ben Duggan; Charlie O’Connor, Conor Gray; Conor Duke, Ruairi Kinsella (1-3, one pen), Matthew Costello (0-2); Niall Byrne, Tommy Kinsella, Luke Mitchell (0-4, one free). Subs – Fiach Hartigan for Duggan 18m, Aaron Murphy (0-3, one mark) for T Kinsella HT, Neil Byrne for Gray, Ryan Robinson for Mitchell, both 52m.

Donaghmore Ashbourne – Andy Colgan; Aaron McLoughlin, Evan Quinn, Sean Curran; Conor Carton, Shane Melia, Cillian Hegarty; James Redmond, Jamie Browne (0-1); Bryan Menton (0-1), Darragh McGovern (0-3), Thomas McGovern (0-2); James Crumlish, Dylan Brady (0-1), Michael O’Sullivan (1-3). Subs – Jack Doran for Brady 43m, Sean Tyrell for Curran 54m, Luke Barrett for McLoughlin, Zach Thornton for Crumlish both 56m, Kevin Cully for Redmond 59m.

Referee - David Gough