Ratoath see off O'Mahonys fightback to claim fourth Minor title

Kevin Daly's Ratoath prevailed over Navan O'Mahonys at Donaghmore/Ashbourne GAA

Ratoath 0-18

Navan O’Mahonys 2-8

Ratoath claimed their fourth Div 1 Minor title on Friday evening in Donaghmore/Ashbourne GAA as they came out on top of Navan O’Mahonys. Ratoath did look the stronger of the two sides for large parts of the contest but O’Mahonys battled hard and they were boosted by two goals, one in either half which kept them within touching distance of the eventual victors. Ratoath’s star man on the night, Adam Ducie delivered two of the last three scores to see the men in blue and yellow over the line.

The early exchanges were nip and tuck with the two sides trading the first four scores. O’Mahonys’ midfielder, Bobby Gaffney secured the pick of their early points with a long-range effort to leave the sides deadlocked at two points apiece after 13 minutes.

At this stage, Ratoath did somewhat take control of the contest. Adam Ducie who finished up with a fine tally of 0-9, contributed five of Ratoath’s first nine scores as they led 0-9 to 0-3 nearing the end of the opening 30 minutes.

Rian Porter and Navan O’Mahonys produced a sucker blow late on in the half with a goal which left only three points between the sides at the break. Navan O’Mahonys did have some bright moments in that first half but on reflection, eight wides in the opening 30 minutes was a key factor in their eventual demise.

Cian Hendricks got the scoring underway in the second-half before Cormac Nugent responded for the men in blue and white. It was quite a while before Navan O’Mahonys registered another score as Ratoath upped their intensity and work rate. The eventual winners rattled off the next five points to give them a healthy advantage heading into the final quarter. During this period of Ratoath domination, Evan Dunne accounted for two points as did man of the match Ducie and Eoin Feldman also added to Ratoath's lead.

With 15 minutes left, Navan O’Mahonys found themselves with an eight-point deficit to try and make up and they did make a fair stab at it. Nugent rattled off three frees in succession to leave the scores sitting at 0-15 to 1-7 in favour of Ratoath. At this point though, it was O’Mahonys who had all the momentum. A poor kickout gave Adam McEvoy the opportunity to burst through the Ratoath defence and he produced a wonderful finish to the back of the Ratoath net to only leave two points between the sides.

Porter would secure a free a few moments later to leave the minimum gap between the sides. However, Ratoath responded well and their main man Ducie kicked the next two scores before Michael Cooper kicked an insurance point to seal the deal. The referee’s final whistle came shortly after and Ratoath were confirmed as Div 1 minor champions for 2024.