Memorable weekend for Wall and Keeley
Dunboyne duo taste sweet victories
Some days are tinged with gold and bathed in sunshine.
While people were celebrating victory in elections over the weekend two Meath sports personalities - Vikki Wall and Josh Keeley - enjoyed moments they will savour for the rest of their lives.
Both players are from Dunboyne but they chalked up achievements on different sides of the globe.
After scoring a hat-trick of goals in the AFLW semi-final last week Wall made another major contribution when she scored two goals in the sold out IKON Park in Melbourne as North Melbourne chalked up a resounding 39-9 win over Brisbane Lions in the Grand Final in the early hours of Saturday morning .
The Lions, who had Dublin's Jennifer Dunne and Orla O'Dwyer from Tipperary in their line-out, were comprehensively outplayed by North Melbourne with Wall ending up her team's second topscorer.
Wall also got in some big tackles and took her scores after winning possession with the kind of skill that she would have learned and honed during her Gaelic football days.
Cork's Erika O'Shea also featured prominently for the North Melbourne side recording eight disposals.
It was sweet revenge for North Melbourne, who lost the 2023 Grand Final to serial finalists Brisbane. Wall and her team are unbeaten this season.
Later on Saturday Keeley lined out for Layton Orient in the FA Cup second round against Oldham Athletic at Brisbane Road.
The Republic of Ireland u-21 goalkeeper could do little as Oldham took the lead with a Manny Monthe finish.
It looked like it Monthe's striker would be enough to secure their ticket to the next round when teams will be joined by all the top glamour outfits from the Premier League.
However in the ninth minute of stoppage time Keeley turned from goalstopper to goalscorer.
In a last, desperate attempt to find salvation for his team Keeley moved up field as Layton Orient prepared to take a free kick.
The ball was floated into the Oldham penalty area and there was Keeley to rise above the rest and head the ball home.
In extra time Orient's Dan Agyei missed a penalty but the same player later scored to secure the victory for the Latics - and what a victory it was, achieved in truly dramatic circumstances.
"I think this will go down – not the game, but the moment in the game – will go down in (history)," Orient's head coach Richie Wellens said in a video posted on the club's X account.
For Keeley & Co it was a memorable turnaround in fortunes that leaves Orient with the prospect of a money-spinning third round tie.
Keeley is on loan at Layton Orient from Tottenham Hotspurs but the experience of regular first team football is sure to greatly improve the young Dunboyne man's game - with moments like he had on Saturday to be treasured.