Torro survive the elements for a merited victory

The most vivid memories both teams will have from this Meath & District League Div 1 encounter at Kilberry on Sunday morning is of the the deplorable conditions that spoiled any prospects of a decent game of football. Hosts Torro Utd and visiting neighbours Slane Wanderers coped admirably with the driving rain and swirling wind that battered the venue for most of the 90 minutes with the only respite at the interval when the weather conditions actually improved, briefly. It's as if the gods, or who or whatever dictate such matters were intent on having a laugh at the expense of the players and the hardy souls who braved the elements. There was even the customary dog and he had the good sense to take shelter, possibly bemused by the 22 men running around in the rain. In fairness to the 22 players, they displayed glimpses of skill and endeavour throughout, but it was wind-assisted Torro who laid the platform for victory in the opening 10 minutes. A couple of in-swinging corners caused the problems and as the ball bobbled around the six-yard box, Shane O'Brien with the first and then Gordon McKeever finished to the net. It was the kind of start that Torro wanted and as the wind continued to howl, the Slane rearguard creaked and groaned. However, battling performances from John Reilly, Nigel Kerr, Neil Faulkner and John Gibney kept the Torro tide at bay and they even managed a few attacks. The closest they came to scoring was when Aidan O'Brien's free whizzed past the outside of Conor Cullen's goalpost while at the other end Torro went close through a well-struck Gavin McKeever effort. Colin Gleeson also got forward and unleashed a fierce drive, but the wind meant he missed the target without too much difficulty. Slane manager Michael Cassidy made a couple of changes at half-time with the introduction of Barry Finnegan and Ollie Harding and the Wanderers were right back in contention when O'Brien finished to the net with eight minutes of the restart. Torro created a couple of good chances on the counter-attack and the best of these fell to midfield dynamo Peadar Farrelly who saw his rising shot from 25 yards skim the top of the crossbar. That was Torro's best chance of the second-half, but they weathered the storm of Slane pressure and held out for a hard-earned three points. Torro will face a stern test next Sunday when they go to Ardee for a must-win game, even at this early stage of the season, while Slane could find the going tough when they make the journey to Longwood. Torro Utd - C Cullen; A McKeever, C Gleeson, D McKeever, G McKeever, P Farrelly, S Carroll, G McKeever, K McKeever, S O'Brien, A Englishby. Sub - P Lennon for Carroll 59 mins. Slane Wanderers - G O'Brien; J Reilly, N Kerr, N Faulkner, J Gibney, J Gillic, C Smith, A O'Brien, C Rock, D Collins, R Cassidy. Subs - O Harding for Reilly, B Finnegan for Kerr both half-time. Referee - John Crawley (Louth Branch)