Dunboyne deliver powerful display

The Meath hurling scene is well known to Johnny Murray who had a spell in charge of the senior county team. Now he looks after the fortunes of Dunboyne and he could hardly have asked for a better start to his team"s SHC campaign than this resounding victory over Kiltale at Ratoath on Friday evening. Both these sides made it to the last four of the 2008 SHC however, on this evidence Dunboyne look far more likely to take that extra step and go all the way this time around. After a slow start Dunboyne found their feet on the soggy surface and proceeded to lay the foundations for a thoroughly deserved victory. 'The lads had to battle hard for this win. It took them 10 to 15 minutes to fully get into the game and play at a championship tempo, but once they got going they fought and battled hard,' Murray told the Meath Chronicle. 'Anytime Kiltale came back we were able to lift ourselves and take the scores that kept us in front.' By half-time when Dunboyne led by 1-8 to 0-4 it always looked likely that victory would be claimed by Murray"s men. Once they had shaken off their early lethargy they were sharper, physically stronger and cuter in front of the posts. 'Don"t let them horse you out of it,' shouted one Kiltale mentor to the young guns out in the pitch. His plea went unheeded as Dunboyne dominated for lengthy spells. Once again Neil Hackett was scorer-in-chief slotting over nine points, six frees, from a range of distances and angles. The first Dunboyne goal came arrived on 25 minutes when Paul Fagan played the ball from well inside his own half. Neville Reilly flicked the sliotar across the goalmouth and Michael O"Grady applied the coup de grace. Dunboyne"s second goal arrived in the third-quarter and this proved to be a real body-blow for Kiltale. Barry Watters delivered a hopeful ball in from distance, Ollie Regan lost track of its flight and it slipped past him and into the net. That left Dunboyne 2-9 to 0-5 in front and in the clear. Reilly went on to fire home a third goal just before the end. Kiltale may take some encouragement from the fact that they dominated the final quarter. They racked up a respectable score with goals inside the last 12 minutes one from Peter Durnin, who slotted home from a 20-metre free. The other came from the impressive John Donoghue who flicked home a Cathal Sheridan free. Kiltale moved Sheridan from full-forward to midfield to try and infuse some urgency. It worked to an extent, but they found Dunboyne"s defence sturdy and unyielding. Sean Carroll and Donoghue stood out for Kiltale while Sean Moran, Daithi Watters, Paul Gannon, Fagan and Hackett were among those to impress for Dunboyne. Dunboyne - S Reilly; S Moran, D Watters, P Gannon; A Watters, P Fagan, N Watters; G Murphy (0-1), G Murphy; J Watters, B Watters (1-0), N Hackett (0-9); N Reilly (1-0), M Dunne (0-1), M O"Grady (1-1). Subs - N Smith for Moran, 25m; S Moran for B Watters 49 mins; C Kane for S Reilly 58m. Kiltale - O Regan; A Donnelly, S Carroll, D Donoghue; W Mahady, J Donoghue (1-1), J Carey; B Dixon, S Reilly; D Dixon, Paul Garvey, Philip Garvey; P Durnan (1-2), C Sheridan (0-1), M O"Sullivan (0-1). Sub - P Rispin for Carey, half-time. Referee - Gerry Keoghan (Kilmessan).