Summerhill prove too strong in the Junior D decider

Some might say that this was 'only' the Junior D FC final, that it is well down the pecking order when it comes to the various competitions. So far down in fact that it didn't even get into Pairc Tailteann where it was originally fixed. It would be a foolish person who would go around Summerhill this week deriding this competition as unimportant or marginal. Certainly anyone who witnessed the delight on the faces of the Summerhill players and supporters seconds after the final whistle at Bohermeen on Saturday would never underestimate its importance - at least to those involved. There were lots of happy faces around, plenty of hugs and even a few tears of joy thrown in for good measure. A big crowd made their way to Sean Newman Park in Bohermeen for this contest and while they may not have been served up a game of the highest quality, they got plenty of effort and endeavour from both sets of players. The host club also took it seriously, they were well prepared and had everything ready Summerhill have had precious little to celebrate at adult level this year, but now they will have ownership of the Richard 'Dixer' Dunne trophy for the next 12 months. This was a big day for the club. "This means an awful lot to us, myself and Richie Daly, at the start of the year we said we'd give it a go and in fairness to all the boys we had they all stuck with us, since the depths of last winter," manager John Nangle told the Meath Chronicle. "We had a few old stagers and a few young lads and with a combination of the two we made it work. "We had a bit of luck during the year, I'm just so delighted we won. In fairness to the lads for the effort they put in, this should have been in Navan because Pairc Tailteann is the county pitch." Unusually the management team was made up of the manager and only one selector - Richie Daly. Perhaps the message there is that there is no need for an army of selectors which is the way with many teams. Summerhill certainly deserved to get their hands on the silverware. Powered on by a man-of-the-match display from their left-half-back Daniel 'Red' Larkin they put up a strong second-half performance that left their opponents looking a beaten docket well before the final whistle. The sides were level 0-5 to 1-2, at the interval and then Summerhill switched on the power. Stephen McDonnell stepped up to the mark and slotted over five points, three from play while Gary McDonnell, Gavin Brilly and Brian Rispin also tagged on scores. One feature of this game is that it took both sides some time to settle, but once they did, they produced some good spells of football. It took 11 minutes before the first score arrived when Gary McDonnell took a pass from the pacy, ever-busy Larkin before pointing. McDonnell went on to slot over two more points in quick succession and Rispin also split the posts to make up Summerhill's opening half account. Numerous Ballinlough attacks came a cropper mainly because of the efforts of the Summerhill backline. Full-back Denis Farrell was particularly impressive in front of the square mopping up a lot of ball and launching it downfield while Paddy McGrath was excellent at midfield. Summerhill put together a string of good attacking moves. Midway through the opening half one move which involved Gary Gill, Larkin, Rispin and Stephen McDonnell ended with Larkin through. A goal looked on, but the player opted to shoot over for his only point of the game. Ballinlough's young side, who had Vinny Ryan at the helm, found it difficult to cope with Summerhill's greater physicality. It took the north Meath side almost 25 minutes before they got their first score - a pointed '45' from Brian Smyth. Considering the amount of ball Summerhill had early on it was remarkable that Ballinlough went in at the break on level terms. They did so largely because of their goal that came right out of the blue with the ball swiftly moved downfield. James O'Higgins played the ball in for Christopher Gaughran who finished superbly. The goal put Ballinlough briefly in the lead. Summerhill equalised before the break and pushed on from there. Mark McCullen and Des Reilly marked enterprising performances with points for Ballinlough, but they could do little to prevent Summerhill achieving their win. SCORERS Summerhill - S McDonnell 0-5, three frees; G McDonnell 0-4; B Rispin 0-2; D Larkin 0-1; G Brilly 0-1. Ballinlough - C Gaughran 1-0; B Smyth 0-2, one '45', one free; M McCullen 0-1; D Reilly 0-1. Summerhill - G Gill; D Colgan, D Farrell, J Bruton; M Lynch, B Comey, D Larkin; P McGrath, R Clavin; G Brilly, B Rispin, G McDonnell; J Ryan, A Bruton, S McDonnell. Subs - B O'Reilly for A Bruton 36mins; D Bannon for Ryan 37m; P Carton for J Bruton 44m; N Nangle for Bannon 59m; P Jennings for G McDonnell 59m. Ballinlough - B Balfe; J O'Reilly, J O'Keeffe, S Smith; E Smith, G Smith, P Briody; M McCullen, D Reilly; N Farrelly, M Reilly, J O'Higgins; B Smyth, D Lynch, C Gaughran. Subs - P Monaghan for Lynch 28 mins; V Ryan for Reilly half-time; S Kane for Farrelly 60m. Referee - Des Smith (St Ultan's).