Gaeil Colmcille 1-11 Dunshaughlin 0-13

Gaeil Colmcille and Dunshaughlin had the honour of opening this years Fairyhouse Steel Meath Senior Football Championship in a wet and miserable Thursday evening in Skryne.

Dunshaughlin registered the opening point of the match after just one minute on the clock. Two minutes later a Seamus Mattimoe free levelled things up for the men from Kells. Dunshaughlin had arguably their spell of the match when they hit four unanswered points in a row in a seven minute period. Gaeil Colmcille were finding it hard to get a hold of the ball and were relying on scraps, a long ball into the Ryan Farnham who won the ball in front of his marker, laid the ball off to Liam Ferguson who pointed from an acute angle. 

From the resulting kickout. Kells gathered the ball and when it fell to Seanie Curran, he made no mistake leaving it beyond the Dunshauglin keeper to leave the sides level on 1-02 to 0-05 after 18 minutes. 

Dunshaughlin would finish the half the stronger and outscore their opponents four points to three with some fine scores on both sides leaving it Dunshaughlin 0-09 to 1-05 ahead at half-time. 

Gaeil Colmcille drew level in the 32nd minute thanks to Brian Hanlon free kick, and when Hanlon pointed again from play on 36 minutes it would be the first time the Kells men would take the lead in the game. As conditions deteriorated, both sides found handling the ball, passes and scores hard to come by. Kells pushed two points clear thanks to a Seamus Mattimoe free kick. Dunshaughlin never lay down and hit two scores in a row to see them draw level on 43 minutes. 

Hanlon and Mattimoe pointed frees either side of a Dunshaughlin point and with Gaeils leading by a point heading into the final stages they called on their keeper Justy Carry-Lynch to dig them out when he produced a show stopping save to leave his side ahead by the minimum.

Dunshaughlin came at Kells again and when a wild shot was kept in play by the Dunshaughlin forwards, they recycled the ball and when they pointed to leave the sides level once again it looked as of both sides would have a share of the spoils. But as is the case on so many occasions, Hanlon once again pointed from a free just inside the 45 as the game was in stoppage time and from the resulting free kick, referee Cormac Reilly blew for full time to see Kells take the first two points on offer in Group A and bring a hard earned win down the M3. 

Gaeil Colmcille: J Carry-Lynch, P Tormay, B Smith, J Reilly, C Courtney, C Keegan, B Tormay, C Doogan, O Reilly, E Sheridan (0-01), S Mattimoe (0-04), L Ferguson (0-01), S Curran (1-00), R Farnham (0-01, B Hanlon (0-04) 

Subs: F Ferguson for Doogan, S McManus for B Tormay.

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