Rinne Ráth Tó sárú  ar Dhomhnach  Mór Chill  Dhéagláin sa chluiche craobhchomórtais seo a reáchtáladh go tréan tráthnóna Dé Sathairn i Pairc Tailteann

Ratoath 0-11 Donaghmore Ashbourne 0-8

Ratoath put in a solid team performance in this hard fought championship win over neighbours  Donaghmore Ashbourne on a warm, dry Saturday evening in Pairc Tailteann, Navan.

The game began with scores proving  hard to come by with some wayward shooting and both defenses on top. Donaghmore Ashbourne did make the early running though with 2 early points before Ratoath finally getting off the mark with a converted free in the 14th minute. Therefore for a 6 minute spell Ratoath rattled off another 5 points without reply as their forwards found their range . From then until half time both defenses had the upper hand with just a point scored each for both sides to leave the score 0-7 to 0-3 at the interval 

The second half started in a similar way to the first half with Donaghmore Ashbourne on the front foot and hitting 3  consecutive points without reply to leave the scoreboard reading 0-7 to 0-6 in the 40th minute  . They crucially never got back on level terms though as Davy Byrne’s charges kept their noses in front with points from placed balls. Despite some missed chances from the Ratoath side they managed to extend their lead 0-11 to 0-7 as the game approached the final whistle. Their opponents continued to threaten and a great save by Shane Duffy proved pivotal to the outcome of the game . The men in green did get the final score - a 20 metre  free but it proved too little too late as Ratoath held out to win with 3 points to spare

Foireann Ráth Tó: Shane Duffy, Sean Brazil, Gavin McGowan, Ben Wyer, Ciaran O’Fearraigh, Conor McGill, Jack Gillespie, Keith McCabe, Ben McGowan, Daithi McGowan, Gareth Rooney, Brian O’Connor, Aidan Murray, Conor Rooney, Connell Ahearne Fir Ionad Jack McGowan for Gareth Rooney, Cian Rogers for Murray, Dara Kelly for Brian O’Connor

Donaghmore Ahsbourne report

Donaghmore Ashbourne 0-08 Ratoath 0-11

Donaghmore Ashbourne and Ratoath went at each other in this second round championship game but it never sparked throughout the hour. After a cagey 10 mins where both teams seemed to be wary of each other, Stephen Carton pointed a free. Andy Colgan pointed a free off the ground on 14 mins but that is where Ratoath pressed the go button. They scored 6 unanswered points in the next 10 minutes as Donaghmore Ashbourne struggled to get any rhythm as 4 attempts fell short and were easily dealt with by the Ratoath defence. Stephen Carton pointed from play before Ratoath replied with another point from play.

Half time score 7 points to 3 for Ratoath.

Everyone expected a reaction in the second half and Andrew Tormey replaced James Crumlish. Stephen Carton scored another from play 3 mins into the half and Darragh McGovern added another 2 minutes later before Stephen Carton grabbed his 4th point in the game. Ratoath responded and scored 2 points from frees on 37 and 43 minutes. Sean Curran came on for Conor Carton for the last quarter. Ratoath worked another free and pointed. As Donaghmore Ashbourne chased the game Ratoath hit on the counter and maintained their lead. Leo Reilly came on for Stephen Carton on 24 minutes. Andy Tormey pointed from a free 2 minutes from the end and as the clock ticked on Ratoath were content to keep the ball, which they did effectively. They bided their time and earned another free which was moved up to the 20-metre line and duly pointed to put them 4 points up. Andy Tormey pointed his 2nd free to complete the scoring for his team.

Donaghmore Ashbourne: Andy Colgan (0-1f), Jack Giles, Iarlaith O’Donnell, Alan Murtagh, Conor Carton, Colm O’Mealoid, Shaun Byrne, Shane Melia, Bryan Menton, James Crumlish, Gary Sweeney, Darragh McGovern (0-1), Dylan Brady, Thomas McGovern, Stephen Carton (0-4, 1f).

Subs: Andrew Tormey (0-2f) for Crumlish, Sean Curran for Conor Carton, Leo Reilly for Stephen Carton, Declan Healy for Murtagh.

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