SFC Group A: Dunshaughlin set for 'business' class
August 25, 2019
Dunshaughlin's Luke Mitchell
Dunshaughlin look good for a place in the knockout stages of the SFC following this convincing win over Navan O'Mahonys at Ratoath on Saturday evening
Dunshaughlin ....... 2-12
O'Mahonys .......... 1-9
On a generaly overcast evening, Anthony Moyles' men made most of the running en route to their third win from four rounds ot the Keegan Cup race.
Dunshaughlin were never headed and the sides were level once, briefly, in the opening quarter, when Dylan Regan responded to Luke Mitchell's opening score.
Two first-half goals separated the sides at the finish, but Dunshaughlin were superior in terms of strength and mobility. They were also more economical, posting just three wides to Navan O'Mahonys' nine.
O'Mahonys' didn't reach the heights of their third round win over Gaeil Colmcille. This was their second loss from four SFC fixtures leaves them needing a significant win over struggling St Patrick's in the final round to have a chance of reaching the knockout phase.
Dunshaughlin capitalized on their superiority in terms of swiftness and strength with Caoimhin KIng's 10th minute goal. Mitchell and midfielder Dan Ormsby were also involved.
Scoring was low in the opening 30 minutes. Sub Aodhan Mallon's point was O'Mahonys' only reply as Dunshaughlin moved six clear, 1-5 to 0-2, by the 25th minute.
Mitchell then cut in from the right to fire home a fine solo goal with half-time beckoning to leave nine points separating the teams, 2-5 to 0-2.
Oisin O'Brien (free) pulled a point back for O'Mahonys who trailed 0-3 to 2-5 at half-time.
Within 10 minutes of resumption, Kevin Reilly's charges had halved the deficit. An unfortunate drop by Dunshaughlin 'keeper Adam McDermott let Oisin O'Brien in for a 33rd minute goal.
Cathal Smyth and O'Brien (free) also contributed to O'Mahonys' best scoring phase of the game.
Dunshaughlin outscored the Navan-side by 0-6 to 0-4 over the rest of the game. O'Mahonys' needed a second goal at least but the combined efforts of McDermott and the defensive sextet kept that threat at bay.
Dunshaughlin were on the back foot for much of the second-half but their goal was rarely threatened. In addition, they had the wherewithal to break out and poach a point when required ahead of their round five fixture against neighbours Skryne.
The final two scores from the men in black-and-amber came from subs Neil Byrne and Tadhg O Dushlaine while another replacement Henry Finnegan pitched in with O'Mahonys' final score.
Dunshaughlin - Adam McDermott; Oisin Foley, Fergus Toolan, Niall Byrne; Ray Maloney, Adam Kealy, Ben Duggan; John Crimmins, Dan Ormsby; Matt Costello (0-4, 2f), Matthew Moyles (0-2), Niall Murphy; Wes Goodwin, Caoimhin King (1-1), Luke Mitchell (1-3). Subs - Shane Gallogly for Duggan (21), Cian Gallogly for Goodwin (35), Tommy Johnson for Murphy (37), Tadhg O Dushlaine (0-1) for King (54), Neil Byrne (0-1) for Moyles (57), Ronan Geraghty for Crimmins (60).
O'Mahonys - Marcas Brennan; James O'Reilly, Niall McKeigue, Mike O'Reilly; Eimhin Power, Darragh Maguire, Brian Dillon; Niall McGrane, Conor Finnegan (0-1); Cathal Smyth (0-3, 1f), Alan Forde, Duggie Dillon; Dylan Regan (0-1), Stephen Bray, Oisin O'Brien (1-2 2fs). Subs - Aodhan Mallon (0-1) for Bray (15), Patrick Leahy for B Dillon (25), Brian O'Hanlon for Smyth (40), Cormac McGuinness for Forde (41), Henry Finnegan for O'Brien (bs 43-46), Henry Finnegan (0-1) for D Dillon (56).
Referee - Liam O'Brien (Duleek-Bellewstown)
