Duleek Bellewstown 1-14 Oldcastle 1-11

It was a case of moving weekend in a truncated and condensed Meath Intermediate football championship.

A sun drenched Simonstown provided the ideal backdrop for the second round round Group D clash between Duleek/Bellewstown and Oldcastle. Duleek/Bellewstown came into the fixture buoyed by a strong comeback against Ballinabrackey which saw them snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat whilst Oldcastle suffered a defeat against Syddan. As a result both sides came into last night’s fixture knowing they simply had to win to stay alive in this year’s championship.

Oldcastle started much the brighter and were much sharper in thought and deed in the opening quarter. They quickly raced into a three point lead before John McDonnell opened Duleek/Bellewstown’s account. As the quarter wore on Oldcastle continued to dominate the middle third and fed their inside forward line fast and early. Jason Scully was proving a constant menace for the Duleek/Bellewstown rearguard and Oldcastle tacked on three more points before a John Flood free brought the score line back to 0-6 to 0-2 after 12 minutes. A further Jason Scully point left the score at the first water break 0-7 to 0-2 in favour of Oldcastle.

Oldcastle extended their lead to six points with another Jason Scully point on twenty minutes before Mark Collins converted a free after Robin Clarke was fouled. Another Oldcastle point was followed up by a point from play by John Flood after a neat build up to leave the score at 0-9 to 0-4. However, Duleek/Bellewstown were beginning to gain the upper hand at this stage, winning a lot of the breaks around midfield,maintaining possession and beginning to draw fouls from anOldcastle defence that was having to earn its keep. A Mark Collins free after Jamie Crosby was fouled was quickly followed up by a Shane Crosby point after an impressive Keelin Byrne turnover picking the pocket of his Oldcastle opponent as they came out of defence with the ball. As the first half drew to a close Duleek/Bellewstown fully capitalised on this shift in momentum and a neat Robin Clarke through ball found Shane Crosby who provided a deft hand pass to the onrushing John McDonnell who neatly finished to the back of the Oldcastle net.  This was quickly followed up by another Mark Collins point to leave the half time score 1-7 to 0-9 in favour of Duleek/Bellewstown.

The second half opened with another John Flood free before Padraig Howard swung over a lovely point off his right foot to make the score 1-9 to 0-9 to Duleek/Bellewstown. Oldcastle quickly followed this up with a point from play. Some stellar defending from Kevin McCann and Brian Moore repelled Oldcastle attacks and when they did manage to breach the Duleek/Bellewstown rearguard Anthony Dowling was on hand with a point blank save when an Oldcastle goal looked certain. A long Dowling kickout found John Flood in space and he advanced forward and tacked on the score of the match to leave the score at 1-10 to 0-10 before an Oldcastle point from play left the scores at 1-10 to 0-11 at the water break.

Duleek/Bellewstown were in the ascendancy at this stage but Oldcastle were continuing to prove dangerous , despite the fact that Jason Scully was having to forage much deeper for possession.  Four minutes after the restart came the score that threatened to derail Duleek/Bellewstowns championship campaign as a high looping ball found its way to the Duleek/Bellewstown net despite the outstretched arm of Anthony Dowling. However, Duleek/Bellewstown responded with an Oisin Miland point. It was without doubt the critical score of the match as it took some of the wind of Oldcastle’s sails and allowed Duleek/Bellewstown to regain their composure before the final surge for home. Indeed, Oldcastle would not score for the remaining ten minutes of the match. The pace that Duleek/Bellewstown were able to unleash from the bench was proving critical given the humid conditions. A John Flood free after Oisin Miland was fouled edged Duleek/Bellewstown ahead again and two late pointed frees saw them close out the fixture.  A fisted clearance from Kevin McCann and a Shane Crosby interception were the highlights in some nervy final moments as the match finished on a score line of 1-14 to 1-11 and Duleek/Bellewstown got their first championship win of the campaign and stay in the hunt to progress from Group D.

Overall, it was a deserved win for Duleek/Bellewstown. Through periods of Oldcastle dominance they never panicked. There was a nice variety to their attacking play which kept their attack moving and the Oldcastle defence guessing. The pace they were able to introduce off the bench added a lot of impetus and they now enter the final round fixture against Syddan with everything to play for.

Duleek/Bellewstown: A Dowling,  D McCabe, K McCann, S McArdle, C Ryan, B Moore, R Clarke, S Crosby (0-1), J Flaherty, P Howard (0-1), J Flood (0-7), K Byrne, J McDonnell (1-01),  M Collins (0-3), C Flynn, Subs used: J Crosby, O Miland, C Regan, D Moore, J Hartford

Oldcastle Report

A much changed Oldcastle squad took to the pitch for this evening’s second round of the Intermediate Championship, and for a good period of the first half it seemed to be working. Three minutes in a good ball from Paddy Rahill was moved forwards by Pearse Sheridan to the waiting Jason Scully who took a lovely point. The Duleek Bellewstown kickout was brought down by Darren Hawdon, on to brother Colin, to Conor Delaney and back to Jason again for another lovely score, less than thirty seconds after the first one. Colin Hawdon took the next for Oldcastle: followed by one for the opposition. Oldcastle were totally dominating the game, more points followed from Colin, Jason and Ger Reidy, with a six point lead opening up. With that however, Duleek Bellewstown took three in a row to get themselves back into contention. With the clock ticking down to half time, they then bagged themselves a goal to level it, and added a free just as the whistle blew to leave it Oldcastle 0-09, D/B 1-07 at the break.

D/B took the first two scores upon resumption, before a Stephen Tierney pass to C.J. Healy allowed him to sail her over the bar. D/B retaliated with another point, Pearse Sheridan then adding on one for Oldcastle. Colin Hawdon was very unlucky not to get a goal, only a super save by the D/B goalie prevented it. A long period of play from Duleek Bellewstown resulted in no score for all their work, it became an Oldcastle ball. Packie Kevin sent it out via C.J. and Cian McPartland, on to Stephen Lawless, to Ronan Maguire and back to Stephen L, on to Stephen Tierney, passed to Jason Scully then to Oran O’Reilly who sent it goalwards: the goalie got a touch of it but sent it into his own net, the goal leaving Oldcastle ahead once again by a point! Celebrations were short-lived however, the opposition point a free straight after to level it up again. They were determined not to leave it behind them and the last three scores of the match were all Duleek Bellewstown, with the final score Oldcastle 1-11, D/B 1-14.

Oldcastle: Packie Kevin, Louis Colleran, Cian McPartland, Barry Curran, Oran O’Reilly, Paddy Rahill, Stephen Lawless, Ger Reidy (0-01), Daire McEnroe, Darren Hawdon, Conor Delaney, Keith Connell, Colin Hawdon (0-02), Pearse Sheridan (0-01), Jason Scully (0-06). Subs: Ronan Maguire, Stephen Tierney, Mossy Flood, Robbie Farrelly, CJ Healy (0-01). (Own Goal)

 

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