Dunshaughlin staged an impressive recovery to overcome Skryne in a dramatic hoganstand.com SFC preliminary quarter-final at Simonstown on Friday night

Dunshaughlin  3-14
Skryne  3-12

Skryne looked set for a quarter-final meeting with Dunboyne when leading by nine points, 3-8 to 0-8, five minutes into the second-half.

Boosted by a Fergus Toolan goal seconds later, with Tadhg O Dushlaine providing the assist, Kit Henry's men went on to outscore Skryne by 2-6 to 0-4 in the time remaining.

Two goal hero Niall Murphy with Niall Lenehan

Fortunes ebbed and flowed throughout an exciting hour. Dunshaughlin had posted 11 wides before Skryne hit their first, in the 50th minute. The team in royal blue jerseys led for most of the way, apart from spells in the opening and final quarters.

Dunshaughlin regained the lead with Niall Murphy's 52nd minute goal, assisted the experienced Ray Maloney who played a major role in Dunshaughlin's recovery.

The team in black and amber kicked on with points from Danny Quinn and Cathal O'Dwyer (free) that cushioned them against Skryne's late charge.

Murphy's second goal left it 3-12 to 3-11.Skryne almost forced extra time. In the last act of the game, Paddy O'Rourke's attempt at goal from a free was deflected into the path of Daragh Campion who fly-kicked the ball over the bar.

John Crimmins puts pressure on Harry Rooney

And so Dunshaughlin's recovery was complete, a 12-point turnaround before Skryne's final flag. The Tara--men lost goalkeeper Ian Gillette to a black card in the 60th minute. O'Dwyer completed his tally from the subsequent free.

Dunshaughlin's double goalscorer Niall Murphy and Skryne wing-back Ronan McCabe were also sent-off, separately, around this time.

The game started with a flurry of scores, seven in the opening 10 minutes. Paddy O'Rourke put Skryne in front within 20 seconds. By the second minute Donie Ryan had doubled their advantage with considerable assistance from Mark Battersby.

Then the pendulum swung Dunshaughlin's way in a considerable way with five scores on the spin. A trio of Cathal O'Dwyer pointed frees was added to by Niall Murphy and an excellent Fergus Toolan effort.

The latter left it 0-5 to 0-2 with 10 minutes gone. Skryne replied in a major way. Two goals in three minutes earned the Tara-men a lead they would take to the break and beyond.

Caoimhin King sets up another attack

Mark Battersby bagged the first goal in the 15th minute with assistance from Conor O'Brien and Paddy O'Rourke that left it 1-2 to 0-5. Cathal O'Dwyer restored Dunshaughlin's lead. Skryne replied in the 16th minute with Harry Rooney placed Bryan Davis for the second goal.

That left it 2-2 to 0-6. It earned Skryne a lead they took to the 52nd minute. Paddy O'Rourke was marked by Caoimhin King for most of the hour even when the Skryne-man moved outfield.

Skryne went on to lead by 2-6 to 0-8 at the break. The sides shared 16 scores in the first-half but the wide count was 0-7 against Dunshaughlin. By the end it was 4-13.

Dunshaughlin celebrate at the final whistle

Skryne more than doubled their interval advantage within five minutes of the restart with Paddy O'Rourke notching his side's third goal when an attempted block on his shot steered it to the Dunshaughlin net.

Dunshaughlin - Michael Ahern; Alastair Doyle, Dan Ormsby, Fearghal Delaney (0-1); Ray Maloney, Caoimhin King, Tadhg O Dushlaine; Niall Murphy (2-1), Ben Duggan; Danny Quinn (0-1), Trevor Dowd, Mark Devaney; Shane Gallogly, Fergus Toolan (1-4, 0-2fs) , Cathal O'Dwyer (0-7, 6fs). Subs - Stephen Duffy for Gallogly (36), David Dunne for Ormsby (36), John Crimmins for Devaney (40).

Skryne - Ian Gillette; Niall Lenehan, Ciaran Lenehan, Mark Harrington; Ronan McCabe, Tomas McKeown, Darragh Campion (0-2); Aidan Tuite (0-1), Harry Rooney; Donie Ryan (0-3), Bryan Davis (1-1), Stephen O'Brien (0-1); Conor O'Brien, Paddy O'Rourke (1-2, 1f), Mark Battersby (1-2). Subs - John Morley for C O'Brien (40), Paddy Fox for Tuite (48), Adam O'Sullivan for D Ryan (54), Felim O'Rourke for Gillette (bc 60), Neil Burke for S O'Brien (60), Declan Morley for McKeown (60).

Referee - David Gough (Slane)

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