St. Michaels 1-13 
Trim 1-12

The entertainment level went off the scale as St. Michaels got back on track in the intermediate championship with this deserved victory over Trim in Bohermeen last evening.

This was an end to end clash full of positive football, flowing moves and well taken scores, with a fair share of dodgy play and poor decision making thrown in for good measure by both sides. In short it had everything one could hope from a game at any level and the St. Michaels lads who were never led ought to hold their heads high for the effort they put in especially in the second half when Trim came at them from all angles outscoring them by 0-7 to 0-3 as they went in search of victory.

Wind assisted St. Michaels opened the scoring through Shane McDonnell in the sixth minute, this was quickly followed a minute later when Ciaran Lynch floated one over after been put through by Oran Meehan. Trim got off the mark on 10 minutes and levelled the match a minute later before Lynch and McDonnell put two between the sides once again. Then at the end of the opening quarter a McDonnell delivery put Meehan through on goal and he made no mistake from 10 meters out for a 1-4 to 0-2 lead. Meehan followed this up with a pointed free before Trim added 1-2 in a three minute spell to leave just a single point between the sides on 22 minutes. Two Ciaran Lynch frees and three great efforts from play from Felim O'Reilly, Peter O'Connell and Shane McDonnell left the winners with a 1-10 to 1-5 interval lead after Trim added their only other point of the half five minutes before the short whistle.

That lead was extended by two further points two minutes into the second half when Felim O'Reilly and Ciaran Lynch found the target however they managed just one more score from Ronan Lynch for the remaining 28 plus 4 minutes of injury time as Trim gave it everything they had in search of victory but it wasn't to be as St. Michaels defended in numbers with Christopher Drew, the O'Reilly brothers, Matthew Halpin, Peter O'Connell and Alan Reilly to name but a few doing trojan work all over the field. Darren O'Connell pulled off two fine saves, one in each half to keep his side on track and in front. Trim did have their chances to draw level in the dying minutes but their efforts sailed wide or were snuffed out by the tight marking of the St. Michaels defence.  

St. Michaels team and scorers: Darren O'Connell; Alan Reilly, Sam Briody, Ronan Cassidy; Christopher Drew; J.B. O'Reilly, Matthew Halpin; Peter O'Connell (0-1), Felim O'Reilly (0-2); Shane McCormack (0-1), Ciaran Lynch (0-5), Shane McDonnell (0-2); Ray Reilly, Oran Meehan (1-1), Ronan Lynch (0-1).

Referee: Dessie Smyth
 

Trim 1-12
St Michaels 1-13

On a fine night and a fine pitch Trim took on St Michaels in the second round of the Meath intermediate football championship on Tuesday night in Bohermeen. After a titanic battle the Trim lads came up one point short to suffer their first defeat of the 2017 season.

With ten minutes  into the game the sides were level on two points apiece with both scoring a brace, St Michaels in the sixth and Trim in the tenth. Prior to that the Trim lads were wasteful when hitting five wides to their opponent's one wide. The north Meath side then hit a purple patch in the middle of the half and forged six points ahead after clocking up 1-3 in the space of four minutes. Even though on the ropes at this stage the Trim lads gained composure and fought back with 1-2 between the nineteenth and twenty second minute to leave the minimum between the sides. Corner forward Neil Heffernan had hit 1-3 of Trim's scores at this stage and was on fire up front but unfortunately he ploughed a lone furrow where others were off the mark in the scoring stakes. Both sides traded points in the twenty fourth minute with Alan Douglas on target for the Trim lads but four points from the Michaels in the final five minutes of the half left the Trim contingent at the game quite worried as the teams went in for the break.

Very quickly from the throw in two more nails were hammered in by the North Meath side with two quick points to leave them seven points ahead after two minutes. But from then to the twentieth minute Trim made a valiant recovery where they hit six points on the trot to end up one point adrift and looked like it was possible to pull the game out of the fire. The points came from James Toher, two from play and two from frees, Nigel Duignan and Robert Bourke. Both sides scored one point each in the twenty fifth to leave the Michaels still one ahead and this was how it remained even though the Trim lads applied significant pressure in their want for the draw or the victory but the north Meath'ers stood steadfast.

Trim will rue many missed chances in front of gaols including four frees and many passes that went astray but showed character in coming back from seven points down.

Best for Trim were Declan Dowling, Ciaran O'Rourke, Gerard Dwayne and Rory McGrath in defence with  Alan Douglas and Robert Bourke in the middle of the field and up front James Toher  and Neil Heffernan. The latter hit 1-3 in the first half but was less effective in the second half due to the St Michaels resorting to pulling, dragging and pushing him about the place.           

The Trim team was Niall Murray, Patrick Lennon, Rory McGrath, Gerard Dwayne, Ciaran O'Rourke, Shane Downes, Declan Dowling, Robert Bourke, Alan Douglas, Frankie Murphy, James Toher, Sean Fitzgerald, Nigel Duignan, Eoin McGrath, Neil Heffernan. Nigel Duignan had a fine game having replaced the injured James Cullen from the start and Robbie Kenny who joined the game early on gave good account of himself.

The Trim subs were Darryl Phelin, Robbie Kenny, Ryan Andrews,  Michael Cullen, Alan Carey, Ciaran Giblin, Conal McGrenra, Joe O'Donoghue, Paul Munnelly, , Alan Shine, James Cullen, Kevin Nally, Richie Murphy, Peter Farrell,  David Murtagh, Brian Dowling, Mark Murray. 

The Trim scorers were James Toher 0-6 (2 frees), Neil Heffernan 1-3, Robert Bourke 0-1, Alan Douglas 0-1, Nigel Duignan 0-1.

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