SFC Group C: Dunboyne drive on

August 28, 2017

Dunboyne's Robbie McCarthy

Dunboyne made it four wins from four with an impressive showing against Na Fianna at Dunshaughlin on Sunday evening.

Dunboyne ...... 2-23
Na Fianna ...... 1-15


Robbie McCarthy led the way with 0-10 while seven of his team mates contributed to this impressive tally. It was a close contest for 40 minutes before Dunboyne pulled clear to finish with 11 points to spare.

Dean Barrett brilliantly taken penalty left Na Fianna just two points in arrears after 39 minutes, 1-9 to 0-14. McCarthy responded with three points on the spin.

Na Fianna trailed by four points on two occasions in the opening period but had positive answers. This time Dunboyne kicked-on.

The Enfield-Baconstown-Rathmolyon outfit lost defender Christy Cosgrave to a second yellow card after 42 minutes in the middle of McCarthy's aforementioned hat-trick of points.

James Geagan's point offered temporary respite for the south county side. In the 48th minute McCarthy and David McEntee combined to set Niall Jones up for Dunboyne's first goal at the clubhouse end.

Dunboyne outscored Na Fianna by 2-5 to 0-4 in the final quarter. Team captain Cathal Finn availed of the space to push forward to register a brace of points in quick succession to bring his tally to 0-3. They rounded off the evening with a stoppage time penalty from Michael Dunne awarded for a foul on the 52nd minute replacement.

The clash of colours yielded a change of kits of both sides. Dunboyne's fetching green matched the quality of their display. A minor blip was the loss of sub Gary Timoney to two yellow cards.

Dunboyne looked very impressive when scoring 17 points against Summerhill at this venue in the round robin phase. They fell to Simonstown at the business end

Na Fianna were equally satorially elegant but couldn't quite match that with their display. They still await their first win of the campaign while both of their points have come from draws.

Dunboyne didn't let and maybe the space created by the premature departures on both sides allowed them to expand their points difference with some top notch efforts.

Dunboyne face Ratoath in the final round of fixtures which will decide which side tops the group. Na Fianna face St Patrick's with both sides looking nervously at the trap door.

The scores were tied twice in the opening six minutes with Ronan Jones (Dunboyne) and Barry Slevin (Na Fianna) conjuring up top class scores. The latter trebled his tally from play before the break.

Four points on the spin moved Dunboyne 0-6 to 0-2 clear after 13 minutes. They were able to respond with more scores after Na Fianna halved the deficit twice in the next eight minutes.

McCarthy (free) moved Dunboyne four points ahead by the 23rd minute. Before the break Na Fianna halved the deficit again with an excellent Dan Queeney free followed by a more straight-forward Conor Downey placed ball. The team in green led by 0-10 to 0-8 at half-time.

On the restart, a great Padraig Curran save denied Barrett a goal. A subsequent Downey (free) cut the gap to the minimum. Just as they did throughout the hour, Dunboyne responded positively when threatened. Soon they were five points clear.

Dunboyne - Padraig Curran; Seamus Lavin, Jack Scannell, Jordan McLoughlin; Conor Doran, Cathal Finn (C) (0-3), Gavin McCoy; David Gallagher (0-1), Shane McEntee; David McEntee (0-4, 1f 1 45), Niall Jones (1-2), Stuart Lowndes; Robbie McCarthy (0-10, 3fs), Stephen Moran, Ronan Jones (0-2). Subs - Gary Timoney for Doran (ht), Jason Daly (0-1) for Moran (48), Michael Dunne (1-0 pen) for Jones (52), Cathal Lacey for Jones (54).

Na Fianna - Shane Geraghty; John Baldwin, Evan Mullally, James Geagan (0-1); Anthony Neary, Christy Cosgrave, Dan Devine; Daniel Queeney (0-4, 3fs), Owen McDonnell; Damien Downey, Conor Downey (0-6 5fs), Sean Martin; Barry Slevin (0-3), Michael Farley, Dean Barrett (1-1, 1-0 pen) . Subs - Mark Slevin for Mullally (47), Barry Clancy (0-1) for D Downey (50), Michael Collins for McDonnell (51), Andy Glynn for Geagan (56).

Referee - Patrick Coyle (Curraha)


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