Drumconrath was no place for the fainthearted on Sunday afternoon as local rivals Castletown and Rathkenny shared all of 8 points, 6 to the men in green and gold and a mere 2 two Donal Curtis' Rathkenny. Match referee Cormac O Reilly sent off a player from each side with the losers playing with a man less for all of 40 minutes. While scores were at a premium there was certainly no shortage of pulling, bad tackles and niggly off the ball incidences and one Castletown player was later admitted to hospital with a double fracture of his jaw. Castletown were the more accomplished combination but found it extremely hard to shake off a dogged opposition. They led by 0-3 to 0-0 at the break and the very big crowd had to wait all of 42 minutes before the losers shot their opening point. Rathkenny certainly could have crept ahead at this stage as the ball hovered very near the Castletown goal line on a number of occasions. They weathered the storm however, went 0-4 to 0-1 ahead and although the losers reduced this to two, a duo of late white flags saw Sean Barry's men get off to a satisfactory start. The team manager had to be pleased with the performance of big midfielder. Michael Hickey, by far the most impressive player on view. Hickey not alone fetched two balls from going over his own crossbar but covered every blade of grass on the north Meath venue and shot a magnificent point into the bargain. Most assistance came via keeper Gerry Clarke, Brendan Carry and Kevin Barry especially in the last quarter when he gained valuable possession around the midfield sector. No Rathkenny player shirked his responsibility and if team managers Liam Smyth and Dermot Curtis can find a decent forward they will trouble some more of the fancied sides before the summer is out. Tweet

Most Read Stories