Rathkenny 0-13 Dunderry 1-5

In testing conditions Rathkenny emerged victorious in this first round encounter with Dunderry in the Meath IFC. In a game that had real championship physicality and intensity, the first quarter was littered with errors from both sides. Rathkenny did break the deadlock through Donal Keogan after good link up play with Keith Curtis and Caolach Halligan. It was Dunderry however who clipped three points in a row to race into the lead. 

Things improved slightly in the second quarter for Rathkenny although they struggled to breakdown the Dunderry defence. They managed to edge ahead on the scoreboard with points from Brian Meade, Keith Curtis, Andrew Bellew and Caolach Halligan which left the Raths up by the minimum at half time.

Dudley Farrell’s side started the second half well with Halligan pointing straight from the restart after linking up with Keogan. Rathkenny’s patient build up play then culminated in Will Gore finding himself in space to fire over his shoulder and over the bar. Despite picking up another score from a Curtis free, Rathkenny were guilty of missing some opportunities as the water break approached which still left the game in the balance.

The work of the six Rathkenny backs must be commended with each member of the rearguard providing timely interceptions and dispossessions throughout the game. The corner back pairing of the Byrne brothers were instrumental in limiting the opposition to six scores during the hour with Thomas McGuinness and James O’Hare marshalling the centre of the defence to great effect. 

The strong running of the Rathkenny team really paid dividends in the final quarter as Halligan tagged on two more points before Curtis nailed another important free which left them in a commanding position six points up. A Dunderry goal from a long diagonal ball made sure that the final moments were tense. Rathkenny finished strongly with San Diego bound Jeaic Timmons springing from the bench to score and Halligan rounding up the scoring with the last kick of the game.

Rathkenny: Cathal McCabe, Mark Byrne, Thomas McGuinness, Adam Byrne, Robbie Garry, James O’Hare, Keith Timmons, Brian Meade (0:01), Donal Keogan (0:01), James Macken, Caolach Halligan (0:05), Andrew Bellew (0:01), Keith Curtis (0:03 (2f)), Ross Gore, Will Gore (0:01). 

Subs Used: Jeaic Timmons (0:01), Louis Timmons, Charlie Cullen

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