Boardsmill 1-10 Ratoath 1-07

Some serious resilience was shown by the Mill' men as they overcame a stern Ratoath challenge in round 4 of the Tommy Dowd Oil Football League.

For the second week in a row we started againt the elements as a strong breeze was blowing towards the dressing room end. Missing some influential players in Stevie Gibbons, Donal Flattery, Tadgh Cotter and Keith Hamilton it was going to be an uphill task for the home side. James Ashe was also missing. The visitors opened the scoring with a free, Luke Gallagher kicked his first of the morning to level the game. Niall Durkan on free taking duties was as accurate as always to push the home side ahead. To Ratoaths credit they used the ball well and penetrated the Boardsmill rearguard to kick three unanswered scorers. Some excellent defending from the six backs acted as a great platform for Boardsmill to get back into the game. Boardsmills Liam O Brien, kicked a score off his left foot to leave a point between the teams. O' Brien is the ultimate utility player as he lined out in his fourth different position of the league, not sure if this is a good or bad thing. A low scoring first half saw the Ratoath men lead by a point at half time.

Half Time Boardsmill 0-3 Ratoath 0-4

Some rejigging of positions at half time saw Jim Bird drop out of goals to fullback with Ronan Kelly taken up the position between the sticks while Ray Hatton joined Neill McLoughlin in midfield. It was the influential Hatton who levelled the game straight from the throw in as he burst forward to split the posts. Good pressure on the Ratoath kick out resulted in a turnover that Durkan converted. Gallagher notched his second of the game before the visiting side kicked their first of the second half. A booming kick out from Ronan Kelly saw Jim Roche leap like a salmon to claim the ball over a crowd of people. Thankfully with Neil McLoughlin in the twilight of his career we have someone like Jim Roche ready to step up as the teams chief fouler. With the elements at the home teams back, they really kicked on as Durkan added another free before a deliberate pull down by the Ratoath goalie saw him receive a black card and a penalty be awarded. Durkan lined up to put the game to bed from the spot but nearly hit Trim as the ball flew over the bar.

To Ratoaths credit they patiently worked the ball down the field before they rattled the back of the net with a humdinger of a shot that nearly burst the net. This goal could have knocked the stuffing out of the home side but they responded through a point from young super sub Cian Royston. A quickly taken line ball from Bertie McLoughlin saw Durkan release the onrushing Hatton to blast to net. This was followed up with a second Royston point, before the iron wall of Boardsmill shut out any chance of a Ratoath goal. Ratoath kicked two further frees to leave just a goal between the teams. With bodies being thrown at every ball it was Boardsmills McLoughlin who let a dropping ball slip from his grasp on the edge of the square. Some say it was the Sally Hanson on his hands that caused him to drop the ball but to the home sides relief the referee blew the full-time whistle as he lay over the ball. A great team performance from all in navy on the day.

Boardsmill: Jim Bird, Bertie McLoughlin, Ray Hatton (1-1), Jack Bird, Cillian Purcell, Jim Roche, Conor Darby, Neil McLoughlin, Eamon Roche, Sean Cribbin, Liam O'Brien (0-1), Luke Gallagher (0-2), James Mitchell, Niall Durkan (0-4), Joey Christie.

Subs: Cian Royston (0-2), Ronan Kelly, Jake Reilly and Carl Flood.

Referee: Aidan Dalton 

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