St Peter’s Dunboyne 1-19 Dunshaughlin 4-11

On Saturday evening, the Gourmet Food Parlour sponsored Dunshaughlin made the short trip to Dunboyne for the final round of the Division 1 League. With both sides looking to finish their campaigns strongly, the stage was set for a thrilling encounter.

As referee Patrick Coyle threw in the ball, it was Dunboyne who initially gained possession. However, Dunshaughlin's Niall Murphy read the play superbly, diving to punch the ball back into the opposition half setting the tone for a high-intensity battle.

The home side opened the scoring with an early point, but Dunshaughlin quickly responded. Wearing the number 7 jersey, Ciarán McCarrick pounced on a breaking ball from Jared Rushe to fire home the game’s first goal.

Energised by that early breakthrough, Dunshaughlin pressed forward again. This time it was McDonagh, usually known for his left foot, calmly slotted a goal with his right. The move began with a turnover from Ben Duggan, who dispossessed a Dunboyne defender before linking up with Adam Kealy, whose quick hands set up McDonagh for a composed finish.

Dunshaughlin were then awarded a free, and up stepped regular dead-ball specialist Luke Mitchell, who made no mistake. That brought the score to 2-1 to 0-1 in favour of the visitors.

However, the home side, facing a six-point deficit, were not about to let the Dunboyne faithful down. They hit a devastating purple patch, registering 10 unanswered points.....including three from range that earned them 2-point scores under the new rules....leaving Dunshaughlin stunned and trailing by four.

Mitchell clawed one back from a free awarded due to dissent from the Dunboyne ranks, but Dunboyne struck again with a fine outside-of-the-boot 2-pointer to restore a five-point cushion. A foul on Tadhg Ó Dúshlaine gifted Mitchell his third free of the game, which he duly converted, followed soon after by a well-taken point from play by the corner-forward.

Despite Dunshaughlin’s efforts, it was Dunboyne who had the final say of the half, tapping over another point to send the teams in with the score:

Half-time: Dunshaughlin 2-4, St Peter’s Dunboyne 0-14

The second half began well for Dunboyne when a pivotal moment as a Dunboyne player was tripped in front of goal. The referee signaled for a penalty, and the home side made no mistake slotting the ball past the Dunshaughlin keeper Timmy O’Sullivan and extending their lead to seven points.

But Dunshaughlin weren’t done. A foul on Adam Hanley gave Mitchell another opportunity from a placed ball, and he duly converted. Dunboyne surged forward again, but a goal-line save from Danny Quinn denied them a second green flag. Though the rebound was sent over the bar, the seven-point cushion remained.

Enter McCarrick, once again electric in the number 7 jersey. With pace and power, he drove at the Dunboyne defence and clipped over his second point. Moments later, Mitchell nailed a 2-point score, reducing the gap to just four.

Then came a flowing move Mitchell to Ó Dúshlaine, to Ben Duggan, and GOAL! Duggan buried the finish to bring the margin to the slimmest of differences.

Next, Adam Kealy sliced through the middle before offloading to Adam Hanley, who rifled home another Dunshaughlin goal at the clubhouse end. The visitors were suddenly two points clear the second time in the match they’d held the lead.

Dunboyne replied with two well-taken points to level the game for the first time. But McCarrick, seemingly fuelled by rocket fuel, popped up again to slot his third score and edge Dunshaughlin back in front.

Matthew Gallagher entered the fray for goal-scorer McDonagh, and Ciaran Sheridan replaced Alaster Doyle, as both sides hunted a winner. Dunboyne looked to have clinched it with two more points to take the lead once again, but Luke Mitchell, calm as ever, delivered a final twist in the tale

Goals win games.....and Dunshaughlin hit four of them on the road in a pulsating battle. The result means they finish joint-top of the table on points, but with a slightly inferior score difference, they place second overall. This sets up a mouth-watering semi-final clash with Ratoath, who finished third, on a proposed date of July 15th.

Dunshaughlin scorers: Luke Mitchell 0-9 (2x2pt )4F, Ciaran McCarrick 1-2, John McDonagh 1-0, Adam Hanley 1-0, Ben Duggan 1-0

Tweet

Most Read Stories