Dunshaughlin 4-15 Meathhill 2-09

From the throw-in, Gourmet Food Parlour sponsored Dunshaughlin took possession and, with his return from America, Aaron Murphy opened the scoring with a superb strike off his left foot to give Dunshaughlin their first point.

It wasn’t long, however, before Meath Hill’s Jack McMahon returned the favour with a score of his own. As both teams settled into the game, the next point went to a Meath Hill forward who converted from a free. But as quickly as the ball had been kicked, Dunshaughlin were awarded a free from the terrace side of Páirc Tailteann, facing into the hospital end. Tight enough, up stepped Matthew Costello, striking it sweetly out his hand for the first two-pointer of the game.....a real crowd-pleaser that put Dunshaughlin one up.

There was a great display of tackling from the Dunshaughlin side, but referee Keith Sheerin awarded Meath Hill a free. Some dissent from a Dunshaughlin player saw the ball moved further forward, and Ryan Owens duly converted a 2 pointer to pu Meath Hill one ahead.

The next passage of play was pure gold. Tadhg Ó Dushlaine slipped a clever pass to Dunshaughlin’s Ruairí Kinsella. With his low centre of gravity and lightning pace, Kinsella turned on a sixpence and ran straight through the Meath Hill defence something we’ve seen him do before on the big stage in Croke Park. He finished with style, putting two points between the sides. Meath Hill responded with one over the bar to reduce the gap, but referee Keith Sheerin spotted a 4v3 infringement from the men in blue, awarding Dunshaughlin a 21-metre free. No. 14 Ruairí Kinsella tapped it over with ease.

Moments later, Dunshaughlin were on the attack again. This time Adam Hanley drove through the Meath Hill defence and laid it off to No. 6 Charlie O’Connor. His attempted fist over the bar rebounded off the post, but Fursey Blake was alive to the chance, palming the ball into the back of the net. That left five between the sides.

And almost immediately after, Dunshaughlin struck again with what could be classed as a real team goal. A turnover from Ben Duggan led to John McDonagh, who fed Conor Gray, and finally “our Dukie” sidestepped his man and buried the ball in the back of the net. The black and amber men had their third goal on the board, opening up an eight-point lead.

Meath Hill’s Pierce McGrath hit their sixth point of the game, but Dunshaughlin’s defensive work from Kealy and Fildes, followed by a turnover from Matthew Costello, allowed Conor Duke to split the posts and restore the eight-point gap. Soon after, a foul on a Dunshaughlin forward gave Aaron Murphy the chance to step up and slot another free with ease.

The next bit of brilliance ,available on Meath GAA’s TikTok, though the clip doesn’t capture the full magic involved Ben Duggan, Tadhg Ó Dushlaine, to Ruairí Kinsella. Kinsella drove along the end line, produced a god-like solo to turn his marker inside out, and finished with a thunderous strike into the top corner. A class goal.

As the final moments of the first half ticked down, Aaron Murphy clipped over another stylish point. But it was Meath Hill who had the last say of the half, with Cormac Sheehy finding the net at the O’Mahonys end to give them a goal of their own.

The half-time score read: Dunshaughlin 4-7 Meath Hill 1-6

The second half began with Dunshaughlin’s Charlie powering forward, driving the ball into the hands of Tadhg Ó Dushlaine. But it wasn’t long before the referee awarded Meath Hill a free, which Pierce McGrath converted to reduce the deficit to ten points.

Dunshaughlin’s relentless work rate was proving too troublesome for the Hill men, and it was players like David Fildes who stood out as a constant threat. His surging run up the field ended with a lay-off to Aaron Murphy, who unselfishly passed across to Conor Gray, allowing him to add his name to the scoresheet.

Moments later, Damien Turley struck Meath Hill’s second goal, cutting the gap to six. But the black and amber weren’t finished yet. Conor Duke and John McDonagh combined cleverly, with McDonagh turning provider to set up Duke, who coolly pointed for the Dunshaughlin half forward line.

The sideline made some notable changes: Danny Quinn replaced Niall Murphy, Luke Mitchell came on for Adam Hanley, Seán O’Neill replaced Fursey Blake, and Alastar Doyle entered for John McDonagh.

Meath Hill substitute Ryan Shekleton made an instant impact with a fine two-pointer, bringing their tally to 2-9 (15). But Dunshaughlin hit straight back. Aaron Murphy clipped over a stylish score his fourth of the game. Some fine fielding from Adam Kealy followed, as he found Luke Mitchell just outside the arc. Mitchell’s clever ball inside picked out Ruairí Kinsella, who slotted his second point of the game to finish with a personal tally of 2-2.

Charlie O’Connor was next to catch a Meath Hill kick-out, driving forward and linking with Aaron Murphy, who calmly popped over his fifth point of the day. Seán O’Neill, whose consistency has been a hallmark all year from league to championship, split the posts to add his name to the list of scorers.

The final word of the day belonged fittingly to the now Dunshaughlin captain, Matthew Costello. After a neat pass from Ruairí Kinsella, Costello finished with composure a cool and calm strike, a true replica of the man himself.

Dunshaughlin scorers: Ruairi Kinsella 2-2, Aaron Murphy 0-5, Conor Duke 1-2, Fursey Blake 1-0, Mathew Costello 0-3( 1x2pt), John McDonagh 0-1, Conor Gray 0-1, Sean O’Neill 0-1

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