SFC: Byrne goals crucial as Dunshaughlin advance
Dunshaughlin's Niall Byrne with Jordan Muldoon and Andrew Gormley Gaeil Colmcille during the Metah SFC round 3 game at Dunganny
Dunshaughlin & Royal Gaels 4-11
Gaeil Colmcille 2-11
Report https://dunshaughlinandroyalgaels.com
Dunganny was the venue for the final group game in the Senior Championship, and the equation was simple: win, and win by four points, and we were into the Quarter-Final. We got off to a good start, with Aaron Murphy sharp out of the blocks and firing over three fine points. The wind was tricky, blowing across the pitch towards Navan, but Dunshaughlin settled quickly and began to dominate around the middle.
Things got even better when Conor Duke fielded a long ball and laid it off to John McDonagh. McDonagh’s shot was saved by Kells goalkeeper Barry Farrelly, but somehow the ball found its way into the net.
Dunshaughlin were on top, 1-03 to 0-01. But Kells began to find their feet. A bit of confusion in the Dunshaughlin defence saw two players collide, allowing a Kells man through before he was brought down. David Coldrick pointed to the spot.
Surely trouble? Not a bit of it. Up stepped Kerryman Tim O’Sullivan. The Kells penalty was struck towards the corner, but O’Sullivan launched himself to his right to pull off a magnificent save, a stop that would have made Johnny Culloty proud.
Kells continued to press and registered a superb two-pointer to reduce the deficit to 1-04 to 0-05. Conor Duke and Mathew Costello both fired over excellent scores as we restored our advantage. We led by 6 at the break.
Kells came out for the second half like a team who had just discovered the accelerator. Alan Nestor must have brought out the Revlon Salon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumiser at half-time, because Kells hit the ground running, registering 1-01 in no time. Suddenly, we were under pressure. Charlie O’Connor settled the nerves with a brilliant two-pointer, but Kells responded again. The scoreboard read: 1-10 to 1-10. A draw. Kells found the net again. For the first time in the game, we were behind.
So, who was going to step up? Enter Niall Byrne. The wing-back, formerly known as Goalsy, before the nickname was changed to No Goalsy when people realised he never actually scored goals, decided that now was the perfect time to rewrite history and maybe get his old nickname back.
Two goals from the wing-back nobody expected to score goals. Nobody could believe it, even Benny. Suddenly, we were back in front: 3-10 to 2-10. And Byrne wasn’t finished. Could a hat-trick be on? Farrelly had other ideas and pulled off a fine save to deny Byrne his third. But the ball fell kindly to Jeff Foley, who was on hand to smash the rebound into the net. 4-10 to 2-10.
Quarter-Final secured. It was a game that had everything. Next up, it’s our dear friends and neighbours Ratoath. And that means the half and half jerseys will be out again for Ray Maloney and Shane Kelly.
