It was a landmark occasion for the Ballinlough club as they hosted a competitive fixture for the first time under their new flood lights on Thursday night. The outcome was never in doubt as the home side eased their way to another Division 3 A-league win, this time against Slane. Ballinlough 0-15 Slane 1-4 The pain of their Intermediate semi-final defeat to local rivals Cortown may linger for some time but with promotion to Division 2 of the A-league within their sights, 2008 may yet turn out to be a year of significant progress for the North Meath outfit. They never moved out of first gear as they led from start to finish against a disappointing Slane outfit. The hardworking Conor Briody was on target twice in a productive first quarter as 'The Lough' opened up a 0-6 to 0-0 advantage. Slane's only first-half score came in the 27th minute but it did little to lift their spirits as they trailed by 0-10 to 0-1 at the interval. The winner's scoring rate reduced significantly in the second-half as they went through the motions and Slane did get some reward when they got the only goal of the match in the 40th minute. However Peadar Byrne, Kenneth Rothwell and Seamus Fagan were all on target in the second half as Ballinlough cantered to an easy win. Seamus Fagan excelled for the winners, others to impress were Benji Smith, Conor Briody and Kenneth Rothwell. Ballinlough - J Higgins; B Smith (0-1), L Maguire, R Farrell, P Ryan, K Devine, G Smith, S Fagan (0-5, 0-2f), P Byrne (0-4, 0-2f), Colm Mallon, J O' Reilly, C Briody (0-2), K Rothwell (0-3, 0-1f), Cian Mallon, R Mc Guinness. Subs: S Byrne for Colm Mallon, C Maguire for J O' Reilly, P Briody for C Briody and K Mallon for Ryan. Tweet

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