Dunshaughlin  7-16    Kilbride  4-5

Dunshaughlin & Royal Gaels Minor Boys played Kilbride the first round of the LMFM Minor Championship (Division 2) on Wednesday evening in Dunshaughlin with the home side winning with ease. 

 It didn’t appear the winning margin was going to be so convincing in the first ten minutes when Kilbride led 1-1 to no score. However in the middle period of the half between the 10th and 20th minute Dunshaughlin scored 3-3 and always looked comfortable from there till the finish. The goals coming from Ruairi Kinsella, Jared Rushe & Colm Keane. The game started as a 13 a side game as Kilbride only brought 13 players and their goose was really cooked in the 23rd minute when the Kilbride goalkeeper received a black card for dragging Aaron Murphy to the ground after he scored Dunshaughlins 4th goal. As Kilbride had no substitutes it meant they had to play the rest of the game with 12 players. As well as the four goals Dunshaughlin’s point total in the 1st half was 12 scored by Murphy (4), John McDonagh (3),  Kinsella (2)1f, Conor Gray (2) & Colm Keane (1). The slow start could be attributed to adapting to playing down to 13 a side, as even the management team of Paul Murphy, Seamus Traynor & Andy Byrne had to do a bit of rejigging before throw in to accommodate the lower numbers. There was nothing slow about how Dunshaughlin played the last 20 minutes of that half as they really caught fire and outscored Kilbride 4-12 to 0-1.

The game looked home and hosed at halftime 4-12(24) to 1-2(5).

McDonagh opened the scoring in the 1st minute of the 2nd half with a beautiful point, followed 2 minutes later with another Kinsella goal, which was followed shortly therafter with another Murphy goal. The Dunshaughlin defence was remaining solid and were unwavering not allowing Kilbride to score until the 15th minute of the 2nd half (meaning they had held Kilbride scoreless for nearly half an hour). Dunshaughlin were bringing on subs and just lost their shape a little allowing Kilbride to have their purple patch from the 48th minute to the 55th where they scored 3 goals. Even then it never looked like anything other than a Dunshaughlin win was on the cards and the home side regrouped scored a few points and had the ball in the back of the Kilbride net before the finish courtesy of Murphy, scoring his hatrick.

When referee Joe Synott blew the final whistle the score stood Dunshaughlin 7-16 (37) Kilbride 4-5 (17).  Kilbride moved up a division this year and found it tough going against a Dunshaughlin team who were well prepared and in top form.

With some players still away or out with injury Dunshaughlin still had a panel of 23 players available and it was great to see 2 players back in the panel (Joseph Dunne & Kyle O’ Connor) who were not available for the summer league.

Dunshaughlin will undoubtedly face a sterner test in the 2nd round (Wednesday August 28th) making the long journey to Meath Hill who also had a big winning margin in their first round game against Kilmainhamwood.

Dunshaughlin scorers: Aaron Murphy 3-4, Ruairi Kinsella 2-4 (1f), John McDonagh 0-5, Colm Keane 1-1, Conor Gray 0-2.

Dunshaughlin: Alex Arkins (GK), Aiden Fraher, Calum Deehan, Jeff Wall, James Traynor, Fursey Blake, Ciaran McCarrick, Conor Gray, Jared Rushe, John McDonagh, Colm Keane, Aaron Murphy, Ruairi Kinsella,

Subs: Donagh McCarrick for Aiden Fraher,  Robert Walker for Jeff Wall ,Cillian McCool for Jared Rushe , Liam O’ Connor for Donagh McCarrick, Cian McLoughlin for John McDonagh, Jack Brady for Calum Deehan, Jack O’ Riordan, Kyle O’ Connor, Joseph Dunne, Moustafa Saadon.

 Dunshaughlin scorers: Aaron Murphy 3-4, Ruairi Kinsella 2-4 (1f), John McDonagh 0-5, Colm Keane 1-1, Conor Gray 0-2.

 

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