Maximum points from their last two outings in Group A ensured Donaghmore/Ashbourne weren't dragged into a relegation dogfight in the SFC but David Jennings looks back on how the year
could have been more fruitful had injuries to vital players not hampered their progress.

When Ian Dowd raised the Mattie McDonnell Cup back in 2007, most observers believed Donaghmore/Ashbourne would immediately establish themselves as Keegan Cup contenders once they stepped up in class. The new Wolfe Tones they were branded.
They had a young up and coming side that had completely outclassed everything put in front of them on the intermediate stage. So when they stepped onto the senior stage, an instant impact was expected. And they did that to a degree.
However, flickers of brilliance in 2008 weren't enough to take them past a preliminary quarter-final where their light was put out by eventual winners Navan O'Mahonys. Not a bad first innings.
But much more was expected in their second test this year. A year older, a year wiser and there were even a couple of astute judges tipping them as the best outsiders in the Keegan Cup race at around the 14/1 mark.
But as their county star Cormac McGill reveals, injuries prevented Donaghmore/Ashbourne from fulfilling their potential in this year's renewal.
"We were missing up on eight or nine players for much of the year and that makes things very hard. We had a decent enough year last year when Navan O'Mahonys beat us in the quarter-final and we had high hopes for this year but key players getting injured cost us," McGill said.
"The likes of David Morgan, Niall Farrell, Eoin Reilly and Colm O'Mealoid were all out for much of the year and it is very hard to perform at the highest level with them lads missing. It meant that you were blooding new lads sooner than you would prefer.
"Until we do beat the big teams or get to a final I don't think the rest of Meath will believe that we can do it but we know that we are good and it's not cockiness, we just know what we are capable of. We just need to go out and prove ourselves.
"We were really confident going into the Seneschalstown game as training had gone really well, the county set-up had finished and we had a good few lads back from injury. Then when we won that game we were naturally confident going in against Simonstown.
"The good thing about Andy McEntee is that he's a winner and he didn't buy into that theory of just consolidating your senior status after winning the intermediate. He wanted us to go out and try win the senior and hopefully next year we will go out and prove ourselves."
It was only in their final two games that Donaghmore/Ashbourne displayed their true capabilities with Andy McEntee able to call upon the services of most of his first choice starting fifteen.
They certainly kept the best 'till last with their final outing in the SFC proving to be their most impressive display of the entire campaign. Facing a fancied Simonstown side that had eyes on bigger and better things, Donaghmore/Ashbourne needed to avoid defeat in order to erase the prospect of being dragged into a relegation battle. It didn't look too good for the amalgamated side beforehand.
But people forgot that when Donaghmore/Ashbourne are at full strength, they are a formidable outfit. And they proved that in no uncertain terms under floodlights at Skryne on a cool Saturday evening in September. A highly impressive six-point success - 1-11 to 0-8 - secured their senior status for another year and left supporters rubbing their palms together in anticipation of 2010.
McEntee's men got off to a textbook start when a speculative Ciaran Ellis effort looped over Simonstown's keeper Ronan Kenny and hit the net via the post after less than 30 seconds. They were never headed thereafter.
Points from Eoin Riordan, Andrew Tormey, Niall Farrell, Rory Maguire and Eoin Reilly followed before the break which propelled Donaghmore/Ashbourne into a 1-5 to 0-2 at the change of ends. But they had 'keeper Danny McShane to thank for that sizeable interval advantage as he produced a stunning stop to deny county minor Padraig McKeever after 22 minutes.
The second half followed a similar trend with Donaghmore/Ashbourne in the driving seat. Farrell, Tormey and Riordan all added to their personal tallies while Bryan Menton also raised a white flag. At the back, the men in green and white gave a well touted Simonstown attack very little change with Cormac McGill in particular catching the eye by frustrating Mickey Brennan.
The final whistle was greeted with contrasting reactions. For Donaghmore/Ashbourne it was high fives and pats on the back as the victory saw them erase any thought of relegation. As for Simonstown, the six-point loss was enough to dash their Keegan Cup dreams with Seneschalstown scraping through to the knockout stages instead.
It was Donaghmore/Ashbourne's second success on the trot after they disposed of Seneschalstown by the minimum of margins the previous Sunday at Ratoath. This was the first spark of life we saw all year.
Heading into the tie on the back on three straight defeats, it looked as though Donaghmore/Ashbourne's woes would be compounded when Joe Sheridan clinically dispatched a second minute penalty to the net.
But Donaghmore/Ashbourne didn't want their losing streak to continue and they knuckled down to the task. Eoin O'Riordan netted a crucial goal before the break to ensure his side went in 1-6 to 1-1 ahead at the break and although they only sent over a single score after the resumption, it was enough to prevail by the minimum of margins over the Yellow furze boys.
Those two outstanding displays helped erase the memory of the start of the campaign which including defeats against Duleek/Bellewstown, Navan O'Mahonys and St Patrick's.
But those last two performances have left McGill chomping at the bit in anticipation of 2010 and with players returning from injury, the county defender is confident that his side will show the rest of the county exactly what they are capable of.
"We are really looking forward to next year. You get the bit between your teeth when you had a year like we had this year when you finish well. Had we snuck through to the quarter-finals it would have been great because we were hitting form at the right time.
"Next year David Morgan will be back. Kevin Lanigan will be back from Australia and a few of the newer lads will have got great experience from this year."
The facilities at Donaghmore/Ashbourne are quite simply magnificent and not only set standards for the rest of the clubs in Meath to follow, but the rest of the country. And McGill was keen to stress that the players do not take them for granted and realise how fortunate they are to have such a great set-up.
"We don't take our facilities for granted and that's one of the great things about the lads is that we don't take them for granted. We are blessed. We have a gym, indoor facilities and two brilliant pitches that are never out of action because of the weather. It is a credit to everybody in the club. It has really developed into a success story."
As a parting shot, McGill described his year with the county. Widely regarded as one of the biggest up and coming talents in the county, the tenacious defender was unable to strut his stuff on the big stage due to persistent injury but hopes that he will remain injury free next term and win his place back in Eamonn O'Brien's starting fifteen.
"I slipped a disc in my back at the start of the year and that led to a hamstring problem. I was back injury free for the last few championship matches but they lads were going really well at that time. It was so frustrating sitting on the bench and watching the lads because obviously everybody wants to be playing. But it's up to me next year to come back and win my place back and I'm really looking forward to that challenge," McGill concluded.
The Donaghmore Ashbourne side that recorded an impressive victory over Simonstown to consolidate their SFC status was as follows: Danny Mc Shane; Martin Lynch, Cormac Mc Gill,, Sean Curran; Ciaran Ellis (1-0), Tadgh Kelly, Joe Finnegan; Rory O'Connor, Bryan Menton (0-2); Eoin Riordan (0-3) (2f), Niall Farrell(0-2), Sean Harmon, Eoin Reilly(0-1)(1f), Andrew Tormey (0-2), Rory Maguire (0-1).Subs: John Broderick for Sean Harmon, Colm O'Mealoid for Kelly.

Another year of success for Donaghmore Ashbourne

Sitting down for the fifth year in a row to compile an overview of the club's achievements, Donaghmore Ashbourne's club PRO Michael Doherty has again got the delight to report on another successful year for the club.
Prior to 2005 Donaghmore Ashbourne were in the championship wilderness with team after team failing in the quest for success down the years. When the breakthrough finally came in 2005 with the Junior C title a floodgate of success followed at adult football level. The Intermediate title in '07 was followed with the Junior B title in '08. Now in 2009 the club's third football team added to the success when they captured the Junior D title in dramatic fashion in mid October. At adult hurling there was also success with the second team capturing the Junior 2 title in September. Adult camogie also had success this year when they captured the league title earlier in the year and were unfortunate to lose out in the championship final later in the year. And our ladies section also helped to fill the trophy cabinet with their under 19 team capturing the 2008 earlier this year. With these successes and a number of underage success together with the conveyor belt of underage successes the future is bright for the South Meath club.

Junior D Championship Success
Junior football teams are the lifeblood of the GAA - a mechanism for the experienced players to continue playing, give it one more year and give something back to the club while on the same field the future of the association learn their trade at the adult grade as they head towards the top flight of their careers. This blend of youth and experience is vital on the field but is as equally important in the dressing room to keep the association alive as friendships and memories that last a lifetime are made. Some commentators may say that junior football and in particular third team football is only a social outlet and is not taken that serious. However those involved with our third team squad would have seen a very different picture with this dedicated bunch of lads. Having been beaten at semi final stage in the previous two years, this year the lads were determined to give it their all to go all the way this year. This was a group of lads who wanted success as much as any other team in the country and more importantly were willing to work and train hard for this success throughout the year. As we look back at 2009 the success is a just reward for the work put in by this team.
When the championship draw was made back in late February Donaghmore Ashbourne were drawn in a five team group with Meath Hill, Dunsany, Kilmainham and neighbours Kilbride. It would be fair to say that looking at the draw there was not going to be any easy games in the group stages.
Our opening game saw the lads travel to Walterstown in late May to play Kilmainham an unknown quantity. Although the early exchanges indicated that this was going to be a close affair once the Moors kicked into full gear we looked the stronger team and played some good football in the second quarter to lead at the break by 0-10 to 0-03. Our lads continued to dominate in the second half and managed to record a good opening round victory with a final score of 0-21 to 0-07.
The second round match had the added spice of a local derby as we made the short trip to Curraha to play neighbours Kilbride. This team with a blend of youth and experience were always in control and although we led by 3-04 to 0-02 we should have been much further ahead at the break if we had taken all of their 20 chances. On saying that the team continued to work as hard in the second half and ran out comfortable 4-15 to 0-05 winners.
Round three of the group stages gave our lads an early Sunday morning trip to Castletown to play North Meath side Meath Hill. Games between Donaghmore Ashbourne and North Meath sides were traditionally close affairs that were full of tension but on this occasion it was quite the opposite. Our lads were in total control from the throw in and ran out 1-25 to 0-04 winners to ensure a place in the play off stages of the competition.
With qualification secured and confidence high the team travelled to Ratoath in late July for the final group stage game against Dunsany. This match proved to be the most difficult of the group games where we totally controlled the first quarter but failed to register the high number of scores like the previous games. This failure in front of the posts together with the fact that we got a little complacent allowed Dunsany back into the game in the second quarter and they took full advance by scoring 1-04 in a four minute spell to lead at the break by 1-04 to 0-05. A little soul searching and reality check at the interval put us back on track and the lads got back to basics, where we worked hard in the second half and eventually ran out 0-13 to 1-05 winners.
With playoff games to be played out in the other groups we had a six week break between the Dunsany game and the quarter final fixture. The trip to the Newgrange venue in Donore saw our lads play Seneschalstown in the last eight of the competition. This was a rollercoaster of a game and if you were to compare this game to a race the story of "The Tortoise and the Hare" would be the most suitable comparison with the exception that in this game Donaghmore Ashbourne woke up just in time. In summary it was a game that Donaghmore Ashbourne were in control of almost throughout the game but to their credit (and as expected from any senior club) Seneschalstown continued to work and with a number of goals in quick succession almost caught our lads on the line. We led at the break by 0-09 to 0-03 and in the early part of the second half we continued to dominate where we were entered the final quarter ahead by 9 points. However a late Seneschalstown revival in the form of goals had reduced the deficit to a single point at one stage before we regrouped and ran out 0-17 to 3-04 winners and book a place in the semi final of the competition for the third consecutive year.
The Donore club were hosts again for the semi final match in late September with the opposition this time Gael Colmcille from the Kells area of North Meath. Enquiries on the team indicated that the Kells outfit were a strong team and like any semi final nothing was going to be easy. In the early stages of the game this was indeed the case and although our lads led at the break by 0-08 to 0-02 things could have been tighter if all scoring opportunities were taken by the opposition. With the second period going the same way Donaghmore Ashbourne management made a couple of personnel changes mid way through the half and this seemed to unlock the game in our favour in the final quarter. During this period our lads hit a couple of late goals on their way to a 3-16 to 0-06 winning margin although this score did not reflect how close both teams were in terms of quality. The important fact for our lads was that they had overcome the previous two years of disappointment at this stage of the competition and had a place in the final in our quest for success.
And to the final itself. This game was played on the 18th October with the unbeaten Group B winners, Ballinabrackey providing the opposition. Originally fixed for Pairc Tailteann the game was re fixed for Dunderry due to Senior and Intermediate championship replays. Training in the previous weeks was intense and looked to be going to plan. The management felt that we were in good shape and if we played to our potential that a win was achievable. In preparation for the final the group discussed the strengths and weaknesses of both teams and we knew that if we played our open game and avoid getting into a battle we had a chance. Unfortunately, this is not how the final turned out and the experienced Ballinabrackey had drawn us into a battle where we were second in many contests throughout the field for most of the game. Having registered an average of 19 scores in the previous games of the competition we knew we were in trouble as we trailed at the break on a score line of 0-05 to 0-03 with two of the scores coming from Timmy O'Regan frees and the only score from play coming from Aonghus O'Maoilmhichil.
Although we tried to reorganise at the break in an attempt to get back in the game the opposition had their tails up. By the 40th minute of the game they had extended their lead to 0-08 to 0-03 with three early points as our lads struggled to get ball to our potent full forward line. Things got worse at the end of the third quarter when Ballinabrackey were awarded a penalty and when the resultant kick kit the back of the net it looked as if there was no way back for Donaghmore Ashbourne as we trailed by 8 points and not playing well.
A couple of changes saw the introduction of Vinny Carton, Fionnan O'Maoilmhichil and Padraig Mc Cabe as the final throw of the dice. The turning point came on 48 minutes when Declan Mulvey broke through the "Bracks" defence and with three players in his wake he fired to the roof of the net to give the Moors a lifeline. Three minutes later Declan Mulvey found the back of the net again to reduce the deficit to 2 points between the teams.
With a number of stoppages during the game referee Tom Lorton indicated 5 minutes of additional time. The question among the large support was simple - could Ballinabrackey hold on or could Donaghmore Ashbourne achieve the ultimate come back? Within the first minute of the additional period it looked the former as Ballinabrackey extended the lead to 3 points with a point. With nerves on both sides worn thin Timmy O'Regan pointed from 20 meters out to leave 2 points between the teams with a minute to go. At this point Donaghmore Ashbourne had to give it one last go and as we sought out the winning score we were awarded a penalty when Thomas Cotter was brought down in the square. There was one final chance to complete the ultimate comeback and steal the game in dramatic fashion but who would take the responsibility for our fate? Cometh the hour, cometh the man and who better to take responsibility but Timmy O'Regan. With everyone in the ground waiting in anticipation O'Regan too had to wait for the square to clear before he could take the kick. As they say in sport "is all about inches" O'Regan kept the crowd in suspense as he had to replace the ball as he was not happy with it's position on the spot. He stood up and fired to the back of the net to give Donaghmore Ashbourne the lead with nothing on the clock.
Although referee Lorton played another additional minute Ballinabrackey had one final chance to bring the game to a replay when they were awarded a free but following an incident off the ball the free was overturned to a throw in where Donaghmore Ashbourne took possession and were crowned Junior D champions for 2009. Captain Leon Tormey accepted the Risteard (Dixer) O'Doinn Cup he paid tribute to the panel of players and the management team. Huge credit goes to Cathal Cullen, PJ Durkan, Vinny Carton and Michael Doherty as they have produced another championship winning squad. More importantly for the development of Adult Football in the club is that Donaghmore Ashbourne will be in a position to enter an unprecedented 4th team in the championship next year and give more lads adult football.
The Final Winning Team and panel included : Sean Kent; Paul Finglas, Eoin Caffrey, Niall Moran; Rossa O'Donnell, Sean Keenan, Mark Mulvey; Sean Smith, Leon Tormey; Brian Fitzgerald, Declan Mulvey, Aonghus O'Maolmhichil; Conor Carey, Timmy O'Regan, Cathal Regan.
Subs; Thomas Cotter for Smith; Fionnan O'Maoilmhichil for Fitzgerald; Patrick McCabe for M. Mulvey; Vinny Carton for Carey;
Subs not Used: Mattie Davis, Robert O'Connor, Daryl Lawler, Michael Doherty, Tom O'Connor, Padraig Ryan, Michael Mc Cabe, Mark Byrne, Shane O'Sullivan, Daniel Cullen, Scott Tormey, Sean Benville, Gary Lawlor,

Having had the honeymoon period in 2008 the club knew that the surprise element of Intermediate winners would be well and truly gone by the time the 2009 campaign kicked into action. After years of trying to get promotion and see how we could compete with the top senior teams in Meath we knew that following the championship draw in Dunboyne this year we were going to realise our dreams pretty fast. The draw saw our first team pulled out in Group A with local rivals Duleek/Bellewstown, together with the last two Keegan cup winners O'Mahony's and Seneschalstown. The final two teams in the group were championship veterans St. Patricks and Simonstown Gaels so it's fair to say as relatively newcomers to the senior grade we would need to be at our best if we were to have a good run in the campaign.
However this was not the case as we experienced a very tough year with injuries playing a huge part of the season from our first game. Going into the opening round 1 game against Duleek/Bellewstown in mid April the team was already depleted with David Morgan and Colm O'Mealoid already on the injury list. Considering that we lost two probable starters for the spine of the team (at No 6 and 14) there was enough quality in the starting 15 that took the field to get a result. Our lads started well and by the end of the opening half we trailed on a score line of 0-06 to 0-05 but hit 6 wides in this period. On top of our two injuries going into the game we suffered more injuries in the opening period with Eoin Reilly coming off after 12 minutes with a groin injury and Niall Farrell with an arm injury about 7 minutes later. It later transpired that Farrell's injury turned out to be a broken elbow which would leave him out of action for month. Worse was to come for the management team when Reilly's replacement JP Casserly was himself substituted on 29 minutes with a leg injury.
The second period of the game was an education for our lads as we were shown that to be successful in this grade a team must make best use of the opportunities they have. From the restart we hit a number of wides before Sean Harmon drew us level. The Duleek/Bellewstown side turned the game when they fired to the back of the net on 38 minutes and from this point on they were in control of the game. When the final whistle came we found ourselves 1-9 to 0-08 in arrears and travelled the short journey from Ratoath considering the 15 wides during the game.
In early May we travelled to Skryne to play the Keegan Cup holder's O'Mahony's with both teams coming into this encounter on the back of an opening round defeat. If anyone thought O'Mahony's had lost their hunger for more silverware they are truly mistaken based on this display as the Navan based side showed our lads that to be a successful senior side you have to bounce back quickly. Like the opening round game Donaghmore Ashbourne were still in contention as they trailed O'Mahony's by 0-07 to 0-05 but in truth the scoreline could have been much worse as our lads struggled in many areas of the field. Again the injury problems hit the side with Colm O'Mealoid starting at centre half back being replaced on 8 minutes by Iarlaith O'Donnell. The early period of second half showed the county champions at their best as they converted three points in as many minutes to end the game as a contest. When the final whistle was blown our lads trailed by 0-14 to 0-07 but this could have been worse was it not for the 5 points scored by Andrew Tormey and at the other end Danny Mc Shane gave a great display of shot blocking in the Donaghmore Ashbourne goals.
With two defeats in the opening two games the qualification train for the playoffs was starting to move out of the station and the relegation train was on its way in. Our lads knew that if we wanted to be on the first train a win over St. Patrick's was essential in our third round game. We travelled up the N2 in mid June to Donore with Eoin Reilly back in the squad but Cormac Mc Gill had joined O'Mealoid, Morgan and Farrell on the injury list. The tight pitch of Donore was not going to suit our young team who like the open spaces so it was important to get a good start against another seasoned side like St. Patrick's and build on this. What happened was the complete opposite. John Broderick was added to the injury list on 8 minutes and by the end of the 12th minute our lads had trailed the Stamullen men by 1-07 to 0-02. Trailing by 8 points our lads could have folded but to their credit they did not go down without a battle and during this second quarter of the game we managed to score 5 unanswered points to get back in the game and trail at the break by 1-08 to 0-07.
Like the first period of the game it was St. Pat's who started the brighter after the throw in and they had extended their lead with points on 35 , 39 and 41 minutes to go 7 ahead again. Sean Harmon did reduce the deficit with a goal on 52 minutes but it was too little too late. Overall the eight point gap at the end of the first and third quarters proved too much for our lads to claw back and we lost on a final score line of 2-13 to 1-13. Again Andrew Tormey with 9 points was a positive light in the game and this was matched maybe not by the overall result but with the fact that we showed character to continue working when so many things were going against us in crucial games.
With the Meath senior team having a good run in the All Ireland qualifier series the team had to wait a day less than full three months for the 4th round of the championship. The prolonged break would tell a lot about the character of this team. The advantage is that there was time for some injuries to heal but on the other side of the coin the questions could be raised about the team's state of mind. Could they continue to train and keep things positive while staring relegation in the face for the summer months? Would players be putting in the hard work required for such a long period without championship games?
The answer came in mid September when we made the short journey to Ratoath to play the 2007 winners Seneschalstown. The team and the club knew that we needed a victory if we were to avoid the relegation battle. Having performed well in the previous couple of recent league and challenge games and with a number of key players back from injury confidence was high going into the game. Playing against a seasoned senior championship side like Seneschalstown it was essential that Donaghmore Ashbourne got off to a good start but this plan went out the window in the 2nd minute when Seneschalstown were awarded a penalty on their second attack and the resulting kick gave Seneschalstown an early 3 point lead. It would have been easy to drop the heads and think that it was going to be another one of those days again but to their credit the team were not going down with a fight and played their best football of the season to date. Eoin Riordan was in great form and scored 1-02 in the first half en route to a 1-06 to 1-01 lead at the interval although the Yellow Furze men had a number of sides at the other end.
As expected a regrouped Seneschalstown came out with all guns firing and had reduced the deficit with three early points while our lads had a number of failed attempts at the other end. Our only score of the half came from Eoin Riordan at the start of the final quarter but this proved a winning score as we managed to hold out for a dramatic 1-07 to 1-06 winning margin. This game also saw the return of Cormac Mc Gill, Niall Farrell and Eoin Reilly.
Having a three month gap between round 3 and round 4 the uncertainty of championship fixtures raised its head with the final group game taking place 6 days after the Seneschalstown game. With confidence high we travelled to Skyrne to play Simonstown on a crisp cold autumn evening. Our supporters who arrived on time didn't get a chance to feel the cold when Ciaran Ellis found the back of the net with a dream start after 18 seconds. This score set down a marker for the remainder of the evening as our lads gave a five star performance. On this occasion we worked very hard from corner forward back and when in possession we moved the ball with speed. By the interval we had led by 1-05 to 0-02 and were on top in every one of the 15 battles on the field.
The second half was similar to the first period with Donaghmore Ashbourne working very hard to stop Colm O'Rourke's men getting control of the game. Although Simonstown did eat a little into the lead our lads finished strong and managed to run out 1-11 to 0-08 winner in what was our best performance of the season. The score and the result affected both sides in different ways in that Donaghmore Ashbourne moved above Duleek/ Bellewstown and avoided the relegation battle while Simonstown missed the qualification place to eventual finalist and winners Seneschalstown on a single point score difference.
Overall it was a rollercoaster of a championship season for Donaghmore Ashbourne and the experience gained this season surely has to stand to this young team. Considering the amount of injuries we had at the early stages in the championship, and then to see how we finished strong when the squad recovered is an indication that Keegan Cup success should not be too far away. We are already looking forward to 2010.
Having claimed the Junior B title in 2008 Donaghmore Ashbourne's second team made their first appearance in the Junior A championship draw in Dunboyne in February. With all teams in this competition there on merit there was going to be no easy games and the draw itself gave us a number of games to look forward to. We were drawn out of the hat in Group A with competition favourites Longwood already in the group. Neighbours Curraha was another game to look forward to. Other teams in the group included Meath Hill, Bective, Dunsany and Summerhill.
Our opening game took place in mid April when we travelled to Dunsany to play Summerhill. The opening quarter was an even enough affair as the Hill took an early three point lead after 5 minutes but our lads soon settled to go ahead by a single score on 11 minutes before the sides levelled again on 17 minutes. The second quarter saw Summerhill take full advantage of the slope and wind and they were heading for a five point interval lead until an injury time goal by Stephen Kavanagh reduced the Summerhill advantage to 1-06 to 1-04 at the interval.Playing with the aid of the slope and the slight wind our lads played some good football in the second period but it was the Summerhill lads who got the early scores. Donaghmore Ashbourne trailed by 5 points entering the final quarter. However with the experience of Rory Maguire, Ian Dowd and John Paul Lynch the Donaghmore Ashbourne team began to take control and never panicking they kept slotting over points. With eight minutes to go the sides were level. Late goals from Gerry Kelly and Keith Scally gave Donaghmore Ashbourne an opening day 3-10 to 1-10 victory.
Round 2 of the competition took place in late April and the team travelled to Rathkenny to play Meath Hill. It would be fair to say that this was not one the best days a Donaghmore Ashbourne team was involved with. We were physically outplayed in every section of the field, we lacked composure up front and were guilty of not playing as a team. At the end of full time we were beaten by 1-08 to 0-03 points and in truth the score line did not reflect how bad we played on the day.
With round 3 taking place in mid June the team and management had sufficient time to get the Meath Hill game out of the system. This game paired us up with the 2008 beaten semi finalists Dunsany and was going to be another opportunity to examine how we could cope in the competition. The venue was Ratoath and the weather and pitch were in excellent conditions. This was a good open game with very little between the teams for most of the first period. A Keith Scally goal early in the second quarter brought Donaghmore Ashbourne back into the game before three late points gave Dunsany a 1-07 to 1-04 half time lead.The second half was a good open end to end game with both sides going for the vital win. A Rory Maguire goal early after the restart brought Donaghmore Ashbourne back into the game. From a Donaghmore Ashbourne point of view we worked very hard and although guilty of giving way frees we held the Dunsany side scoreless from play in the second period. Going into the final stages of the game is was there for the taking but overall the neutrals would say that a draw was a fair result for both teams.
Having got the campaign ba Tweet

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