St. Ultans: 1-13
Blackhall Gaels: 1-05

St. Ultan's defeated last year's Junior C finalists Blackhall Gaels in this first round fixture played in sunny and breezy conditions in Kilmessan, on Sunday morning.

Blackhall dominated the possession in the early stages, but it was the Ultan's that opened the scoring with a well worked point. Blackhall will rue the two goal chances they missed early on, their best effort was saved onto the post by goalkeeper Cian Farnan after ten minutes. St. Ultan's will credit their backs with limiting the Blackhall scoring to just two points in this period of the game, Jamie Coogan and Shane Mulroe were particularly noticeable in defence. Barry Brady produced an excellent block during this period of pressure, and momentum seemed to swing back to the Bohermeen/Martry men at this point. Daryl McLoughlin scored a point from range before Emmet Costello fired over an excellent individual point. Conor Smyth grabbed his first point of the day after great work from Daryl McLoughlin who was proving an effective target man on the edge of the square. A crucial turning point arrived a few moments before half time, as Blackhall forwards broke through on goal and caught between two minds ended up handpassing the ball directly into the net. After the goal was officially disallowed St. Ultan's broke up the field and scored a goal of their own through Emmet Costello's fine finish. Blackhall managed to grab a point back from a free just before the half-time whistle, and the score at half time was St. Ultan's 1-06 - 0-03 Blackhall Gaels.

In the second half the Bohermeen parish men went from strength to strength, establishing total control of the game. Ciarán Timmons was welcomed back to the action as he replaced Conor Rennicks a couple of minutes into the second half. Timmons brought increased organisation to a defence that was already performing well, and this provided a solid basis for the attacks that followed. The Blackhall Gaels' goalkeeper will be well thanked by his defenders for a fantastic reaction save from Emmet Costello, Daryl McLoughlin pointing a move from the resulting 45. St. Ultan's missed another goal chance shortly afterwards, but continued to make the scoreboard tick over with points from McLoughlin and Richie Lynagh. Conor Smyth got his second point to finish the best move of the day shortly afterwards. Jamie Coogan, who seemed to be battling fellow full back Shane Mulroe for Man of the Match honours, disposed the full forward before picking out Lynagh at midfield. Lynagh flicked the ball rather than catching it to keep the ball moving and Conor Smyth finished smartly from 35 yards. The Ultan's introduced substitutes throughout the second half, Darren Costello making his first appearance of the season. Thomas Fitzsimons, Niall Galligan and Denis Lynch were also introduced into the fray. Despite these changes, manager Paddy Diamond will be disappointed with the conclusion to the game, as Blackhall scored 1-02 in five minutes after being held scoreless since half time. The goal came from the penalty spot with a fine finish high to the left giving goalkeeper Cian Farnan little chance. Overall however, St. Ultan's will be proud of a fine, disciplined team performance that stood in contrast to the performance of the Intermediate team on Friday night.

Full time score - St. Ultan's 1-13 - 1-05 Blackhall Gaels.

Best for St. Ultan's were: Jamie Coogan, Shane Mulroe, Barry Brady, Emmet Costello, Daryl McLoughlin.

Naomh Ultain: Cian Farnan, Jack Murray, Jamie Coogan, Shane Mulroe, Conor Renicks, Luke O'Reilly, Shane Dolan, Barry Brady, Richie Lynagh 0-02, Emmet Costello 1-02, Conor Smyth 0-02, Cian Dolan, Liam Carey, Daryl McLoughlin 0-07 (3f), Andrew Barry. Subs used: Ciarán Timmons, Darren Costello, Thomas Fitzsimons, Niall Galligan, Denis Lynch.

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