Dunsany's hopes of winning the Junior Football Championship grew as the 2002 campaign progressed, but they met with disappointment at the last hurdle when a very talented Nobber side deservedly got the better of them in the final at Pairc Tailteann. It had been a memorable campaign for Dunsany as they marched to their first final in the grade since 1972 when they were beaten by Ballinabrackey and although they suffered defeat on the day that matters most, the club can justifiably look to the future with considerable optimism given that the vast majority of their players are still very young. Nobber's triumph brought the junior title to the club for the first time since way back in 1946 and nobody could deny that it was a merited success as they took some superb scores to win by five points on a 1-15 to 2-7 score line. On another positive note for Dunsany, they can be assured that they were beaten by a very accomplished north Meath outfit, with Meath minor Brian Farrell playing a starring role in attack and scoring 1-5. Dunsany, seeking their first junior crown, had turned in a sparkling performance when getting the better of Navan O'Mahonys at the semi-final stage by 2-13 to 0-7, but on this occasion they found Nobber a serious handful and were in trouble at half-time when they trailed by seven points (0-3 to 1-7) after playing into the wind, Farrell getting Nobber's goal as the half drew to a conclusion. The second half started on a much brighter note for Dunsany, who were coached by former Walterstown player Gerry Reynolds. Charles Keena gave them a boost with a superb long range point from out on the wing and when Nicky Horan, who had earlier been nominated for a hurling All-Star, converted a 50-metre free from his hands, the Dunsany fans saw some hope of a revival. But Nobber responded well and by the time Horan netted following an Andrew Keena pass in the 56th minute and Kevin Lawlor added a second goal three minutes later when he punched home after a lob into the danger zone by Horan, it was too late to catch the north Meath men whose ability to kick points from play won them the day. Dunsany have been knocking on the door in the Junior Championship in recent years, having lost the 1998 semi-final to St. Mary's and recent quarter-finals to Athboy and Nobber, but losing a final is always tough to come to terms with. "It was a massive disappointment," said Dunsany secretary Noel Smyth. "But we can have no complaints because we were beaten by a better team on the day. Injuries to three players didn't help our cause, but take absolutely nothing away from Nobber, they fully deserved to win the final. "We have a very young team. Anton O'Neill is the oldest of them at 30 and the oldest after Anton is Nicky Horan who is only 24. That has to give us hope for the future, but hopefully it won't be another 30 years before we reach a final again." With such a young side, that seems highly unlikely and among that youthful brigade who helped Dunsany to the junior decider was Sean Stephens who, unfortunately, had also experienced defeat in the All-Ireland Minor Championship final seven weeks earlier when he was part of the Meath team that lost to Derry. For the record, the Dunsany team in the final was - P. Faherty; P. McGovern, C. Lawlor, M. Horan; E. Ferguson, S. Stephens, D. Clynch; B. Faherty, N. Horan (1-1); M. Brennan, A. O'Neill, K. Lawlor (1-1); A. Keena, C. Brennan (0-4), C. Keena (0-1). Sub - A. Duffy for Brennan. UNDERAGE Dunsany may have suffered disappointment at the last hurdle in the Junior Football Championship, but the club's under-16 team gave the supporters plenty to cheer about and much hope for the future when they won the Division 4 League title towards the end of July. It was a gritty and spirited final performance against Bective at Skryne that earned the title as Dunsany emerged victorious on a 2-10 to 2-6 score line, thanks in no small way to the brilliance of goalkeeper Kevin Mangan who produced three magnificent saves in injury-time which kept the Bective lads at bay. To the great credit of both teams, they served up a thrilling decider which certainly gave the crowd excellent value for the admission money, and the last quarter was particularly exciting as Bective attempted to pull the game out of the fire. Bective were favourites going into the final, particularly as they had already beaten Dunsany comfortably in the group stages, but the underdogs raised their game superbly against physically strong opponents. Dunsany were in very determined mood and led all the way. The closest Bective got to them was when Mark Dowdall scored the first of his two goals in the 24th minute to reduce the deficit to the minimum at 1-3 to 1-4. The impressive Finian Power had scored Dunsany's goal with a great shot eight minutes earlier and despite kicking seven wides in that period, they managed to lead by 1-7 to 1-4 at the interval. Power, Diarmuid O'Donoghue, who kicked two lovely points from play, and Simon Kennedy played key roles for Dunsany during that half when the overall work rate of the team was very impressive. Kennedy notched the best score of the opening half in injury-time when he fired over on the turn. The switch of Joey Keena to left corner-back after the change of ends proved to be a very good move by the Dunsany backroom team and was crucial to the victory as he enjoyed a tremendous match. Paul Kennedy, who top-scored for Dunsany with five points, slotted over a free six minutes after the resumption and then found the target again to increase the lead further, while at the other end tenacious defending kept the Bective forward line off the score sheet for much of the half. They did get a point from ace marksman Dowdall 10 minutes from the end, but Alan Hogan finished well for a very important Dunsany goal after good approach play by Simon Kennedy and Paul O'Brien to put serious daylight between the teams. Bective, to their credit, responded well and battled back to within three points, but Dunsany had the final say on the scoreboard as O'Donoghue fired over. However, several minutes of tense and absorbing action followed as Bective searched for the scores that would revive their title hopes. Longwood referee Martin Ennis played four minutes of injury-time, during which Bective piled the pressure on the Dunsany defence, but the brilliant Mangan denied them with those three great saves and was one of the big heroes of the occasion. Dunsany captain Peter Farrell was presented with the shield by Minor Football Board official Tommy Mahon. The Dunsany team in the final was - K. Mangan; P. Grimes, R. Campion; S. Maguire, A. Smith, J. Keena; P. Kennedy (0-5), P. Farrell; F. Power (1-0), A. Hogan (1-0), D. O'Donoghue (0-3); S. Kennedy (0-2), P. O'Brien. SCHOOLS Dunsany enjoyed a memorable success at Primary Schools' level in June when they scored an impressive victory over Scoil Ultain Naofa, Baile Ghib, in the Meath Div. 4 hurling final at Kilmessan, winning comfortably on a 6-2 to 1-0 score line. The Dunsany lads, who had beaten Cushinstown with ease thanks to a 10-goal salvo at the semi-final stage, were in impressive form once again and goals also proved decisive in their victory in the decider when the outstanding performance of Michael Lynch, who dominated throughout the field, was another key factor. He capped a wonderful display with two fine points, one of which opened the scoring after six minutes. Dunsany went on to hold an 11-point (3-2 to 0-0) lead at the interval after Glen Petticrew and Mark Farrell had scored goals and another shot from Lynch was deflected to the Baile Ghib net. Petticrew completed a hat-trick of goals in the second half and with Padraig Burke also finding the net, Dunsany captured the title with plenty to spare. The Dunsany team in the final was - N. Flynn; B. Gaffney, E. Marsh; M. Lynch (1-2), P. Burke (1-0); G. Petticrew (3-0), M. Farrell (1-0). Subs - S. Keating, M. Costello, D. Thynne, K. Cottrell, B. Lynch, B. Rogers, C. Smyth. Tweet

Most Read Stories