Oh so close
November 30, 2008
Dunsany resumed normal service as far as consistency was concerned in the 2008 Junior Football Championship, but that much sought after title remains as elusive as ever after they were beaten by Ratoath at the semi-final stage.
When Dunsany reached the knockout stages of the championship in 2006 it was the ninth successive year that they did so, but that trend was broken last year when they were just edged out by Moynalvey on points difference. However, they again advanced to the business end of the competition this year, despite making a less than encouraging start to their campaign.
Dunsany, who also proved very consistent in Div. 5 of the All-County A League where they earned promotion, were drawn in group B of the JFC and while there were a couple of tricky looking assignments along the way, it did look like a section from which they were capable of advancing. Also in the mix were Kildalkey, Ballinabrackey, Slane, Kilbride and the second string outfit from Navan O'Mahonys.
They were managed by Conor Boyle and the selectors were Paul O'Donnell, Bobby Swatman and Brian Duffy.
Kilbride provided the first round opposition at Skryne and a surprise defeat was the outcome for Dunsany, despite the best efforts of Paul O'Donnell, Paddy McGovern, Stephen Clynch, Paul Kennedy, Diarmuid O'Donoghue, Colin Irwin and substitute Conor Brennan who contributed two points after his introduction.
Kilbride led by 0-3 to 0-2 at the end of a low scoring first half and they scored the only goal of the game in the second period which helped them to a 1-6 to 0-7 victory which was to prove important in seeing them advance to the quarter-finals.
Dunsany needed to react positively to that setback and they did so when edging out Ballinabrackey by 1-9 to 1-8 in the second round at Longwood, before a brace of goals from Ger O'Neill and an eight point haul from Mark Brennan helped them to a 2-8 to 1-6 victory over Slane at Walterstown.
Another group victory followed when they beat O'Mahonys by 1-9 to 0-8 and a quarter-final ticket was booked when they had 10 points to spare over Kildalkey at Dunganny, winning by 3-12 to 0-11. Two goals from Charlie Keena helped them hold a commanding 2-5 to 0-2 advantage at the interval and a third goal from Paul O'Donnell in the second period copper fastened their position of authority.
When the group B action had concluded, Dunsany and Kilbride were tied at the top on eight points, but Dunsany headed the section by virtue of a superior score difference and their reward was a quarter-final against Moylagh who had just scraped through to the knockout stages as runners-up in group C behind champions to be Moynalvey.
Five unanswered points before the break proved decisive for Dunsany as they defeated Moylagh by 0-14 to 1-5 at Simonstown. That salvo enabled them to lead by 0-6 to 0-4 at half-time and with Ger O'Neill, Mark Brennan, Sean Stephens, Brian Faherty, Richie Donnelly and Stephen Clynch impressing the outcome never looked in serious doubt subsequently. Mark Brennan and Stephens both contributed five points.
Dunsany's semi-final meeting with Ratoath at Dunshaughlin was a repeat of the 2004 final and the outcome was the same as Ratoath won by 0-9 to 0-6 in deplorable weather conditions. Marty Mannering's team opened up a 0-4 to 0-1 lead by the end of the first quarter with two points each from Eoghan McMahon and former Meath minor player Ger McCullagh.
Mark Brennan had opened the scoring with a pointed free for Dunsany who were without Ger O'Neill who was on holiday in the United States.
Stephens had shot wide with a very good goal chance after six minutes and there was further bad news for Dunsany when key forward Conor Brennan was forced to retire injured four minutes later. However, they responded well as they started to get to grips with the game around midfield and scored the last three points of the first period from Barry O'Donnell, Mark Brennan, from a free, and Stephens to be level (0-4 each) at the change of ends.
As the rain turned even heavier and ball handling became increasingly difficult, scores were always going to be at a premium in the second half and it was Ratoath who started it best as Mick Conmey got himself into a good goal scoring position, but shot badly wide. However, they soon found their range and extended their lead to 0-6 to 0-4 with points from substitute Graham Clarke and a magnificent McCullagh effort from a 40 metre free.
Stephens replied with a point for Dunsany eight minutes into the period, but their only other score was a pointed free from Mark Brennan in the 40th minute as the deplorable weather played havoc with the efforts of both sides to play decent football. That score left Dunsany behind by the minimum (0-6 to 0-7) and very much in contention for a final place, before Fiachra Gaughan and the influential McCullagh replied by splitting the uprights for Ratoath.
Dunsany had looked in danger of conceding a goal at the three-quarter stage when Ratoath put a very impressive move together, but Clarke's effort was saved by 'keeper Paul Faherty before the ball cannoned off the post.
Neither side managed to register a score beyond the 17th minute of the second period and it was Ratoath who were three points clear at the final whistle and were back in the junior decider four years after winning the title and a year after being relegated from the intermediate ranks. They went on to lose heavily to Moynalvey on the big day in Pairc Tailteann.
The loss so close to the final was a big disappointment for Dunsany who were bidding to reach the JFC decider for the third time in seven years following their defeats against Nobber in 2002 and Ratoath in 2004. Their search for a first adult championship title goes on into 2009, but if they keep knocking the door will surely open for them at some stage.
The Dunsany team in the semi-final was - P Faherty; E Ferguson, S Clynch, R Donnelly; P McGovern, P Kennedy, C Irwin; P O'Donnell, B Faherty; C Brennan, C Keena, B O'Donnell (0-1); D O'Donoghue, S Stephens (0-2), M Brennan (0-3). Subs - A Hogan for C Brennan, B Duffy for Ferguson, J Kenny for B O'Donnell, B O'Brien for Keena, C Curtis for M Brennan.
That elusive adult title also failed to arrive in the shape of the Junior D FC when they also exited that competition at the penultimate hurdle against Wolfe Tones who went on to finish the job with a final victory over Clann na nGael.
Having emerged from their group, Dunsany edged out Carnaross by 0-8 to 1-4 in a quarter-final at Kilberry. They led by 0-5 to 0-1 at the break, but were rocked when the opposition notched 1-3. However, Dunsany just did enough to advance on a day when Christopher Curtis made a notable personal contribution of five points.
Bective was the venue for the semi-final against Wolfe Tones, who included former Meath All-Ireland-winning captain Tommy Dowd in their attack, and the issue was as good as decided by half-time when Tones held a very comfortable 2-7 to 0-1 lead. Dunsany's scoring rate improved in a big way in the second period when they registered eight points, but they had left themselves with a mountain to climb and were 10 adrift at the end as it finished 3-10 to 0-9.
The Dunsany team in the semi-final was - N Duffy; M Dennehy, G Leddy, J Byrne; N Flynn, K Lawlor, M Munnelly; M Dennehy, N Brennan; C Smyth (0-1), A Duffy (0-1), M Ryan (0-1); C Curtis (0-3), P O'Brien (0-1), E Marsh. Subs - K Duffy for Brennan, J Keena (0-2) for Flynn, B Duffy for Ryan, A O'Neill for O'Brien.
GIRLS SECURE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
Football in the ladies' section of the Dunsany club received a significant and very welcome boost when the Under-16 Championship title was won with a narrow final victory over Simonstown Gaels.
The decider took place at Donore where the Navan side were well fancied to secure the honours, but it was Dunsany who gave themselves an early lead with superb points from Ciara Ni Choileain and Roisin Hogan.
They also scored two goals in the opening half from Megan and Ciara Ni Choileain, but it was all to play for at the interval when they held a slender 2-4 to 1-5 lead. Simonstown scored a goal from a penalty to leave the outcome very much in the balance, but when the pressure was on in the closing stages Dunsany responded very positively as points from Ailbhe Lynch and Megan Ni Choileain secured victory and the title. It finished 2-7 to 2-6.
The Dunsany team in the final was - D Meehan; A Clarke, C Grimes, M Power; K Gorman, N Carroll, T Murphy; C Ni Choileain, A Lynch; T Sheridan, S Thynne, M O'Leary; R Hogan, E Stephens, M Ni Choileain. Subs - L Gorman, E Flynn, E Smyth, K Carroll, R Gaughan, S McCabe, S Hughes.
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