Simonstown   1-10
Ratoath         5-8

Beautiful weather greeted all the spectators and players for this key game in the Under 13 Division championship. Simonstown hosted Ratoath in a game that matched the conditions and where both sides competed right to the end in an entertaining affair!

Each side enjoyed periods of dominance during the game but ultimately it was Ratoaths ability to score goals that made the difference in the end.

The first half was a nip and tuck affair. Ratoath started brightly but missed the first scoring opportunity. Simonstown switched play quickly to the other end and took their point to notch the first score of the game. Points were exchanged over the next period but the highlight at this stage was some really strong defensive work from both sets of backs which kept the scoring low initially. 

Ratoath scored the first goal of the game. Following a great catch in mid field, Jack Flynn took advantage of the Simonstown keeper being off his line to score from distance. 1-3 to 2 points for Ratoath. This gave Ratoath a bit of a cushion but Simonstown then enjoyed a period of dominance and but for the efforts of Ruairi Coulter and Tiarnan Ahearne ably assisted by Killian Cahill, Simonstown could have scored a goal themselves. Ratoath were creaking at this stage and it wasn't a surprise when Simonstown scored their goal and added a few points to edge in front.

Cian Kelly, just back following a bad injury, came on and added some strength to the Ratoath attack. Kelly struck a lovely goal right on the half time whistle to go with a couple of Fionn Murphy points to leave the score line at half time 2-4 to 1-5 in Ratoaths favour.

The second half was a more open affair as both teams began to tire but Ratoaths defense continued to make things difficult for Simonstown and forced them into a number of wides. When they did get through, keeper Sam made a couple of great saves to keep Ratoath in front.   

Ratoaths midfield pairing of Jack Flynn and Gavin O'Neill continued to work hard and the sight of corner forward Adam Clarke popping up in the full back line to collect a pass showed how hard the team were working to stay in front. Sean Murphy came on into the full forward line for Ratoath and quickly got on the end of a Flynn pass before netting - the goal giving more breathing space to Ratoath. A second Murphy goal shortly after widened the gap even further and left Simonstown chasing the game.

Simonstown did score some lovely points but at this stage they needed goals and the Ratoath defense were holding strong and keeping goal scoring chances to a minimum. With Simonstown focussed on attack, gaps opened in their defense. A lovely move out of the back line involving, Ahearne, Michael Gaughan, Luke Newe and Flynn led to a pass to Cian Kelly who scored the goal of the game with an unstoppable shot to the top corner of the net.  

Simonstown never stopped trying and a 10 point defeat was not a fair reflection of how they played on the night! No doubt both sides will be involved in the later stages of this Championship.

Best for Ratoath - Jack Flynn, Tiarnan Ahearne, Ruairi Coulter, Cian Kelly and the Murphy brothers!

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