Ring Cup: Durnin snatches sensational Royal win
May 06, 2012
Meath's James Togher with London's Henry Vaughan during the Christy Ring Cup clash at Pairc Tailteann.
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Meath 4-8
London 3-10
What threatened to be a nightmare afternoon for Meath was turned into one of joy when substitute Peter Durnin scored a dramatic winning goal which capped a sensational recovery in this Christy Ring Cup game at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday.
Cillian Farrell's team looked certain to open the competition in the worst possible fashion by suffering a humiliating loss to a London side they had earlier defeated in the National Hurling League at Ruislip, but after a disastrous first half they somehow found the courage and the scores which enabled them to rally for victory.
Farrell will be delighted with the manner in which his players battled back against the odds in the second period, but he will also be asking himself why they performed so poorly in the earlier exchanges.
They were miles off the pace of the game in the first half and the concession of three goals looked certain to pave the way to a drubbing. All bar a point of London's scores in that period came from play as they operated with a confidence and style which suggested only one possible outcome.
Sean Heavey, Stephen Clynch, who was later to play a lead role in the recovery, and Noel Kirby each scored two points in that difficult first half and that lack of a scoring touch, allied to the concession of so many goals, enabled London to open up a commanding 3-8 to 0-6 interval advantage.
Jonathan Maher pounced for the opening goal after 15 minutes and by the time impressive full-forward Martin Finn palmed home the second eight minutes later London were looking good with a 2-7 to 0-2 lead.
Meath produced a mini revival with three points in quick succession from Kirby's kicked effort and two Clynch frees, but the good was undone on the half hour mark when Kevin Walsh scored London's third goal. When Finn added a pointed free they were cruising with a 12-point cushion and they were still out of sight with a lead of 11 at the change of ends.
The Royal County were in deep, deep trouble and introduced Durnin and Mickey Burke for the second half. Any hopes of a revival appeared slim, but they did notch the opening two scores of the period and the fact that one of them was a Clynch goal from a free seven minutes after the restart at least improved the appearance on the scoreboard.
London replied with points from Finn and James Egan, but Meath had the deficit down to five points (2-8 to 3-10) early in the last quarter after Durnin had pointed and Heavey goaled.
Meath were clearly growing in confidence and there was a sense of panic evident in the London camp when full-back Brian Costello was sent off on receipt of a second yellow card eight minutes from the end of normal time.
Clynch rose in stature as the second half wore on and Meath's hopes turned to optimism three minutes later when he belted home his second goal. Suddenly, the deficit was down to just two points and the Royal County went close to taking the lead when Durnin's shot was brilliantly saved by London 'keeper Tommy Williams.
As the excitement intensified and Meath tried valiantly to pull off a sensational victory Durnin had the final say with his dramatic winning goal. The closing minutes were extremely tense as London went in search of an equaliser or a winner, but when the last whistle sounded it was the small contingent of home supporters who could celebrate.
Scorers: Meath - S Clynch 2-2; S Heavey 1-2; P Durnin 1-1; N Kirby 0-3. London - M Finn 1-2; J Maher, K Walsh 1-0 each; J Egan 0-3; M Walsh, C Quinn, E Cooney, P Sloane, H Vaughan 0-1 each.
Meath - S McGann; C Reilly, E Fitzgerald, W Mahady; J Togher, P Fagan, S Morris; S Clynch, S Donoghue; S Heavey, N Kirby, C O Mealoid; K Keoghan, N Horan, J Kelly. Subs - D Healy for Horan 19 mins, C Fitzsimons for Fagan 25m, R Massey for Keoghan 32m, P Durnin for Kelly half-time, M Burke for Donoghue half-time.
London - T Williams; E Walsh, B Costello, G Fennelly; M Walsh, PJ Rowe, L Mackey; C Quinn, E Cooney; P Sloane, J Egan, H Vaughan; J Maher, M Finn, K Walsh. Subs - D Maher for Egan 52 mins, G Hill for M Walsh 60m, T Hogan for Sloane 64m.
Referee - Patrick Murphy (Carlow).
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