Nobber 3 – 18 (27) Kilmainham 2 – 11 (17)

Nobber began their Meath GAA JACFC Division 7 Group B championship campaign on Saturday evening last with an impressive win over the red and black of Kilmainham. Conditions proved challenging for players on both sides where there was heavy rainfall on Saturday leading up to the game and during proceedings.

Little separated the sides early on in the opening quarter, however the black and ambers showed a more cutting-edge in front of goal. Wingback Jojo Ogunbe showed great energy and athleticism and caused huge problems for the opposition throughout. The talented youngster scored a brace of goals in the first half cutting the Kilmainham defence open. The lively centre back Brendan Heffernan drove his team forward and registered a score of his own in the first half. Other scores for Sean Carolans’s charges came from the experienced trio of Gordon Weldon, Heffernan, and midfielder Colin Clarke. The Nobber half forward line all raised white flags in the first period and worked tirelessly throughout – the tricky trio of Korede Otubango, Murtagh and Duffy were too hot to handle on the evening.

Half-time – Nobber 2 – 10 (16) Kilmainham 1 – 6 (9)

As spectators were treated to a feast of scores in the first half, the scores dried up a bit in the second period, this may have been because of the difficult playing conditions. To Kilmainham’s credit they never gave up and made the game an exciting watch for the neutral during the second half. However, the black and ambers were stronger on the evening and created more scoring opportunities and executed them at the same time. Nobber worked well as a team in the second half and scores came from midfielder Hughes, the impressive Otubango, Duffy and Murtagh. Murtagh showed glimpses of his talent throughout with his high fielding and proved a good link between defence and attack. The Deesiders scored another goal on the evening through substitute Darren Lambe, rolling back the years with an impressive finish to the back of the net.

This game may go down in the history books of Nobber GAA folklore with the starting 15 containing three of the current Meath Masters players (Gordon Weldon, Brendan Heffernan, and Brian O’Reilly). Plenty of positives for the North Meath men to bring into the next round with a good mix of youth and experience on show.

Next up for Nobber in in their reserve championship campaign is a short trip to face local rivals Drumconrath on Saturday, September 12 at 6 PM.

Nobber team – Niall McMahon, Gerry Campbell, Brian O’Reilly, Jonny Donohoe, Tony McEntee, Brendan Heffernan, Jojo Ogunbe, Colin Clarke, Ryan Hughes, Korede Otubango, Thomas Murtagh, Jamie Duffy, Cathal Fox, Gordon Weldon, Luke Proudfoot.

Subs used – Darren Lambe.

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