Na Fianna: 2-07   Gael Colmcille: 0-10

The game started in Grangegodden on very cold day, It was preceded by a thunderous hail shower and it was fortunate for both players and spectators that the snow showers held off during the match.

The wind was relentless throughout the game with Na Fianna having the advantage of it in the first half. However, it was Gael Colmcille who got the 1st score from their second free of the game 4th minute. Na Fianna wasted little time in getting their opening score when the ball was worked up the field to Conor Downey who duly put it over the bar. Then a good cross field ball from Ethan Devine was passed to the advancing Seán Martin who pointed the ball and put Na Fianna the lead. The wind came to Na Fianna's aid when Gael Colmcille advanced a shot from a very narrow angle caught the wind beautifully and was curling nicely however the ball dropped early and was stopped by Shane Geraghty in the Na Fianna goals.

In the 8th minute Gael Colmcille got another free close in front of the goals and made no mistake to get their 2nd point of the match. Na Fianna again worked the ball down the field to their attack to create their first goal chance which was intercepted by a Gael Colmcille defender however, they failed to clear their lines and a well timed interception by Shane Walsh put Na Fianna back in the lead with a well struck point. Persistent play and a high work rate resulted in NA Fianna getting their 4th point from Conor Downey in the 15th minute.

The tackling by Gael Colmcille was extremely physical and resulted in them conceding a penalty in the 18th minute of the game. Shane Walsh stepped up and made no mistake to score his 1st goal of the game. A poor kick out was immediately intercepted by Shane Walsh who charged towards the goal and made no mistake giving is his second goal of the game putting Na Fianna in a clear 7 point lead. From the kick out Gael Colmcille then worked their way down the field and broke through the Na Fianna defence where the goal chance was punched over the bar giving Gael Colmcille their 3rd point of the first half. Again Na Fianna worked the ball down the pitch and on form Shane Walsh pointed.

The half finished with Gael Colmcille getting another free and they duly pointed giving the half time score as Na Fianna 2-05 Gael Colmcille 0.04.

Na Fianna would play into a thunderous wind in the second half. However Shane Walsh looked add to his score with another goal but the Gael Colmcille goalkeeper pulled off a fine save to prevent the Na Fianna forward increasing their lead. The first 15 minutes of the second half was dominated with sloppy and over physical play. A free to Gael Colmcille opened their second half account and they further eroded the Na Fianna lead following a poor kickout by scoring another point. Fouls by both teams continued with Gael Colmcille dealing with the wind better as they scored two more points. The Kells men increased the ferocity of the tackles and pushed very hard to reduce the lead which was down to 3 points by the 14th minute of the half.

Ethan Devine settled the Na Fianna sides nerves with their first score in the second half. As the intensity of tackles continued yellow cards where giving one to Gael Colmcille , then Na Fianna , then Gael Colmcille got 2 more yellows. Dan Queeney came on in the second half and this allowed Shane Walsh to drop to a deeper role in the middle of the park where he dominated by fielding some nice high balls pushing the play into the Gael Colmcille half of the pitch. In the 24th min Daniel Queeney took advantage and kicked a curling ball that went over the bar putting the Na Fianna side to a 5 point lead. This was to be Na Fianna's last score of the game.

The final minutes of the game saw some resolute defending by Na Fianna and some great interceptions by Evan Mullally kept the home side from scoring.

However the intensity continued and resulted in 3 more yellow cards being shown, two for the Kells men and one for Na Fianna. The Referee added six minutes additional time in which Gael Colmcille got their final two points in the game but as the time went on the fouling grew in intensity and resulted in a red card for Gael Colmcille player after striking Shane Walsh. The player again struck Shane as he left the field of play. The game ended in the 8th minute of added time.

Na Fianna scorers: Shane Walsh 2-2, Connor Downey 0-2, Dan Queeney 0-1, Sean Martin 0-1, Ethan Devine 0-1

Na Fianna: 1 Shane Geraghty, 2 Oisín McCloskey, 3 Evan Mullally, 4 Seán Rafferty, 5 Conor Downey, 6 Anthony Neary, 7 Seán Martin, 8 Owen McDonald, 9 Michael Collins, 10 Jack McNally, 11 Ethan Devine, 12 Mark Slevin, 13 Johnny Baldwin, 14 Shane Walsh, 15 Jamie Queeney. Subs Used: Damien Downey for Jack McNally 40 min, Daniel Queeney for Mark Slevin 45 min.

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