A League Division 1 - Semi-final. Skryne 3-16 Summerhill 3-14

Skryne prevail in thrilling encounter

Skryne 3-16 Summerhill 3-14

A League Division 1 – Semi-final

Skryne Seniors have only been beaten three times in competitive games this year and two of these defeats were at the hands of Summerhill. Skryne were eager to ensure that Summerhill did’t make it a hat-trick. Summerhill were without some key men today with Caolan Young still on honeymoon, while Ross Ryan and David Larkin were also notable absentees.

The Dunshaughlin pitch was in perfect condition as usual, with some rare drizzly rain making conditions a little slippy underfoot.

A quickfire point inside the first minute from Conor O’Brien got things underway. Summerhill replied quickly with points from Liam Shaw from a free and Barry Dardis from play before O’Brien who was excellent again today slotted over his second to level matters. Shaw pointed another free to edge Summerhill ahead. David McGoldrick got Skryne’s first goal when he was released in front of the Summerhill goal. McGoldrick powered the ball past Tony McDonnell to rattle the back of the net. A pointed free from Paddy O’Rourke seemed to put Skryne in the driving seat but the impressive Conor Frayne poached two quickfire points for the Summerhill men to reduce the deficit. Eoin Smyth sent a beauty over for Skryne as the match swung from end to end. A converted 45 from Barry Dardis left only a single between the sides. O’Rourke with a free and Darragh Campion with his first of the game saw Skryne take control again. However, Summerhill pushed forward and Conor Frayne picked off another score before Donal Feeney burst into the Skryne penalty area and fired an unstoppable shot past Ian Gillett to put Summerhill into the lead with 20 minutes on the clock. Skryne threatened the Summerhill goal again, but a counter-attack saw another Feeney goal-bound shot strike the post and out to be scooped up by Ciarán Lenehan and cleared to safety. Points from Kevin Ryan(a free) and Willie Ryan who had made a rare foray forward from his full-back position, sent Summerhill into a three point lead. Skryne rallied again with a Paddy O’Rourke pointed free followed by their second goal of the game from the impressive Ronan McCabe who was rewarded for his attacking prowess as he got on the end of a fine Skryne move where Darragh Campion sent a lovely ball into Mark Battersby who spotted the run of McCabe. McCabe made no mistake as he blasted the ball past McDonnell in the Summerhill goal. Conor Frayne levelled matters again with his fourth point of the game on the stroke of half-time. Half-time score: Skryne 2-07, Summerhill 1-10.

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There was early drama in the second half as a Liam Shaw free was deflected onto the post again and away to safety. A Conor O’Brien point was quickly followed by Skryne’s third goal of the game as an Eoin Smyth pass into the Summerhill penalty area was snatched by Paddy O’Rourke who turned and planted the ball into the back of the Summerhill net. From the kick-out Summerhill broke forward and immediately struck a goal of their own as Donal Feeney again was given too much room in the Skryne penalty area and he punished Skryne with another fine finish. Skryne added the next three points with Ian Davis, Darragh Campion and Mark Battersby all on target. A point from Liam Shaw was Summerhill’s sole reply. Further points from Conor O’Brien and Mark Battersby saw Skryne lead by five points at the halfway mark. Kevin Ryan popped over a point for Summerhill but this was cancelled out by the Batman who had another good outing for Skryne. A Paddy O’Rourke free on 21 minutes saw Skryne seemingly cruising to victory. However, Summerhill don’t do cruising and Ross Tallon found the net again for Summerhill to reduce the gap to three. Kevin Ryan added another for Summerhill as Skryne seemed to be hitting the panic button. Summerhill’s Davy Dalton hit another rasper which looked destined to nestle in the Skryne net, but he was thwarted by a brilliant diving save from Ian Gillett who preserved Skryne’s narrow lead. A second yellow for Donie Ryan saw Skryne reduced to 14 men with two minutes remaining. A Paul Rispin point left only the minimum between the teams and it was squeaky bum time for the men in blue as full-time approached. Summerhill pushed forward for the equaliser, but it was Skryne who had the final say in the matter as they broke forward with Darragh Campion winning a scoreable free for the boys in blue which Paddy O’Rourke gratefully struck over to wrap up the scoring. Skryne clinched a well deserved place in the League final after an excellent performance against a classy stubborn Summerhill side. Skryne will play Gaeil Colmcille in the League Final with a date yet to be decided.

Skryne – Ian Gillett. Robbie Clarke, Ciarán Lenehan, Declan Morley. Donie Ryan, Stephen O’Brien, Ronan McCabe(1-00), David McGoldrick(1-00), Harry Rooney. Conor O’Brien(0-04), Darragh Campion(0-02), Eoin Smyth(0-01). Ian Davis(0-01), Patrick O’Rourke (1-05, 5f), Mark Battersby(0-03).

Subs used – Eoghan Greene, Niall Lenehan, Mark Harrington, James Hegarty, Darren Fox, Aidan Tuite