A League Division 1 - Round 2. Skryne 0-08 Dunshaughlin 0-08

Skryne 0-08 Dunshaughlin 0-08

A League Division 1 – Round 2

Skryne took on neighbours Dunshaughlin in Round 2 of the A League this morning in Skryne in a low scoring affair. To be fair to both teams, the pitch was quite heavy, the grass was quite long and there was a stiff bitterly cold breeze blowing towards the scoreboard end, so conditions were not ideal and with players still in the early phases of training, fitness levels are still a bit low so the game was played at quite a low tempo throughout.

Skryne played with the breeze in the first half and got off to the better start with Mark Battersby and Paddy Fox registering points inside the first 3 minutes of the game. Dunshaughlin scored a fisted point to put their first point on the board. Mark Batts who is well known for keeping up with the latest trends scored Skryne’s third point with a fisted effort of his own. Dunshaughlin fired over two on the bounce to level matters, before Eoin Smyth popped over a fine point for Skryne at the midway point of the half. Dunshaughlin were struggling to make the ball stick in their forward line and went 20 minutes without registering a score. Ronan McCabe was particularly good in defence for Skryne in the first half making several important tackles and interceptions thus thwarting the Dunshaughlin forward line. Batts pointed a free for Skryne late on in the half, while Dunshaughlin added a fourth point on the stroke of half-time to leave just the minimum between the teams as the half time whistle blew. Half-time score: Skryne 0-05, Dunshaughlin 0-04.

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Mark Batts got Skryne off the mark early on in the second half, but Dunshaughlin tacked on two further points to level the game and with the benefit of the breeze, they managed to pin Skryne back. A third second half point saw them take the lead as the midway point of the half approached. Both sides made number of substitutions as they looked for ways to win this game. A Mark Battersby pointed free drew Skryne level again as the game seemed to reach a stalemate. Dunshaughlin got a free of their own which they converted to take the lead with little time remaining. Skryne pushed forward looking for an equaliser and won a free out near the left sideline just outside the 21 yard line. Batts, in unfamiliar fashion opted to kick the free from the ground. This was a pressure kick and Batts hit the ball with a low trajectory. It was heading over the bar and appeared to be helped along the way with a fist. Dunshaughlin were claiming a square ball, but referee Donal Smyth was satisfied that the point was good and Skryne got the equaliser they so craved. There was just enough time for the ball to be kicked out. Referee Donal Smyth blew the final whistle as the ball was fielded and with some of the players still harbouring a bit of pent up energy, a few handbags were flung around before order was restored and the teams seperated. The game had been played in good spirits up until this point, but a draw is never a satisfactory outcome for any team, although a draw was a fair result in this instance as neither team could be deemed to have outshone the other on the day.

Mark Batts was Skryne’s best player on the day, scoring six of Skryne’s eight points. Skryne will probably be the happier of the two teams as they took to the field missing a number of first team regulars while Dunshaughlin had most of their first team available. Skryne earned a first point in the league, but will need to get a few players back quickly in order to get a few wins under their belt.

Next up for Skryne is the 3rd round fixture vs Summerhill next Sunday at 11am in Summerhill.

Skryne – Ian Gillett. Niall Lenehan, Stephen O’Brien, James Hegarty. Michael Doherty, Ronan McCabe, Eoin Smyth(0-1). David McGoldrick, Harry Rooney. Aidan Tuite, Ian Davis, Paddy Fox (0-1). Niall Morley, Mark Battersby(0-6, 3f), Jason Reddy.

Subs used – Colm Doherty, Craig Nolan, Mark Harrington and Barry Clarke .