A League Division 1a – Round 8. Donaghmore/Ashbourne 1-15 Skryne 3-05

Skryne struggled to cope with the lively Donaghmore/Ashbourne attack in the first half of this Division 1a game and but for two fine goals from Niall Finnerty, Skryne’s only scores in the first half, they could have been much further behind.

Skryne burst out of the traps and with their opening attack, a sweeping move forward which culminated in Niall Finnerty receiving the ball before moving across from right to left on the outside of the Donaghmore/Ashbourne penalty area before smashing the ball left-footed, low into the bottom right hand corner of the goal, evading the outstretched hand of the Moore’s keeper. After such a bright start, Skryne retreated into their shell and looked heavy legged for most of the first half. Meanwhile the Donaghmore/Ashbourne forwards were quicker and slicker in possession, picking off points at will. Indeed, they hit seven points without a reply from Skryne and looked to be in cruise control. However, Skryne almost got in for a second goal on the 19th minute with their best move of the game which saw Mark Battersby and Niall Finnerty swap passes before Finnerty found David Carroll near the right hand side endline. Carroll made a beeline towards the goal before handpassing over the advancing Donaghmore/Ashbourne keeper towards Oisín Keogh who had made a run into the Donaghmore/Ashbourne penalty area. Carroll’s pass was just too high for Keogh and the ball flew over his head to safety. Three minutes later Mark Battersby found Niall Finnerty on the right hand side and he again made a run across the face of the Donaghmore/Ashbourne penalty area from right to left before firing another low hard shot into the bottom right corner of the net leaving the keeper with no chance. This left just the minimum between the sides. Donaghmore/Ashbourne added a point and then hit a goal of their own when they attacked in from the left hand side of the Skryne penalty area. A shot across the face of the Skryne goal was deflected into the Skryne net. Two more points from play from the Moores saw them lead by a healthy seven points at half time. Donaghmore/Ashbourne 1-10, Skryne 2-00.

The second half was a bit better from Skryne although Donaghmore/Ashbourne did extend their lead with the first two points of the half. However, Kristoffer Kinsella struck Skryne’s third goal after he strode upfield before receiving the ball on the 21 metre line. He hit a superb shot into the bottom left corner to drag Skryne back into contention. A Mark Battersby pointed free narrowed the gap further. Donaghmore/Ashbourne added a point before Harry Rooney and Ciarán Lenehan chipped in with two more points for Skryne to leave just four points between the sides midway through the half. A pointed free on the seventeenth minute edged the Moores further ahead but a point each from Niall Finnerty and Mark Battersby left only a goal between the sides with five minutes remaining. However the grandstand finish never materialised and the game largely peetered out with Donaghmore/Ashbourne sending over a pointed free in the last minute of normal time to secure victory. Full-time: Donaghmore/Ashbourne 1-15, Skryne 3-05

Skryne – Ian Gillett; Kristoffer Kinsella(1-0), Ciarán Lenehan(0-1), David Carroll; Timmy Lennon, Andrew Moore, Frank Carty; Harry Rooney(0-1), Stephen O’Brien; Patrick Fox, Neil Burke, Conor O’Brien; Niall Finnerty(2-1), Oisín Keogh, Mark Battersby(0-2, 2fs).

Subs used – Padraig Finnerty, Tommy Carpenter, Niall Morland, Jack O’Donnell

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