Skryne 1-09 Dunshaughlin 0-09
Minor Football Championship, Division 1 – Round 1
Skryne got off to a winning start in Division 1 of the Minor Football Championship in Skryne yesterday evening against a gutsy Dunshaughlin side.
Despite dark clouds lingering in the Skryne sky in the run-up to the start of the game, the rain stayed away. The surface of the pitch was a little slick following the earlier inclement weather, but overall conditions were pretty good.
Skryne had the better of the first half and they kicked off with 2 early points, both frees converted by the trusty boot of Daragh Campion. Dunshaughlin replied with a point of their own when a rasper of a shot was superbly tipped over by Dean Reddy. Skryne’s full forward Paddy Carpenter was next on the scoresheet with a good point from play on 11 minutes. Daragh added another form play before Dunshaughlin managed to double their tally with their second and final point of the half. Both defences worked hard to repel any attacks. However, Skryne were more economical when it came to taking their chances and Aidan Gill managed to break free from the shackles of his marker to score a fine point from the left hand side on the 24th minute. Skryne tacked on another 2 points in quick succession from Eoin Smyth and Paddy Carpenter (his second) as they finished the half off strongly. Skryne went in with a 5 point cushion at half-time on a scoreline of Skryne 0-07 Dunshaughlin 0-02.
Dunshaughlin came out in the second half with fire in their bellies. Dean Reddy was called into action almost immediately after the restart when a Dunshaughlin forward broke free and made a beeline towards the Skryne goal. Dean was not going to be beaten and he pulled off another fine save, this time with his feet to deny Dunshaughlin an early opportunity to get back within touching distance of Skryne. Dunshaughlin won a free on the 13 metre line which they converted to narrow the gap to 4. Jayo Fox cancelled out this score with a pointed free on 7 minutes before Dunshaughlin took control of the half as they chipped away at Skryne’s lead with 3 unanswered points(all frees) to close the gap to 2 points. Yet again Dean came to the rescue on the 18th minute when a shot from the left hand side was palmed away to safety. Dunshaughlin won a 45 which was pointed by their excellent free-taker who accounted for a large portion of their scores on the night. Dunshaughlin had the wind in their sails at this stage and the large Skryne support were looking a little bit worried. Dunshaughlin drew level on the 23rd minute and looked like they would go on and win the game. Skryne had other ideas. Displaying true grit when the odds were against them, Skryne broke upfield with Darren Fox bursting forward into a scoreable position. As he took aim and shot, he was fouled ensuring that his shot went off target. Referee Patrick Nelis blew the whistle, awarding the free and Jayo Fox was presented with an opportunity to stem the tide and put Skryne back in the lead. This he did with his usual assurance as he slotted the ball over the bar. Dunshaughlin replied a minute later with a point from a tight angle to level things up again with only a couple of minutes remaining. From the kick-out, Dean sent a long ball to midfield where Oisín Gryson rose high to pluck the ball out of the air. He turned and strode forward into the heart of the Dunshaughlin defence. He laid the ball off to Jayo Fox who set Paddy Carpenter free in front of the Dunshaughlin goal. Paddy stayed composed and finished brilliantly past the onrushing keeper much to the delight of the raucous Skryne support. The final whistle ended a pulsating contest a minute later with Skryne coming out on top on a scoreline of Skryne 1-09 Dunshaughlin 0-09.
Dunshaughlin will leave Skryne disappointed having almost pulled off the great escape, Skryne will be delighted to have gotten off to a winning start as there will be no easy games in this Championship.
Skryne team: Dean Reddy, Michael Long, Oisín Gryson, Barry Clarke, Jack O’ Donnell, Robbie Clarke, Cian Twomey, Darren Fox, Daragh Campion(0-03), Eoghan Greene, Eoin Smyth(0-01) , Jason Fox(0-02), Aidan Gill(0-01), Paddy Carpenter(1-02), Colm Mc Loughlin. Subs Used: David Carroll, Andrew Moore, Colm Doherty, Tommy Carpenter
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