A League Round 6 Donaghmore/Ashbourne v Na Fianna

H/T Donaghmore/Ashbourne 1-8 (11) Na Fianna 0-5 (5)

F/T Donaghmore/Ashbourne 1-13 (16) Na Fianna 2-9 (15)

With remedial works on Pitch 1 and out of action for a couple of weeks this match was played on Pitch 2 and it was Na Fianna who started the brightest and scored the first point from play after just 1 minute followed by another on 2 minutes. Stephen Carton was first to a ball in from Shaun Byrne but was fouled. From the resulting free which was short, Darragh McGovern got on the end of it and put it over the bar for a point after 5 minutes of play. Na Fianna replied with another point from play and a pointed free with 7 minutes of football played and going ahead by 4pts to 1pt. Luke Barrett had to come to the rescue a couple of times to stop Na Fianna from going further ahead. Donaghmore/Ashbourne did have opportunities but blasted wide on a couple of occassions, one of which was a goal chance. Micheal Deegan took a short free to Andrew Tormey who gave the ball back to the in running Deegan who finished to the back of the net. Na Fianna got another point from play to make it Don/Ash 1-1 to Na Fianna 0-5. That was the last score of the half for the visitors. Andy Colgan came forward to take a free from an acute angle out on the right hand side of the pitch and sent it right over the black spot to level the game. Don/Ash seem to come alive and went on to take some nice points from play with Deegan getting 1 from play and another from a free after 18 minutes. Stephen Carton burst through a tackle and scored a sweet point and followed up with a 2nd shortly after. Great defending from Conor Carton and Iarlaith O'Donnell who forced Na Fianna over the end line when they were bearing in on goal. Andrew Tormey and Jamie Browne finished the half with 2 well taken points from play, the latter coming from a great interception by Stephen Carton who passed quickly to Browne. Sean Curran was again immense at centre back supported by Evan Quinn and Ethan Tormey. Kevin Cully and Shaun Byrne worked hard in centre field against the very experienced Na Fianna midfield pair. Donaghmore/Ashbourne were up by 6 points at half time 1-8 to 0-5.

Don/Ash should have kicked on but were guilty of wides and Na Fianna also kicked a few wides in between 1 point from play and 1 from a free to make to 1-8 to 7pts. Andrew Tormey took a shot which hit the post and went over to hit the other post and landed in Sean Curran's hands with only the keeper to beat for a goal but he was taken down by a defender in the box and was awarded a penalty. Michael Deegan stood up to take the penalty but it also hit the post and came back out to be cleared by Na Fianna who quickly got it down the field and yes once again the post was the saviour of a sure goal by Na Fianna. We had played 12 minutes in the 2nd half before Don/Ash got on the board with a point from Leo Reilly 1-9 to 7pts. Within a minute Na Fianna got a goal from play followed by a point from a free and another from play to leave it level with 14 minutes left on the clock. It was game on and while Don/Ash went ahead with a point from Stephen Carton, Na Fianna always looked dangerous when on the attack. Dylan Brady was brought on for McGovern. The visitors got their 2nd major on 23 minutes which put them 2 points up. Conor Carton finished off a well worked move up the field when fisting over the bar. James Crumlish was introduced for Shaun Byrne who had worked his socks off and James Redmond came on for Iarlaith O'Donnell. With only 1 point between the teams it was Michael Deegan who coverted from a free to level the game once more. Matt Crumlish and Killian Hogan got on for the last few minutes of the game. Michael Deegan had the last say when he launched the ball high and accurate to score the final point of the game and put Donaghmore/Ashbourne back in front. Na Fianna did have the opportunity to share the points but failed to score from a free kick with 32 minutes on the clock. Andy Colgan kicked the ball out and the final whistle was sounded to the relief of the home team and supporters.

Don/Ash:- Andy Colgan (0-1f); Luke Barrett, Iarlaith O'Donnell, Conor Carton (0-1); Evan Quinn, Sean Curran, Ethan Tormey; Kevin Cully, Shaun Byrne; Leo Reilly (0-1), Michael Deegan (1-4 2f), Darragh McGovern (0-1); Stephen Carton (0-3), Andrew Tormey (0-1), Jamie Browne (0-1).

Subs:- Dylan Brady (47) for McGovern, James Crumlish (49) for Byrne, James Redmond (51) for O'Donnell, Killian Hogan (59) for Andrew Tormey, Matt Crumlish for Ethan Tormey.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CLUB SPONSOR MCCARNEY FINANCIAL SERVICES.