‘B’ League Division 1
Donaghmore / Ashbourne vs Summerhill

Date:                  3 April 2011
Time:                 12:00 noon
Venue:               Summerhill

HT:                     Donaghmore/ Ashbourne 0-5 Summerhill 2-7
FT                      Donaghmore / Ashbourne 0-11 Summerhill 2-11

The Division 1 clash between Don/ Ash and Summerhill was definitely a game of two halves, with our concession of two goals in the first half the difference between the sides at the end of the day. The positives from the day were Danny Mc Shane’s return from injury, Daithi Murtagh’s seamless transition to adult football, and Ross Hanway’s two magnificent points from the ’45 metre line.

The encounter stared quite brightly, with Eric Callaghan pointing a free in the first minute and John Broderick adding another point a minute later.  A free and a point from the home side had the sides level again inside two minutes. Donaghmore / Ashbourne had a brace of wides before the action moved to our square, where we conceded a ’45, but Danny Mc Shane in goal made a fine catch. Summerhill maintained their attack, resulting in another point on the 8 minute mark. The sides were back level after Keith Skelly  sent a fine ball in to Paul Gilligan , and a foul on Gilligan  resulted in  Eric Callaghan converting the  free awarded. Donaghmore’s defence was again put under pressure, with Ross Hanway and Darryl Lawlor limiting Summerhill to a brace of points on the 14 and 15 minute mark. Another sustained attack by the home side saw them score 1 goal and 2 points unanswered, before Daithi Murtagh’s hard work paid off with a point from distance on the 27th minute. A punch goalwards by Eric Callaghan was thwarted by an excellent save from Summerhill’s goalkeeper. Summerhill won the kick-out, and had added another goal to their tally a minute later. Danny in goal for Donaghmore / Ashbourne made another  fine catch, before getting the ball outfield. The last action of the first half was a beautifully taken ’45 by Ross Hanway, which resulted in our 5th point. Score at the break was 2-7 to 0-5 points, to Summerhill.

The first 18 minutes of the second half was all Donaghmore / Ashbourne – John Broderick added his second point within two minutes of the restart. Leon Tormey  made a magnificent catch straight from the kick-out, distributing the ball forward, to Eric Callaghan, who pointed from a free on 4 minutes, then turned supplier to Stephen Kavanagh for his point on 6 minutes. Ross Hanway repeated his feat from the first half – pointing from a ’45 on the 8th minute. Eric Callaghan scored a brace of points from play, one after a fine ball in from Paul Gilligan on 12 minutes.  The action was concentrated in the Donaghmore / Ashbourne half for the next 5 minutes, with great defensive play from Joe Finnegan, Darryl Lawlor and Danny Mc Shane. Robbie O’ Connor came on for Gilligan on 18 minutes,  and it was at this point that Summerhill broke through the Don/ Ash defences in this half, with a point.  Stephen Kavanagh had a fine shot on goal blocked by the Summerhill keeper. Summerhill won their kick-out , and the visitors were under pressure yet again, but the back line held firm until 25 minutes, when Summerhill scored a pointed free. Donaghmore / Ashbourne made a triple substitution at this point, with Sean Kent coming on for Mc Shane, Mikey  Gleeson for Scally,  and Gareth  Deery for Hanway. Summerhill scored a brace of points in quick succession, before  Stephen Kavanagh had two further shots on goal, but the heroic Summerhill keeper kept out both the original shot and the rebound.  The last minute of the match was marred with a booking for Ciaran Finn and a sending off for his Summerhill counterpart. The score at the final whistle was 2-11 to 0-11, to the home side.

Team and Scorers

D. McShane, D. Lawlor, J. Finnegan, P. Finn, C. Finn, E. Riordan, R. Hanway (0,2) , L. Tormey, E. Callaghan (0,5 – 4f) , C. Field, D. Murtagh (0,1) , J. Broderick (0,2) , P. Gilligan, S. Kavanagh (0,1) , K. Scally.  Subs  R. O’ Connor for Gilligan, S. Kent for Mc Shane, M. Gleeson for Scally, G. Deery for Hanway.