Slow Starting Drums Beaten By Hoops
Navan O’Mahonys 2-18
Drumbaragh Emmets 3-07
Both sides were slow to start, with Drumbaragh opening with a wide, followed by two wides for Navan O’Mahonys. Oisín O’Brien opened the scoring for Navan O’Mahony’s with a free for a foul on Aodhan Mallon. Cathal Smyth won the resulting kickout, slotting it over the bar.
Midfielder Liam Ward kicked a free in for Drumbaragh, which netminder Aaron Byrne got a fist to but it ended up over the bar. A good play for Navan O’Mahonys saw the ball at the other end of the field immediately in response and Jake Regan made no mistake. On the kickout, Louis Collins claimed possession and slipped it to Regan who split the posts for the second time in sixty seconds.
A minute later, Regan’s third point came courtesy of a free. Again, the kickout was won by Collins who, with the assistance of the Dillon brothers Brian and Duggie and O’Brien, found Regan again for his fourth point in three minutes.
A high ball into Dillon could have resulted in a mark, but he chose to play on and kicked the ball over the bar to leave six points between the sides. With twelve minutes gone, Darragh Maguire found himself in front of goal, beating Jake Balfe in a one-on-one. Evan Coffey added his name to the scoresheet and midway through the half, ten points separated the sides with another couple of wides from Navan O’Mahony’s.
A William Carry point in the nineteenth minute brought the difference to nine before Ward fisted a high ball in the air to the Navan O’Mahonys net to leave six in it with ten minutes to be played in the half. Collins pointed in the 22nd minute to settle his team again.
The twenty-sixth minute saw another goal opportunity for Navan O’Mahonys, this time with O’Brien in the square. Balfe stood tall to pull off an impressive save. O’Brien added a free shortly afterwards and a Regan free left eight between the sides at the interval.
Navan O’Mahonys 1-10
Drumbaragh Emmets 1-02
Darragh McNamara opened up the scoring in the second half, reducing the gap between the sides to seven points. Dillon responded with a point from play, followed quickly by another Ward point for Drumbaragh. A Drumbaragh pointed free from Hughie Corcoran and a Mallon point for Navan O’Mahonys cancelled each other out in the eighth minute.
Mike O’Reilly impressively dispossessed Drumbaragh who were through on goal, making a one-two with O’Brien heading towards the Drumbaragh end. A quick couple of passes to Dillon and onto Coffey resulted in another point for the Brews Hill outfit.
Midway through the half, Regan pointed from a free before Drumbaragh were quick to respond with a point from play, leaving eight between the sides. A twentieth minute point from O’Brien left nine points between the sides again. Another goal opportunity was narrowly denied when a low O’Brien shot just missed the target. Dillon pointed from play before substitute Eoin Joyce became the eighth Navan O’Mahonys player with a score beside their name. Midfielder Harry O’Higgins added two points for his side, while Mallon pointed for Navan O’Mahonys.
The gap was reduced to eight points in the twenty-sixth minute when, following an impressive block on the goal line, the resulting play ended in a penalty. Corcoran took the penalty well, picking his spot in the bottom right corner. Ninety seconds later, a looping ball from Corcoran found the net once again, giving Drumbaragh hope with three minutes of normal time remaining. Substitute James O’Reilly made an impressive run from the resulting kickout, making a good play for the forwards although to no avail.
With goals on their mind, Drumbaragh were never going to give up. A number of high balls into the square were cleared by the safe hands of Niall McGrane. Although they created a number of chances, they were unable to penetrate the Navan O’Mahonys defence again.
Deep into injury time, Navan O’Mahony’s knew they needed to hold on to secure their place in the knockout stages. They kept plugging away and in the thirty-seventh minute, Collins became the ninth player to score for Navan O’Mahonys, rattling the net in a one-on-one encounter, much to the relief of the Brews Hill crowd. The final whistle ensued.
Navan O’Mahonys – Aaron Byrne, Darragh Murphy, Brian Dillon, Paddy Dillon, Louis Collins (1-0), Mike O’Reilly, Darragh Maguire (1-0), Niall McGrane, Conor Finnegan, Evan Coffey (0-02), Cathal Smyth (0-01), Aodhan Mallon (0-02), Duggie Dillon (0-03), Jake Regan (0-06), Oisin O’Brien (0-03)
Subs: James O’Reilly for Murphy, Eoin Joyce (0-01) for Smyth, Cormac Keyes for Coffey, Ronan Clarke for Regan, Robbie Keelaghan for Dillon
Drumbaragh Emmets – Jake Balfe, Joe Carry, Killian Byrne, Carl McGovern, Turlough Carry, Stephen Meegan, Paddy Murray, Harry O’Higgins (0-02), Liam Ward (1-02), Lewis O’Donnell, Hughie Corcoran (2-01), Conor Lunch, JD Smith, Darragh McNamara (0-01), William Carry (0-01)
Subs: John Morrissey for McGovern, DJ Carry for O’Donnell, Eamonn McGee for Carry, Colm Carry for McNamara
Report: Colin O’Brien | Meath Chronicle
