Meath Under 15 Premier Championship Semi-Final
Seneschalstown 2-10 Donaghmore/Ashbourne 6-8
On a fine morning for football, Seneschalstown and Donaghmore/Ashbourne clashed for a place in the final of the Under 15 Premier Football Championship. Played in bright sunshine, there was also a stiff breeze for the players to contend with.
Meath Under 15 Premier Championship Semi-Final
Seneschalstown 2-10 Donaghmore/Ashbourne 6-8
On a fine morning for football, Seneschalstown and Donaghmore/Ashbourne clashed for a place in the final of the Under 15 Premier Football Championship. Played in bright sunshine, there was also a stiff breeze for the players to contend with.
The game started at a frantic pace with plenty of goals early on. Donaghmore/Ashbourne were first on the board, with their full forward finishing to the net in the first minute. Seneschalstown mounted the next couple of attacks, and were duly rewarded when Colin Scanlon put over a fine point from play. Two minutes later, Seneschalstown hit the front for the first time. After working a side line ball short, Liam Dillon found himself in on goal and made no mistake, planting the ball into the back of the net. However, in a flash the visitors had two more goals of their own to open up a five point lead. Liam Dillon and Colin Scanlon replied with points for Seneschalstown to narrow the deficit, Dillon scoring after a strong run by Tommy Walsh while Scanlon pointed after he found space for himself from a quick free. Donaghmore/Ashbourne registered two more points of their own before a Liam Dillon free was followed by an outstanding Jamie Barry point from long range. The scoring rate dropped after the first water break, and it was the 22nd minute of the half when Donaghmore/Ashbourne got the next point. The last two scores of the half came courtesy of Sean Davis for Seneschalstown. His first came after an excellent team move up the pitch, the second a free following a foul on the lively Colin Scanlon. Following a very entertaining first half , the scoreboard read Donaghmore/Ashbourne 3-3 Seneschalstown 1-7 at the interval.
Chasing down a two point deficit, the Seneschalstown youngsters began the second half in no mood to lie down. Sean Davis got them off to the best possible start when his point attempt dropped short and into the net, turning the half time deficit into a one point lead. Seneschalstown looked to build on this early boost, and Davis kicked over two more frees in the 32nd and 36th minutes. The second free was earned by Jack McDonnell who surged down the heart of the Donaghmore/Ashbourne defence before being fouled. However, the visitors started to get on top and were soon only a point behind again following a brace of points. By this stage the pendulum had swung their way and went about the rest of the game in a ruthless fashion, adding a further 3-3 before the finish. To Seneschalstown’s credit, they never gave up and fought the good fight until the very end with Sean Davis kicking the home sides last score of the game from play.
The lads can be proud of their efforts both today and over the year as a whole. Despite coming up short today, they all have the chance to put this defeat behind them when lining out with the Division 1 team in their semi-final at home to Ratoath on Tuesday, where it will undoubtedly require a whole squad effort to qualify for the final.
Seneschalstown: Jamie Norris, Ciarán Collier, Alex Sheridan, Ben Lynch, Peter Geraghty, Seán Reilly, Tadhg Lenehan, Liam Dillon (1-2, 1f), Tommy Walsh, Liam O’Reilly, Seán Davis (1-5, 3f), Jack McDonnell, Josh Barry, Colin Scanlon (0-2), Jamie Barry (0-1).
