Minor Footballers Fall Short Against Meath In Leinster Semi Final

Image courtesy Paul Barrett

DUBLIN 2-8

MEATH 2-14

Dublin fell short in the closing stages as they succumbed to Meath by six points in their Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Football Championship semi-final at Parnell Park on Tuesday night.

Dublin seized the early initiative through a goal by Patrick Cahill but Meath deservedly entered the break leading by 2-4 to 1-3 courtesy of goals from Milo Stafford and Cormac McKenna.

An Eoghan Madden goal in the 50th minute edged the Dubs back in front but inspired by captain Harry McGuirk, the visitors finished the stronger to claim a deserved success.   

It didn’t take long for Dublin to avail of the strong breeze at their backs with co-captain James McCaghy converting a two-pointed free inside sixty seconds.

A patient period of play saw the visitors create the first goal chance of the game in the 5th minute but Jamie Galvin raced quickly from his line to block Dara Loughran’s low effort.

Milo Stafford converted the resultant ‘45’ with a cracking strike into the breeze before the hosts restored their two-point lead thanks to Eoghan Madden.

With scores at a premium initially, Stafford doubled his tally to halve Meath’s deficit but the Dubs responded at the start of the second quarter as Cahill cleverly palmed to the net from close range as Daniel Guilfoyle’s point attempt dropped short.

The Royals responded to that setback immediately as Stafford calmly sent Galvin the wrong way from the spot after Cormac Walsh was bundled over close to goal.

Matters deteriorated for the hosts in the 23rd minute as they conceded a second goal with some errant marking allowing Cormac McKenna to punch home at the far post.

With Meath enjoying a monopoly on possession, they finished the half on the front foot with a brace of points in quick succession by Conn Brennan extending their lead to four points by the turnaround.

Dublin resumed in a determined manner and halved their deficit by the 35th minute following well-taken scores by Mo Salami and Max Morrison.

A well-worked McCaghy score in the 40th minute reduced their deficit to the narrowest of margins with Brennan ending a period of poor shooting by Meath with his third point of the contest two minutes later.

Cahill and Harry McGuirk exchanged points early in the final quarter before the Dubs regained the lead when Madden fired home to the roof of the net following an excellent run from deep by David Lombard.

Meath reacted well to regain the initiative through McGuirk’s two-pointer with a flurry of scores in added time leaving them deserving winners by the final whistle.

Scorers – Dublin: P Cahill 1-2 (0-1f); E Madden 1-1; J McCaghy 0-3 (1 tpf); M Morrison, M Salami 0-1 apiece. Meath: M Stafford 1-4 (1-0pen, 0-1f, 0-1 ’45); C McKenna 1-1; H McGuirk (1 tp), C Brennan 0-3 each; D Loughran, L Kavanagh, T McKeever 0-1 apiece.  

Dublin: J Galvin; D Lombard, A Becton, A Davis; C Doran, J McCaghy, B Doyle; C O’Carroll, D Guilfoyle; C O’Dwyer, M Salami, M Morrison; P Cahill, J Heavey, E Madden. Subs: C O’Brien for Guilfoyle (Temp, 16-20), O’Brien for Guilfoyle (half-time), A McDonnell for Heavey (41).

Meath: C Fitzsimons; B Browne, T Clarke, N Rogan; L O’Donoghue, H McGuirk, N Smyth; J Killoran, T Proudfoot; C McKenna, C Brennan, A Keane; C Walsh, M Stafford, D Loughran. Subs: L Kavanagh for Proudfoot (45), T McKeever for Walsh (50).

Referee: Stephen Fagan (Wicklow).