If score difference becomes crucial later in this championship then Summerhill might look back on tonight’s hammering of Curraha in Páirc Tailteann as a valuable exercise.

But truth be told, this game was well and truly over five minutes into the second half, by which time the champions of 2011 and 2013 had scored 2-3 from five different players, and ended this SFC Group B third round fixture as a contest.

Curraha were first off the mark after a slip up in the Summerhill defense but thereafter it was one way traffic as Conor Frayne, David Larkin, Barry Dardis (goal) and John Keane quickly established dominance on the scoreboard to lead 1-5 to 0-1 after eight minutes of play. Keane, a late replacement for Ciaran Gillespie was particularly dominant in midfield in the early exchanges but unfortunately had to come off due to injury. His replacement John Lavelle got to the pace of the game very quickly on a slippery surface, where ball handling was at times difficult.

The Summerhill defence were very composed throughout and were never afraid to foray forward. Willie Ryan at centre back, Caolin Young, Ronan Ryan and Iarla Hughes snuffed out any potential threat from the Curraha inside line, while Stephen Husband and Padraig Geraghty led the half back line from the wings with great support play and never giving the losers a chance to get any sort of momentum.

The direct running of David Larkin and Kevin Ryan caused endless problems for the Curraha defence, and the artistry and accuracy of Frayne and Dardis kept the crowd entertained and the scoreboard ticking over in equal measure.

Of particular note throughout the game was the quality of the passing and ‘off the shoulder’ running of the Summerhill team, although it must have felt at times that it was just a training session. So bigger tests ahead for sure, but for now it’s another two points in the bag.

Full Time Score: Summerhill 5-27 Curraha 0-7