A-League Div 1 Rd 9

Author: Dermot Clarke

Summerhill came out with a one point win in a cracking game played in ideal conditions on a lovely Friday evening in Summerhill. The game ebbed and flowed throught out with momentum swinging one way and then the other. The Navan men looked dead and buried when they trailed by 9 points half way through the 2nd half but to their credit they come back to lead by a point with time running out but a Conor Frayne free and a punched point from Davy Dalton secured the points for the home side.

O’Mahony’s started the game much brighter and raced into a 1-7 to 4 point lead after 15 minutes with the Bray brothers particularly prominent. At this point O’Mahony’s lost center half back Cormac Reilly to a black card and this seemed to upset their rhythm. Summerhill finally started to gain a foothold around the middle and scores 5 unanswered points. Then a shot from Padhraig Geraghty looped in over the head of the Navan keeper to give the Summerhill men the lead for the first time since the opening minutes. At the break Summerhill lead on a scoreline of 1-11 to 8 points.
Summerhill continued where they left off in the second half with Barry Dardis particularly prominent. They lost Willie Ryan through injury early in the half following an accidental clash with team mate Padhraig Geraghty but his replacement Donal Feeley made an instant impact finding the back of the net with one of his first touches. Four more unanswered points, including a first senior score for substitute Rod McAuliffe stretched the lead out to nine points. Summerhill also lost Ronan Ryan to injury and John Keane to a black card and this disrupted their flow and Navan to their credit fought their way back into the game. Indeed Summerhill’s keeper Tony McDonnell made a number of fine saves to keep them in the game. The Navan comeback was complete as they took the lead with time almost up but Summerhill kept their composure and the 2 late points secured the win. Next up for Summerhill is local rivals Moynalvey.
Full Time Score: Summerhill 2-19 : 3-15 O’Mahonys
Team: Tony McDonnell,Ronan Ryan, Caolan Young, Willie Ryan,Padhraig Geraghty(1-2), Iarla Hughes, Ross Ryan, Micheal Byrne (0-1,1f), Paddy McGrath, John Lavelle (0-1), Barry Dardis (0-4), John Keane (0-2), Davey Dalton(0-2), Liam Shaw(0-2), Conor Frayne (0-4,3f).
Subs: Donal Feeley (1-0) for Willie Ryan, Stephen Husband for John Keane (Black Card) , Rod McAuliffe (0-1) for Ronan Ryan