This was a fast paced encounter in Ashbourne with both sides intent on keeping their recent good form going. However it was the visitors who were able to keep their opponents at arms length for most of this contest. Conor Lyons opened the scoring from play after 5 minutes and followed up with one from a free, but a pivotal moment occurred when Diarmuid McCabe converted the first of two penalties after 10 minutes of play. Further points from McCabe and Conor Frayne underlined Summerhill’s dominance before the water break, but the home side were just getting going and hit for a well worked goal immediately after the restart. A point immediately by McCabe after that slight hiccup was followed by a great goal from Conor Lyons after a fisted pass from Willie Ryan on 24 minutes. Two more points from the boots of Lyons and Frayne brought the halftime score to 2-06 to 1.03.

Playing into the setting sun , the breeze and the ‘hill’, Summerhill had it all to do in the second half. The Hill defense worked tirelessly to thwart several attacks by the men in green and white, even losing Paul Larkin for 10 minutes as he ‘took one for the team,’ in the process. They pushed on, and were rewarded with another goal on 35 minutes, this time from David Dalton who has recovered from a knee injury and making his first start. Andrew Tormey was a constant thorn in the side, showing why he was a great Meath servant for years by directing midfield, and setting up a sublime second goal for his team on 50 minutes.

Several of the Ashbourne attacks were broken up, and one such event allowed Summerhill to sweep up the field in numbers. Aaron Williams, who had just come on for Cian Devlin was hauled down in the square after getting on the end of a great move. The resulting penalty was hammered home with panache by McCabe on 21 minutes and the game was as good as over. The last word was with David Larkin who scored a fine individual effort to close out the game.

Summerhill team.
Tony McDonnell, Padraig Jennings, Caolan Young, Ross Ryan; Cian Devlin, Paul Larkin, John Lavelle; Willie Ryan, Micheal Byrne; Conor Lyons(1.03), Diarmuid McCabe(2-01), Liam Shaw(0-2); David Larkin(0-1), Davy Dalton(1.00), Conor Frayne.(0-3)

Subs
Ciaran Gillespie for Micheal Byrne, 38 minutes
Iarla Hughes for Padraig Jennings, 47 mins
Aaron Williams for Cian Devlin 48 mins
Jamie O’Shea for Liam Shaw 56 mins
Eamonn McDonnell for Conor Lyons 56 mins