Derby showdown lives up to billing

THE eagerly awaited Tailteann Cup semi-final between these fierce rivals proved a hard-fought and closely contested affair, with Drumconrath emerging winners to set up a decider with parish neighbours Meath Hill.

This tie failed to take place when originally fixed on St Patrick’s Day, but the long delay, not of Drumconrath’s making, resulted in the north Meath side having four players who would not have been available back then - Terry Skelly, Graham Tighe, Brendan Lyons and Wayne Reilly - back in the fold.

They made the better start, with Stephen Crosby pointing within 20 seconds, before Derek Duff (free) and Skelly added further points.

The impressive Podge McGowan got Slane off the mark with the first of his five opening-half points. However, Drumconrath continued to dominate and they were further boosted by a Paul Tighe goal after the full forward was set up by his brother Graham on eight minutes.

Further points from Skelly (two), Duff (two frees) and Jamie Myles left Drumconrath seven clear and they could easily have been further ahead had they made better use of the chances created. They were forced to settle for a 1-9 to 1-6 interval lead after Slane staged a rally close to half-time.

McGowan kept the scoreboard ticking over for Slane and they received a massive boost when Alan Harding found the net on 25 minutes. Harding had earlier opened his account with a point. Slane closed the gap to two points before Skelly had the last point of the half.

The third quarter was an evenly matched affair, with Matthew Tully, Eanna Mooney and Jim Marry pointing for Slane, while Brendan Lyons (two) and Tomás Conlon were on target for Drumconrath in the same period.

Alan Harding was unfortunate to see a goal effort crash off the crossbar before Mooney converted a free and that closed the gap to two points - 1-10 to 1-12.

Slane had the momentum with them at that stage, but Drumconrath showed great resolve and responded with points from Lyons and substitute Daniel Byrne, a score which proved the difference between the sides at the final whistle.

Slane fought tooth and nail to save the game and Mooney converted two frees, while substitute Danny Carolan was also on target. That resulted in a tense finale, but Slane ran out of time as Drumconrath held on for a first-ever Tailteann Cup Final appearance.