Pat’s boys triumph after late goals blitz
ST PATRICK’S DUNBOYNE 5-8 3-7
FOUR goals in the last 10 minutes turned this Under-13 Division 2 decider on its head as St Patrick’s steamrolled St Peter’s Dunboyne with a stunning finish to capture the silverware at Dunganny.
On a perfect evening for football the two teams did not disappoint as they produced a pulsating match that could have gone either way right up to the final moments.
Dunboyne started like a greyhound out of the traps and were 1-2 to the good after the opening five minutes, with St Pat’s seriously rattled.
It was backs-to-the-wall stuff for the majority of the first half, but they clung on and stayed in touch with three fine points from Jamie Murphy (2) and the productive and hard-working Mannion.
Miraculously, the Stamullen boys only conceded 1-5 in the opening half and this was primarily down to the heroics of Daanish Akhtar and James Rowe in the full back line who fought like warriors to contain the flamboyant Dunboyne inside forwards.
Adam Kirby then provided a much-needed oxygen boost on the stroke of half-time with a superb goal, punching a high ball to the net to leave Dunboyne leading by just two points - 1-5 to 1-3.
The break in play provided an opportunity for St Pat’s to reorganise and regroup, and within five minutes of the restart the sides were level.
Eoin Brennan and Aman Akhtar started to dominate in the half back line, but it was Ben McDonnell who really starred taking the game to the opposition with a relentless drive from left half back. This provided the platform for Hackett, Keogh and McDonagh to cause problems up front and for Murphy to score two more points.
Dunboyne responded with a goal and with 15 minutes to go the game was finely balanced, with St Pat’s one point in arrears.
Oisin Black’s quick kickouts were crucial at this stage, always finding a teammate in space to attack, while the likes of Jamie Murphy, Mannion, Tadgh Lenihan, Daithi Murphy and Donal Farrell were all prominent.
Entering the final 10 minutes Dunboyne scored another goal to put their noses in front, but that just inspired St Pat’s into producing a final flurry of scores.
Inspirational captain Sean Emmanuel swung the game in favour of the Stamullen boys with a quickfire 2-1 and McDonagh and Hackett added two more goals before Kirby put the icing on the cake with a point from a near-impossible angle right on the stroke of full-time.
Not for the first time this season, St Pat’s had found a way to win when all the odds were stacked against them, and as well as the players credit must go to mentors Niall Black, Pat Mannion and Nadeem Akhtar, and the club would like to thank team sponsors Joe and Gloria McGuinness of Washingtons Dry Cleaners in Drogheda for all their support.
ST PATRICK’S: Oisin Black, James Rowe, Daanish Akhtar, Eoin Brennan, Aman Akhtar, Ben McDonnell, John Mannion 0-1, Sean Emmanuel 2-1, Duguid McDonagh 1-0, Tadgh Lenihan, Donal Farrell, Gareth Keogh, Jamie Murphy 0-5, Sean Hackett 1-0, Adam Kirby 1-1, Daithi Murphy.