Dessie Levins shines on big occasion for Hunterstown Rovers
WHEN Hunterstown Rovers reflect on this famous win that has brought them back to senior ranks for the first time since the early 1960s they will look on the magnificent contribution of midfielder Dessie Levins as the most telling factor in their 0-9 to 0-8 success over Young Irelands in last Sunday’s Intermediate Final at Knookbridge.
The Louth junior player had a magnificent match, and quite simply the Irelanders had nothing to match him in this vital area as they tasted the bitter experience of slipping to their second defeat in the final in three years. But even they will have to admit that on the day Hunterstown deserved their success for not alone did they notch all but one of their scores from play, they could afford to hit ten wides in the 1st half when they had the wind, and still win it.
The mid-Louth side had the determination, will power and a fair measure of decent football to win what was never a classic, but a good honest game that never threatened to get out of control, even if there were a couple of high tackles that could have been done without.
Hunterstown opened brightly as Dessie Levins lorded it at midfield, helped greatly by the Irelanders’ inability to get any distance into their kick-outs, a failure that was to haunt them throughout the match.
From the time Hunterstown captain Thomas Duff hit the woodwork with what looked like a mis-hit free, the writing was on the wall for the Irelanders as Hunterstown . were getting to the ball first most of the time.
Points from Pat Kilcoyne, Dessie Levins (2) and Stephen Magennis had Hunterstown in the driving seat, and it took the Irelanders until the 22nd minute before they replied through Ollie Leavy, who another to leave them better placed at 0-4 to 0-2 at half-time than they might have hoped.
Time and again Mark Leavy tore holes in the Hunterstown defence, but the scores failed to come.
Only for Thomas Duff eventually found his scoring form Hunterstown would have been in trouble for to shoot 15 wides and still to win was some achievement, and while their forwards worked hard, they were also guilty of not contributing enough considering the chances they had.
HUNTERSTOWN ROVERS:- Padraig Callaghan; Donal Matthews, Tommy Levins, Val Smith; Ciaran Mathews, Jim Mathews, Fintan Levins; John Levins, Dessie Levins (0-2); Stephen Magennis (0-1), Thomas Duff (0-4), Captain, Michael Durnin (0-1); Pat Kilcoyne (0-1), Raymond Callan, Richard Rock. Sub., Fergus Geough fur Rock.