Dunboyne……0-05
Mourneabbey (Cork)…6-17
On the evening Dunboyne defeated Seneschalstown to retain their Meath LSFC title, the point was made here that our ladies – and many others besides them – were inspired by the Yellow Furze club to go on and emulate them. There is no apparent reason why a similar scenario cannot play out following today’s disappointing conclusion to what has been a classy, glorious and wholly uplifting journey.
Brendan Quinn’s team were not just taking on a team today, they were opposed by a machine, a force of nature. Consider that the Leesiders stand on the cusp of a third consecutive All Ireland title, having emerged from their county and province six years on the spin.
Now consider that half a dozen seasons ago, Dunboyne had just earned promotion to the top table in their own county having only been re-affiliated as an adult team two years previously. Yes they had won All Ireland titles at Junior and Intermediate along the way but compared to those who they came up against today, it would akin to Leicester City – brave, talented and there on merit – taking on Bayern Munich in a Champions League Final – the aristocracy.
Undoubtedly the biggest disappointment to the Meath side this evening will be the feeling that they didn’t do themselves justice, but the reality of the situation is they were never allowed to. The 4/11 favourites had in their corner Shane Ronayne who is this code’s equivalent to Mick O’Dwyer or Jim Gavin. Evidently he had his analysis well done too.
Exhibit A being a high pressing game good enough to make Jurgen Klopp drool with the twin objectives of stifling Dunboyne’s fluid passing, hard running game, thereby starving Vikki Wall and Emma Duggan of possession. To be fair, it wasn’t just about the Dynamic Duo, any of the front unit are more than capable of being game changers in their own right but alas custodianship of the leather is nine tenths of the law.
With the ball doing their bidding for the entirety of the contest and seasoned campaigners of the calibre of the four O’Sullivan sisters – Ciara and Doireann in particular – and Louise Fitzgerald used all their guile and experience to ruthlessly and with clinical precision ease their way into another decider.
From a Dunboyne viewpoint, one can only feel devastated but forever proud. Whatever doesn’t break us will only leave us stronger. What’s important now is to keep this team together. Ye are a great team, a winning team, and though the journey may be over for now, the odyssey has only just begun.
Leave a Reply