BRU NA BOINNE…2-09
LOUGHCREW GAELS…0-14
If there were any remaining doubters about the merits of either the fruits of the labour input by Jim Gavin’s Football Review Committee (FRC) or indeed the viability of the Meath Regional Football Championship, the mute button can surely be hit on them.
For in this enthralling Richie Barry Cup semi final at Dunganny on Friday night, the perks and perils of the FRC’s innovations were on full display. Unfortunately for Lough Crew, their experiencing of both over the course of the hour ended up costing them their final berth.
It had all began so positively for Davy Nelson’s side. With Moylagh’s Sean Reilly – one of this writer’s favourite ‘uncapped’ players in the county – chose to tap and go from a free and split the posts from 40 metres.
Then the Ballinlough boys – Harry Ryan and Daire Shine – ensured Tom Lynch won’t have the press coverage all to himself this week when slotting fine scores. Around the same time, the again impressive CJ Healy curled over an exquisite effort to leave those in the eye catching purple jerseys clear by 0-04 to O-00.
That was after 23 minutes, but incredibly, Nelson’s pillars wouldn’t score again for a total of 27 minutes either side of half time. In the midst of that drought at one end, John McCarthy’s team hit 2-7 without riposte at the other.
The goals coming from highly influential midfielder Sean Emannuel and corner forward Nigel Hand of St Vincent’s, while Hand, Conor Harford, Tom Bowden, Adam Tuite (two) and Ben Loughran all chipped in with points as, somewhat incredibly, Bru Na Boinne found themselves clear by 2-07 to 0-04 clear.
However, and the following is meant in the most complimentary terms possible, north Meath folk are nothing if not obdurate. Thus it went that, inch by inch, point by point, the Oldcastle/Ballinlough/Moylagh/St Brigid’s combination reeled in the Bru crew.
The very accurate Shine – playing despite the passing of his grandfather Paddy – Sean Geraghty, Oran Mulvany, Reilly and sub Cormac Browne (two each) incredibly deadlocked the sides with seven minutes to go.
Equally difficult to fathom, though, is that there was only one more score before the long whistle. And it was in the concession of same that the hitherto ebullient Lough fell foul of the perils of the FRC dictums. As one of their troops took exception to the award of a free against them.
Upon which the ball was advanced to the 21 metre line, leaving Nigel Hand with the simplest of tasks to clip over the winner.
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