St Patrick’s CS Navan…1-20
Moate CS (Westmeath)…2-10
In so many facets of life, I have absolutely no problem admitting to being a traditionalist. Perhaps to the point of being old fashioned. For example, if I ever do get back farming, more classic machinery will be added to the PZ Haybob 300 and Amazon half tonne fertiliser spinner.
I’d love to add a disk harrow and a Massey Ferguson 30 sower if the opportunity arises. You’re wondering what in the hell this has to do with the match which will dominate the hereafter.
Ponder no more. Rather than the traditional methodology of ploughing, harrowing, sowing and ring rolling, more and more farmers are now operating with a min till system. In other words, stitching the forthcoming crop into the remnants of or debris from the previous.
With the thought process being that one crop will bring on the other. The same dictum can be transplanted into a sporting context too.
In this case, success breeds success. If you want to go back to the Leinster MFC breakthrough of 2020. A watershed moment from which an All Ireland MFC and Leinster U-20 FC win have descended.
Put even more simply, success bred more of itself. The rising tide which brought the above mentioned titles was also a cornerstone of our male senior footballers making it all the way to the last four in the All Ireland SFC this past summer.
And what that in turn has done is give the entire county an incalculable lift. Now, it could easily be said that excitement gives rise to expectation and pressure. But here’s the thing (a) pressure is for tyres and (b) it is from seeing their heroes deliver glory days that spurs the next generation to come along and try to emulate them.
Which is why it’s hardly coincidence that, with the rising tide lapping over Meath football in general, the most recognised football nursery in the county – St Patrick’s Classical School in Navan – appear to have assembled their best looking senior team in a number of years. Having defeated an Athy school in the first round of the Br. Bosco Cup – Leinster Schools SFC A – the Moatlands school put on a clinic against their Westmeath opponents at Simonstown on Thursday afternoon.
It’s usually the case that you’d see lads stand out for St Pat’s or some of the other schools and then track their progress with their clubs but in this instance, things appear to be working the other way around. In that Cormac Smith (Clann Na nGael) and Sean Smyth (Skryne) and Stephen Cahill (Dunsany) and Charlie Finnegan (Seneschalstown) have already laid down markers with either their clubs or the Meath Minors prior to the north Navan school’s campaign commencing.
None of the aforementioned did their already burgeoning prospects any harm here while others with whom this writer was not so familiar such as Billy Bermingham (Ballivor), Conall O’Sullivan (St Michael’s), James Donnelly (Bective), Liam Devine ( Gaeil Colmcille), Nathan Reilly (Simonstown Gaels) and Charles McCarthy (Seneschalstown) are now firmly affixed on the radar.
With the sensational Smith hitting seven points from wing back (two frees), Enda Monaghan’s charges were always in control and, with wind advantage shooting into the scoreboard end, were leading by 0-13 to 0-02 on the run in to half time when classy Cahill rounded Jack Ryan in the Moate goal and rolled the ball into the net to leave 14 points between the sides turning around.
Yes, the was over as a contest at that stage, but in fairness to the Westmeath school – managed by Roscommon half back Niall Daly – they dug in admirably, led by the classy Brian Doyle – and, a well worked goal by Ben Martin and a Tadhg Heavin penalty gave the scoreboard a fairer reflection of what the ultimately vanquished can do.
If one was to be uber critical of the Navan school, you could point out that their opponents put 2-8 on them after half time, but the black and ambers had the heavy lifting well and truly accounted for by then. In fact, if they can produce anything like the football they did in the first half here, it will take a bloody good team to beat them.
St Patrick’s CS – Charlie Finnegan (Seneschalstown 0-2 two-point free); Tadhg Foley (Trim), Billy Birmingham (Ballivor), Conor Reuter (Skryne); Cormac Smith (Clann na nGael 0-7 one two-pointer, one two-point free), Conall O’Sullivan (St. Michael’s), James Donnelly (Bective); Oran Meade (Simonstown Gaels), Seán Smyth (Skryne 0-1); Charles McCarthy (Seneschalstown), Charlie Twomey (Gaeil Colmcille), Liam Devine (Gaeil Colmcille 0-1); CJ Lynch (St Michael’s 0-1), Stephen Cahill (Dunsany 1-3), Nathan Reilly (Simonstown Gaels 0-5 two frees).
Subs – Max Chamberlain (Gaeil Colmcille) for Birmingham 47m, Max Condon (Simonstown Gaels) for McCarthy 55m, Harry Butler (Gaeil Colmcille) for Twomey 55.
Leave a Reply