11 August 2020, Piltown
St Colmcilles 4-09
Donaghmore Ashbourne 3-07
The St Colmcilles U15 Division 1 side maintained their winning start to the campaign with a hard fought 5 point win over Donaghmore-Ashbourne in Piltown. The final scoreline of 4-09 to 3-07 was a fair reflection of a game where every ball was vigorously contested and every score hard won.
The visitors got off to a flying start with a goal in the 2ndminute from their very impressive and pacey no 14. But a free soon got Cilles off the mark before Charlie was fouled as he was about to shoot for goal. He netted the penalty and added a second free to bring his and the team’s tally to 1-02. A Ryan shot was then pushed onto the crossbar but Ronan was on hand to finish to the net to leave it 2-02 to 1-00 at the water break.
Cilles then saw a shot come off their post before Ashbourne added a free. Some spectacular fielding from Cilles saw the next couple of scores go to the home side with brilliant catches by Tadg and Aidan rewarded with points from both players. Another free from Ashbourne was cancelled out with a second score by Aidan before Tom Feehan stole upfield to kick a fine point ahead of the break.
The home side led 2-06 to 1-02 at half time with Liam getting to grips with their full forward and thanks to some tight defending by David, Conor B and Leon. Oisin was marshalling things in the centre with Rory and Andrew putting in a good shift as usual in midfield. Cilles were lively up front though there was little ball going into the corners leaving Cian and Ronan to graft hard without seeing a lot of ball. Fionn replaced Conor at the break with Brody coming on for Cian.
Ashbourne showing their intent from the throw-in when they moved the ball swiftly forward with only a great save from Christian averting a three pointer. The resultant 45 was worked short and the visitors got their point. Ryan opened the Cilles 2nd half account with a point before an ever alert Charlie pounced on a loose ball to finish to the net. At 3-07 to 1-03 you would have thought game over but this Ashbourne side were going nowhere. They scored the next point before Charlie replied with another point. The away side pointed again but then Aidan’s persistence saw a hopeful high ball finished for a goal. 4-08 to 1-05 and some breathing space.
Pearse and Caelem were introduced and Mark came in for David. The visitors were putting more long ball in now and were rewarded with a fortuitous goal. Another point and a free which was blasted to the net brought the scoreline to 4-08 to 3-06. It soon became a four point game with another white flag for the visitors before Ryan steadied the ship with a nice point and the game’s closing score. 4-09 to 3-07 at the final whistle.
A good performance from Cilles but the lads will know it was a little inconsistent. There was some great fielding and some excellent scores taken but when we went out of the game for periods the away side punished us. That said it was a real battling performance with no player taking a backward step and plenty of resolve and tenacity on show. 2 wins out of 2, some things to work on – not a bad place to be!
Match report: Tom McLoughlin
