A League

unshaughlin 0-9 Blackhall Gael 0-14

Strong finishes to both halves were key as Blackhall Gaels opened their All County A League campaign with a deserved victory over their local rivals and hosts Dunshaughlin.

Dunshaughlin are in the middle of an ambitious upgrade to their facilities and spectators will have to get used to a different backdrop as they watch proceedings on the field. But as usual the pitch was in top class condition for the time of year. The home side had by far the better of the opening exchanges and were 0-4 to 0-1 to the good after 11 minutes. Trevor Dowd opened the scoring after three minutes with a free. Blackhall equalised three minutes later only for Conor Devereux to put the Black and Amber outfit in the lead again in the 8th minute following great work from Conor Staunton. Straight from the kickout neat interplay between Cathal O’Dwyer and Devereux set Dowd up for a fine score fron play. The hosts were totally top at this stage and Dowd extended their advantage further with a free. However they failed to build on this and became wasteful in possession and were left to particularly rue five efforts which dropped short into the keepers hands. In the meantime Blackhall clicked into gear and outscored their opponents 0-7 to 0-2 in the second quarter with only a great point from play by Devereux and a free on the stroke of half time by Dowd the only times Dunshaughlin worked the young scoreboard operator. Blackhall went in at the break 0-8 to 0-6 up.

The first 11 minutes of the second half provided poor fare for the hardy souls in attendance as neither side got off the mark. Then two points in as many minutes by Dowd and Devereux brought Dunshaughlin level. Another Dowd free cancelled out a Blackhall point and meant the sides were level as the teams entered the crucial final ten minutes. It was the Kilcloon/Batterstown combination who displayed superior early season fitness as they finished much the stronger with five points in the closing exchanges. It was a mixed bag of a performance from Dunshaughlin and they will be worried that they only had two scorers over the hour. Best for the hosts were evergreen Ken McTigue, Caoimhin King, Ray Maloney, Trevor Dowd and Conor Devereux.

Dunshaughlin – Ronan Gogan, Alastair Doyle, Ken McTigue, Mick Ahern, Eoin Hagarty, Denis Kealy, Caoimhin King, Ray Maloney, John Crimmins, Conor Staunton, Trevor Dowd (0-6, 5 frees), Cathal O’Dwyer, Tadgh O’Dushlaine, Niall Murphy, Conor Devereux (0-3). Substitutes – Martin Reilly for Murphy, Tommy Johnson for Crimmins, Niall Kelly for Staunton, Paddy McHale for Maloney