Gill allows Rathnew to breathe again after battle

The club championship has redefined passion. Yesterday, on the sort of raw Navan day that left nobody with any place to hide, Dunshaughlin and Rathnew slugged it out only to discover that they would have to renew acquaintances all over again.

It won't be a meeting of old friends. This first meeting finished seven minutes into injury time and, at the end of a tough and uncompromising affair, both sides only had 14 players on the pitch.

The bad blood between the Meath and Wicklow representatives continued after the final whistle as players jostled, pushed and shoved each other on the way into the tunnel under the stand.

Yet, Rathnew - who seemed down and out when centre half back Mark Coffey was dismissed in the 45th minute - had most reason to savour the drawn result. Shortly after Coffey received his marching orders, a Trevor Dodd free put Dunshaughlin five points ahead; but that was to be the Meath team's final score and Rathnew's response was to fire over five unanswered points, the last of them coming six minutes into added time which referee James O'Reilly quite correctly allowed for stoppages.

The last lengthy interruption came on the stroke of what would have been full-time which resulted in Dunshaughlin's Aidan Kealy receiving his marching orders and Ronan Coffey, the victim of his challenge, receiving attention for almost three minutes.

Similarly, the earlier dismissal of Mark Coffey also caused a long halt to play and, indeed, Richie Kealy, who suffered a facial injury in that incident, was unable to play any further part in the game.

Rathnew's cool head in those decisive closing minutes was freetaker Tommy Gill. Although possessing a rather curious prekick routine which invariably commenced with his back to the goalposts, Gill successfully converted four out of five frees while the impressive Trevor Doyle scored a point from play in the middle of the sequence.

Such late heroics was forced upon Rathnew by a Dunshaughlin side who made the better use of their possession, particularly in the first half. While Rathnew were slow when it came to their decision-making and on occasions appeared reluctant to make the final pass, often after good buildup work, Dunshaughlin's judgment was more precise.

In fact, Dunshaughlin's clinical mood was emphasised most effectively in the 10th minute. The move that led to the Meath club's first goal combined some swift interchanging out of defence before Aidan Kealy launched a huge kick from the middle of the field over the Rathnew full-back line and in to Trevor Dowd whose finish to the net was exemplary.

Then, in the 26th minute, Dunsahughlin struck for a second goal. Their captain, Dermot Kealy, made a strong run into opposition territory and was halted in illegal fashion once inside the square when he went to kick goalwards.

Denis Kealy was dispatched from the half-back line to take the resulting penalty but his initial effort was superbly saved by Rathnew goalkeeper Tommy Murphy only for the penalty-taker to fire home the rebound.

Dunshaughlin held a 2-2 to 0-3 lead at the interval and appeared to be holding onto that advantage with some degree of comfort. Coffey's dismissal, for a second yellow card, gave Dunshaughlin the numerical edge and for slightly over five minutes their play reflected such superiority. However, the chance which Dunshaughlin will most rue is the one that fell to David Tonge at this juncture - the substitute's close-range shot was superbly saved by Murphy, who turned the ball around the post for a 45 which, in turn, was sent wide.

Once Gill kicked over a free in the 50th minute, however, the tempo of the game changed. Rathnew were more focused on the job and launched a series of attacks, most of which resulted in Dunshaughlin defenders fouling the opposing forwards rather than allowing them the chance of getting within striking distance of goal.

This tactic may have halted any prospects of a Rathnew goal, but it enabled Gill to show off his free-taking technique with some success.

DUNSHAUGHLIN: R Gogan; F Gogan, K McTigue, C Byrne; Denis Kealy (1-0), A Kealy, R Yore; Dermot Kealy, G Dowd (0-1); N Kelly, P McHale, B Kealy; R Kealy (0-1, free), D Crimmins, T Dowd (1-3, three frees). Subs: D Tonge for R Kealy (46 mins); S Clare for Crimmins (50 mins); G Blake for Byrne (54 mins); M McHale for P McHale (56 mins).

RATHNEW: T Murphy; L Glynn, E White, C Murphy; E Freaney, M Coffey, B Menagh; D Coffey, R Dignam; J Snell (0- 1), T Doyle (0-3), A Mernagh; T Gill (0-7, frees), R Coffey, S Byrne. Subs: K Doyle for Freaney (38 mins); K Gill for Byrne (55 mins).

Referee: J O'Reilly (Longford).