Meath 2-10 Dublin 4-16
Two early goals at the start of each half gave Dublin a commanding victory over Meath in Navan in the Under-20’s Leinster semi-final.
Dublin couldn’t have dreamed for a more perfect start and had the linesman raising his green flag for a goal within 30 seconds.
A neat link up between James Madden and James Doran left the latter unmarked for an easy tap into the net seconds from the throw-in to start the game.
The early goal gave Dublin huge confidence and for the course of the first half they played the better football, were first to every ball and linked up beautifully with some fine point taking on display from half-forward Tom Keane.
Keane hit five points in the first half and with further points from Ross McGarry and James Doran to add to his early effort, the Boys in Blue found themselves eight points ahead heading into the final five minutes of the first half.
Meath had found the going tough in the opening half and the early goal meant they were facing an uphill battle.
A strong finish to the half and a penalty from Frank O’Reilly left just three points in it at the break and although Dublin were so dominant from the start, only a goal separated the teams at half time with the scoreboard reading 1-08 to 1-05.
There was a real sense of déjà vu in the opening thirty seconds of the second half with Dublin finding themselves with the ball in the net through Doran to extend the lead to six points and leave Meath with huge work to do.
Dublin then moved up a gear very similar to what we are so used to seeing from their senior colleagues so often.
Dublin had a commanding lead as the game entered the closing minutes leaving the scoreboard looking grim for Meath at 4-14 to 2-10.
The hosts battled bravely and points in the second half for Brian Farrell’s side came from Jordan Morris and Frank O’Reilly with Adam Kealy contributing the final score for the Royals but it’s Dublin who were deserved winners and go through to a decider against Kildare.
Dublin: David O’Hanlon, Nathan Nolan, Nathan Doran, Ciaran Smyth, Kieran Kennedy, Neil Matthews, Eoin O’Dea, Donal Ryan, Cormac Howley (0-1), Tom Keane (0-8), James Madden, Ross McGarry (1-3), Dan O’Brien (0-1), James Doran (2-1), Sean Bugler
Substitutions: Simon King for Kieran Kennedy 20, Glen McNamara for Nathan Nolan 43, Karl Lynch Bissett (1-0) for Cormac Howley 48, James Holland for James Doran 53, Conor Hynes for Tom Keane 55, Eoghan Fitzgerald for Donal Ryan 55
Meath: Andrew Beakey, Robbie Clarke, Conor Harnan, Kieran Slavin, Jason Scully, Eanna O’Kelly Lynch, James Cassidy, Darragh Campion, Adam Murphy, Eoin Smyth, Ethan Devine (0-1), Frank O’Reilly (1-2), James Conlon (0-1), Sean Reilly, Jordan Morris (0-5)
Substitutions: Shane Walsh (0-1) for Sean Reilly 30, Sean Ryan for James Cassidy 37, Adam Kealy (0-1) for Frank O’Reilly 54, Shane McDonnell for Kieran Slavin 55, Ben McGowan for Ethan Devine 55, Brian O’Reilly for Eoin Smyth 59
