U20 Footballers edge out Meath in Eirgrid Leinster Championship tie

DUBLIN 0-13 

MEATH 1-7

Dublin delivered an impressive second-half performance when accounting for Meath by three points in their Eirgrid Leinster Under 20 Football Championship Group 3 Round 3 encounter at Parnell Park on Tuesday evening.

Both teams had registered comfortable wins over Westmeath in their opening fixture, securing a place in the knockout stages irrespective of the result, but it was the hosts that advanced to the last four after a strong showing after the break.

Dublin led by 0-6 to 0-3 at the break with Meath ruing a number of missed chances and despite Charlie O’Connor netting in the early stages of the second-half, Dublin regained their control with Finn Bruton and Greg McEneaney playing key roles for the winners.

It was the visitors that looked the sharpest initially, forcing a couple of turnovers, but some poor wides undermined their challenge as Dublin opened the scoring through Clyde Burke in the 5^th minute.

An excellent Rian Stafford point levelled matters a minute later but the hosts were proving more clinical in front of goal as they pushed two points clear by the 10^th minute thanks to Luke O’Boyle and Jamie McCarville.

With the breeze at their backs, Dublin continued to impress in terms of their shooting with Greg McEneaney driving forward from centre-back to kick a superb effort from distance two minutes later.

That effort was matched at the opposite end by John Harkin in the 14^th minute but another trio of wides from presentable positions left Meath facing a two-point deficit by the 20^th minute.

They finally halved their deficit a minute later through a straightforward Jamie Murphy free as Dublin’s ability to create chances began to wane as the half evolved.

Having dropped two attempts just short, Burke doubled his own tally with a cracking effort in the 28^th minute and a Paul Reynolds Hand free in added time left Dublin three points (0-6 to 0-3) to the good by half-time.

It didn’t take Meath too long to erode their deficit as a speculative attempt from Cian Commons in the 33rd minute dropped short but Charlie O’Connor was on hand to flick home past David Leonard in the Dublin goal.

The response to this setback was hugely positive from a Dublin perspective as substitute Joe Quigley restored their lead from a ‘mark’ two minutes later while Reynolds Hand converted a free from distance in the 37^th minute to help mitigate the concession of the goal.

Another superbly struck free from the St Vincent’s player four minutes later added to Dublin’s momentum despite a point on the counter-attack at the opposite end by Rian McConnell.

Further points from McEneaney and McCarville pushed Dublin four points clear by the end of the third quarter but their opponents refused to buckle as they hit back with the next two scores through McConnell and Eamon Amstrong.

A Hughie Corcoran free left the bare minimum between the sides by the 55^th minute but a sumptuous McEneaney point three minutes later helped restore Dublin’s equilibrium.

Meath launched a few late attacks in search of an elusive winning goal but the final score belonged to a jinking Quigley as the Dubs saw out the game in an impressive manner.

Scorers – Dublin: P Reynolds Hand (3f), G McEneaney 0-3 each, C Burke, J Quigley (1 mark), J McCarville 0-2 each, L O’Boyle 0-1. Meath: C O’Connor 1-0, R McConnell 0-2, E Armstrong, R Stafford, J Harkin, J Murphy (f), H Corcoran (f) 0-1 apiece.

Dublin: D Leonard; S Kirwan, F Bruton, E Nugent; J Smith, G McEneaney, M Gardiner; C McMorrow, D Murphy; M McNally, P Reynolds Hand, C Burke; L O’Boyle, J McCarville, K Flynn. Subs: J Quigley for Flynn (half-time), P Kelly for Reynolds Hand (54), S Ryan for Burke (54), D Kettle for McCarville (58), J Brady for Smith (61).

Meath: O McDermott; L Kelly, S O’Hare, B O’Halloran; E Armstrong, J O’Regan, K Smyth; J Kinlough, C O’Connor; R Stafford, J Harkin, C Duke; R McConnell, C Commons, J Murphy. Subs: H Corcoran for Murphy (38), T Martyn for O’Connor (42), J Harford for Harkin (46), S Leonard for Stafford (54), C Ennis for Smyth (58).

Referee: Enda Kelly (Westmeath).