St Peter's, Dunboyne 4-11 | St Brigid's 5-06

Our second-string footballers kept their hopes of reaching the League semi-finals alive with a deserved two-point victory over St Brigid's on a dry but blustery morning in Dunboyne. Following the Division 1 side's titanic win in Ashbourne last night, the Division 4 team ensured the positive momentum continued.

Playing with the elements in the first half, the visitors struck for three goals, remarkably without registering a single point. Dunboyne responded through Conor Murphy, who finished an excellent sweeping move with a superb team goal. At the break, the scoreboard read:

Dunboyne 1-04 (2f) | St Brigid's 3-00

St Brigid's made a dream start to the second half, finding the net within 60 seconds of the restart before adding their first point to stretch the lead to six. Cathal Melia responded shortly afterwards, bundling the goalkeeper, full-back line and, most importantly, the ball into the back of the St Brigid's net. After nine minutes of the second half, the score stood at: Dunboyne 2-04 (2f) St Brigids 4-02 (1f)

The game opened up from there, with both sides producing some excellent attacking football. Luke Harte landed the game's only two-pointer on 11 minutes, while Murphy struck for his second goal five minutes later with a composed finish to put Dunboyne ahead for the first time. Murphy then turned provider, setting up Dara Nolan for a goal on 18 minutes.

To their credit, St Brigid's—whose semi-final place was already secured—continued to play positive football and edged back in front by the minimum margin in the 29th minute. However, young substitutes Eoghan MacDonald (0-01) and Andrew Norman (0-02) stepped up when it mattered most, helping Dunboyne regain the lead and secure the two points on offer.

There were strong performances throughout the team. Jamie McCormack's kick-outs were excellent from start to finish, while the back six defended superbly as a unit. Ronan Duggan, who was outstanding all morning, and Jack Doyle formed an effective midfield partnership. Up front, the movement and work rate never dropped, and the forwards showed great discipline in their use of possession.

Attention now turns to the final group game against St Ultan's in two weeks' time, once again in Dunboyne. It will be another huge test for this group, who will need a victory to secure a semi-final place by this scribe’s reckoning.

Team

Jamie McCormack; Briain Comiskey, Pauric Lavin, Paul Dempsey (0-01); Oran Boylan, Lorcan Conway, Andrew Norman (0-02); Jack Doyle, Ronan Duggan; Tadgh Brennan (0-02f), Cathal Melia (1-01), Luke Harte (0-03, 1 two-pointer); Johnny Pearl, Conor Murphy (2-00), Dara Nolan (1-01).

Subs

Eoghan MacDonald (0-01) for Norman; Paul Magee for Pearl; Aidan Flynn for Harte (blood substitution); Andrew Norman for Brennan.

Pictured: Conor Murphy who scored 2 goals for Dunboyne Div4 side vs St. Brigids