Moynalvey attoned for the disappointment of losing last years minor championship by defeating Oldcastle in this years Division 3a championship final in a highly entertaining game played in Walterstown on Sunday April 5th.
Moynalvey 4-11 Oldcastle 1-15
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Moynalvey started the brighter of the two sides racing into a four point lead with the aid of two frees from James Kelly and two from play from Mark O’Sullivan before Oldcastle registered their opening score in the 12th minute. Kelly then tagged on another point from play, before Oldcastle added two points of their own. Moynalveys next score came from the boot of the industrious Darren Brennan. In the 22nd a late tackle on William Harnan resulted in James Kelly taking a quick free, feeding the ball into Padraig Harnan on the edge of the square who unselfishly laid the ball back into the path of the on rushing Kelly to duly finish calmly to the net. Kelly also gained the next point of the game within 60 seconds after Moynalvey won the resulting kickout through William Harnan. The teams traded scores in the remaining 8 minutes of the opening half, with Oldacstle grabbing 3 points while Kelly added two more points to his personal tally to leave the scoreline reading 2-8 to 0-7 at the interval.
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Oldcastle opened the scoring on the restart through a pointed free, with Moynalvey replying with a well taken point from Peter Hegarty. Four minutes into the half Moynalvey seemed to be in a comfortable position after Kelly grabbed his hat trick goal. However a baron spell for Moynalvey over the next 16 minutes saw Oldcastle grab the next three points of the game and give them some extra confidence heading into the last 10 minutes of the game. With Oldcastle sensing a recovery may be on the cards, the next two scores of the game were crucial ones from a Moynalvey point of view. These came from a point from the impressive Darren Brennan, quickly followed by a superb individual effort from Mark O’Sullivan who buried the ball low to the corner of the net from distance, raising Moynalveys fourth green flag of the game. Moynalveys next score of the game was a sublime piece of individual talent from Padraig Harnan in the 55th minute, bursting in from the left wing before firing low over the bar, getting his just rewards for his hard graft all game. Although a 10 point lead for Moynalvey at this stage seemed to have them home and dry, a late rally from Oldcastle yielded 1-2, leaving the Moynalvey fans in the crowd tense. However the final whistle blew immediately after the goal, leaving the scoreline 4-11 to 1-15 in favour of the South Meath side.
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This was an excellent game of football in which both teams gave their all, with Moynalveys greater goal power coming to the fore. Moynalvey had outstanding performances all over the pitch, but particular mention must go to Sean Carroll, Anthony Forde, Darren Brennan, Mark O’Sullivan and James Kelly who scored an incredible 3-5. The result sees Moynalveys recent run of juvenile success continue and bodes well for the future with 9 of the starting team u-16.
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Team & scorers: C. Egan, S. Carroll, S. Browne, A. Forde, S. Burke, C. McCabe, D Brennan(0-2), W. Harnan, P. Hegarty(0-1), M O’Sullivan(1-2), C. Gorman, J. Kelly(3-5), P. Harnan(0-1) Subs: S. Egan for Gorman
