AIB Leinster Club SFC: Dominant Summerhill advance to the quarter-finals
Summerhill players Kevin Lyons, right, and Adam McDonnell after their side's victory in the AIB Leinster GAA Football Senior Club Championship round 1 match between Summerhill and Killoe Young Emmets at Páirc Tailteann in Navan, Meath. Photo by Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
AIB Leinster Club SFC Round One
Summerhill 2-22 Killoe Young Emmets 1-16
By Paul Keane at Pairc Tailteann, Navan
For well over 20 years, the AIB Leinster club SFC has been a competition that Meath clubs simply haven't been able to crack.
The last Meath finalist was Skryne, in 2004, and the last Meath club to actually win it, two years earlier again, was Dunshaughlin.
Summerhill have enjoyed provincial success though, in 1977, and perhaps they will strike another blow for the Royal County with their latest talented team.
Their display for the last 35 or so minutes of this opening round encounter certainly suggested that they are capable of going far.
Sure, they will have their work cut out to beat Kildare champions Athy under lights in Newbridge next Saturday week.
But they have a terrific and in-form midfield in Adam McDonnell and Adam Flanagan who registered 1-4 between them.
And county captain Eoghan Frayne remains one of the most exciting talents in the country, delivering once again for his club here with five points.
There was a cameo too from wing-back Jame O'Shea who struck 1-2, including the vital first goal that hauled The Hill right back after a slow first 25 minutes.
Killoe, desperate to pick up a first win in this competition since beating another Meath side, Navan O'Mahonys, in 2015, capitalised on the wind advantage initially to lead 1-10 to 0-7.
Paddy Moran clipped four first-half points for the 15-times Longford champions and when Larry Moran netted in the 26th minute, Killoe were in a decent spot with that six-point lead.
The buildup to the goal underlined just how much pressure Killoe were applying in that period as Daniel Mimnagh and Ciaran Farrelly both had shots for points before ex-Longford and AFL player Michael Quinn gathered up the ball next to the right endline and played it across for Larry Moran to convert.
Unfortunately for Killoe, it was all downhill from there because they only scored six more points, and just two from open play.
Summerhill, meanwhile, responded with a 28th minute goal by defender O'Shea who, in truth, didn't know much about it when the ball deflected in off him after Frayne had contested a high ball in from Diarmuid McCabe.
O'Shea closed out the first-half scoring with a point and suddenly there was just a point in it.
Kevin Ryan tied it up with a Summerhill point after the restart, 1-11 to 1-11, before Frayne knocked over a two-point free.
Goalkeeper Sean Muddiman added a point from a 45 and when Diarmuid McCabe pointed soon after for Summerhill, he punched the air in celebration, realising they'd seized back control, 1-15 to 1-11.
Killoe didn't offer much in return throughout the second-half as Summerhill locked down midfield and brought their superior conditioning and quality to bear in the tough conditions.
McDonnell played in the ball from the right wing for Flanagan to palm in their second goal in the 46th minute, opening up a 2-15 to 1-12 lead at that stage.
A four-in-a-row of Summerhill points then from Conor Lyons, John Lavelle, Frayne and Liam Shaw left them well in the clear.
Summerhill scorers: Jamie O'Shea 1-2, Eoghan Frayne 0-5 (1 tpf, 1f), Adam McDonnell 0-4 (1 tp), Adam Flanagan 1-0, Diarmuid McCabe 0-2, Sean Muddiman 0-2 (2 45), Liam Shaw 0-2, Conor Frayne 0-1, David Larkin 0-1, Kevin Ryan 0-1, Conor Lyons 0-1, John Lavelle 0-1.
Killoe Young Emmets scorers: Paddy Moran 0-7 (5f), Larry Moran 1-0, Michael Hughes 0-2 (tpf), Paddy Kiernan 0-2 (tp), James Moran 0-2, Mark Hughes 0-1, Cian Farrelly 0-1, Ronan McGoldrick 0-1.
Summerhill: Sean Muddiman; Iarla Hughes, Ronan Ryan, Ben Moran; Jack Bannon, Ross Ryan, Jamie O'Shea; Adam McDonnell, Adam Flanagan; Diarmuid McCabe, Kevin Ryan, David Larkin; Conor Frayne, Eoghan Frayne, Liam Shaw.
Subs: Padhraig Geraghty for Bannon 43, Conor Lyons for O'Shea 48, John Lavelle for Hughes 48, Barry Dardis for Conor Frayne 55, Kevin Lyons for Larkin 57.
Killoe Young Emmets: Michael Hughes; Liam Hughes, Darren Moffett, Ryan Moffett; James Moran, Niall Farrelly, Gavin Farrelly; Michael Quinn, Ronan Keogh; Paddy Kiernan, Daniel Mimnagh, Cian Farrelly; Larry Moran, Paddy Moran, Mark Hughes.
Subs: Ronan McGoldrick for Larry Moran 47, Cian Dooner for Kiernan 50, Evan Farrelly for Cian Farrelly 55, Gavin Hughes for Keogh 56.
Referee: Alan Coyne (Westmeath).
