An evening that started off with perfect sunny conditions in Grangegodden turned to cloud and misty rain as Gaeil Colmcille aimed to pick up their first win of the A League Division 3.
Kells got off to the better start, with two early points from play from Cormac Mattimoe followed by another from Gary Arkins. The lead was cancelled out after 9 minutes when Ratoath scored their opening goal. Mattimoe restored the Kells lead almost immediately, only for Ratoath to equalise shortly after.
At this stage, Arkins and Mattimoe were well on top, with both players accounting for a further two points each, with Ratoath then following up with their second point. Midfielder Ajay Tormey then found himself on the edge of the square and after a clever sidestep he calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner. Ratoath then had another goal chance straight after this, only to be denied by an excellent save from Sean Thornton who deflected the ball over the bar.
Both sides traded the next five scores, with three scores coming from Stephen Reddy, Arkins and Mattimoe separated by one Ratoath point from play and one from a free, before referee Eamon Barry blew the half time whistle.
After the restart, Ratoath cut the deficit to three points with an early goal from play. Another Arkins point from play was cancelled out by one from Ratoath, before 3 points from Cormac O’Reilly, Arkins and Fionn Smith restored the six point lead. Alex Williams was also unlucky not to get on the scoresheet during this spell, as he rattled the underside of the crossbar.
Ratoath scored the next point, and Zak Griffin scored Gaeil Colmcille’s final point with almost 10 minutes left to play. The Kells defence showed great resilience under serious pressure, restricting Ratoath to just three more points from play. Kristapus Vitkauskas was unlucky in the final stages to see his shot rebound off the butt of the post at the end of an excellent run through the heart of the Ratoath defence. Fortunately, the extra goal wasn’t needed as the lads held out for a 3 point win, with all bar one point coming from play.
A big thanks to Cormac O’Reilly who starred and wrote the report for gaeilcolmcille.ie
Gaeil Colmcille: Sean Thornton, Kristapus Vitkauskas, Liam Byrne, Max Finlay, Fionn Smith (0-01), Cormac Ferguson, Cormac O’Reilly (0-01), Ajay Tormey (1-00), Sean Cleary, Niall Williams, Zak Griffin (0-01), Stephen Reddy (0-01), Alex Williams, Gary Arkins (0-06, 0-01f), Cormac Mattimoe(0-06)
Subs: Gary McGovern for Arkins, Shane Freeman for Reddy, Conal Gormley for N. Williams
