Corn Na Boinne Group C – Round 2: Longwood 0-4 Dunshaughlin 1-18

Longwood endured a disappointing night against an impressive Dunshaughlin outfit in Round 2 of the Corn Na Boinne Cup.

Both teams entered the game on the back of opening round defeats, and the men from Dunshaughlin were quick to show their intent as they stormed into a six-point lead with just fifteen minutes on the clock. Their pace and incisive running were too much for Longwood to handle. The lead had extended to nine points by the time Sean Coloe registered the first score for the home team, a trademark long distance point from the returning midfield general.

Unfortunately, it was only a brief respite as the men in black and amber pushed on, taking an eleven-point lead to the dressing rooms at half-time.

With the game essentially over, Longwood took the opportunity to blood some of their younger players and give them a taste of adult football. Ryan Moore tried valiantly to show some leadership, scoring three second half points and, to their credit, the boys battled right to the end but had little to show for their efforts. A late red card for Aaron Ennis and an injury to Niall Mulvey only compounded the home team’s misery.

Dunshaughlin ran out deserving winners in the end and they will rightly enter the season as hot favourites for Intermediate championship success. They have a talented squad, brimming with county senior and U20 players, many of whom were in the dug-out cheering on their club mates.

Longwood are understandably a few weeks behind other teams in terms of fitness, but they will have time to address that in the coming weeks. While the scoreline is disappointing, we must remember that it was a Division 1 team playing a Division 4 team and Longwood were always going to be up against it, particularly when missing a bunch of their most experienced players.

The players know there is a lot of work to do but these boys have never shied away from hard work, and we can be sure they will do all that is asked of them and more. There will be brighter days ahead.

On a positive note, it was fantastic to see Scout Hanna, Donal Stagg, Louis Butler and Sam Dixon all make their first appearance for Longwood’s adult team. Every day is a school day, and these young lads can only benefit from the experience. They will learn from their more experienced team-mates on the training fields in the weeks and months ahead and we look forward to seeing them in a Longwood jersey for many years to come.

Next up for Longwood is a home game against Walterstown on Thursday evening @ 8.00.

Longwood: Seán O’Shea, Paul Gill, Niall Mulvey, Scout Hanna (Capt.), Adam O’Brien, Bob Maguire, Ciaran Sheridan, Sean Coloe (0-1), Anthony Healy, David McQuaid, Thomas Coloe, Ross Kerrigan, Aaron Ennis, Ryan Moore (0-3), Dean Keogh. Subs: Jacob Baldwin for Niall Mulvey, Josh Meagher for Dean Keogh, Gavin Griffin for David McQuaid, Cathal Campbell for Adam O’Brien, Louis Butler for Paul Gill, Sam Dixon for Bob Maguire, Donal Stagg for Anthony Healy, James Sweeney for Thomas Coloe.