Dunlavin narrowly defeated Annacurra to clinch top spot of the group and advance to the semi finals. Annacurra now face into a playoff with Kilcoole if they are to advance to the semi final showdown with Aughrim. Dunlavin showed their championship credentials with a gutsy performance with Thomas Harney and Shane Carty the backbone of all their good work.
Dunlavin drew first blood in this match with two early points from Stephen Miley and Shane Carty while Annacurra kicked two wides. It took Annacurra over 10 minutes before they had a meaningful attack as Ian McDonald cut in the end line to rifle to the net with his left foot. However Annacurra could not build on this and Thomas Harney added a point to draw Dunlavin level before Stephen Carty gave the Western team the lead again. Dunlavin stretched their lead in the 23rd minute with a point from a Stephen Miley free. John Thompson blasted to the net after a fine run through the Dunlavin defence to give Annacurra a 2-0 to 0-5 lead approaching half time. However, Annacurra could not hold their lead and a Stephen Miley free left the teams level at half time.
With Annacurra playing with the wind in the second half , many expected the game to change and 2 early attacks showed signs it might with Frank Clune slotting over a free to give Annacurra the lead for the third time in this match. However, like the other two times Dunlavin responded strongly and five unanswered points to give themselves a four point lead going into the final five minutes. Two more frees, One from Clive Horan and one from Frank Clune narrowed the margin for Annacurra before Frank Clune put over a 45 to leave the narrowest of margins in the match as we entered injury time. Despite some frantic efforts from the Annacurra attack, Dunlavin kept their nerve and finished off the game with two points from Shane and Stephen Carty which sees them through to play Avondale in the semi finals. Annacurra now enter a playoff with Kilcoole for the chance to meet Aughrim and will be looking to rectify the fact they scored only the goals from play in this match.
Annacurra: M.Doyle, D.Thompson, A.Byrne, L.Moules, P.McDonald, M.O’Brien, S.O’Neill, J.Thompson(1-0), P.Clancy, W.Codd, A.Horan, I.McDonald(1-0), C.Horan(0-1), F.Clune (0-3), P.Moules
Subs: C.Byrne, M.O’Neill, P.O’Brien, M.Healy
