Jayo gives Dubs the edge

Dublin 2-12 Longford 1-14

With the 70 minutes all but expired and Dublin five points adrift, Longford seemed set for a famous victory before two goals from a previously anonymous Jason Sherlock consigned the visitors to the most cruel of defeats.

Sherlock’s first goal was a messy affair that saw him poke home to an empty net but any hopes of a home victory looked to have been dashed within seconds when the excellent Brian Kavanagh slotted over his last point of the game at the opposite end.

Not so. Dublin pushed forward again and a clever crossfield pass from Eamonn Fennell found Jayo lurking soccer-style at the far post and the former Shamrock Rovers man’s finish was emphatic.

The mild weather and lack of rainfall for most of the week laid the foundations for a game that was totally out of character with the fare usually associated in February. No half-hearted, mucky football here. This was high-octane stuff.

It took 19 minutes for either side to register a wide and, until that bitter end, it looked like Longford would become the first Leinster side to get the better of the Dubs since Meath had their number in an O’Byrne Cup semi-final 25 months ago.

The visitors lit the touchpaper with immediate effect as they looked to put their disappointing league defeat to Wexford last week behind them. No-one was more eager to do just that than key attacker Brian Kavanagh.

An All Star nominee two summers ago, the corner-forward had a rare stinker last Sunday but made amends by hitting 1-2 within seven minutes of the throw-in.

Longford were sublime in the first dozen minutes after which they led by 1-5 to 0-1. Kavanagh recorded his goal at the second attempt after a superb save by John Leonard who enjoyed a rare start in place of Stephen Cluxton.

The high-point of Longford’s performance came four minutes later with a move that traversed the length of the pitch before Declan Farrell tucked the ball over the crossbar.

Dublin eventually found their feet, as you knew they would, and six of the next seven points allowed them to trot off to the dressing room with just two points separating the sides.

With just one point scored in the final 24 minutes of the half, things looked ominous for Longford in spite of their earlier efforts but they used the interval to good effect and managed to come to grips with their opponents again.

John O’Brien reduced the deficit to just a single point with the first score of the half but it took Dublin another 24 minutes to get that close again as Longford worked diligently to preserve their advantage.

Crucial to that was a fine save from goalkeeper Damien Sheridan after 44 minutes when he diverted Brendan McManamon’s ground shot away.

Even then, it was obvious that this one was going to the wire.

It may only have been the O’Byrne Cup but Dublin were in no mood to part with the trophy they claimed last year and Paul Caffrey felt obliged to send in billboard names like Sherlock and Collie Moran as Longford’s resistance stiffened.

It seemed to be to no avail as, far from fading as most people expected, Longford got stronger as the final lap approached and kicked over four successive points. With two minutes to go, that looked to be more than enough.

Jason Sherlock begged to differ.

Scorers for Dublin: B Brogan 0-7 (5f), J Sherlock 2-0, J O’Brien 0-3 (2f), B McManamon 0-1, K Bonner 0-1.

Scorers for Longford: B Kavanagh 1-4, F McGee 0-3 (2f), K Mulligan 0-2, D Farrell 0-2, P Dowd 0-1, D Barden 0-1, P Barden 0-1.

DUBLIN: J Leonard; D Henry, R McConnell, S O’Shaughnessy; P McMahon, P Casey, D Murray; E Fennell, S Ryan; B Cullen, A Brogan, B McManamon; J O’Brien, B Brogan, K Bonner. Subs: D Lally for Ryan 33, J Sherlock for Fennell 44, C Moran for McMahon 46, P Brogan for Murray 60,

LONGFORD: D Sheridan, D Brady, D Masterson, D Reilly, S Mulligan, A O’Connor, N Farrell, P Dowd, E Farrell, D Barden, P Barden, P Berry, B Kavanagh, D Farrell, F McGee. Subs: K Mulligan for Berry 23.

Referee: M Deegan (Laois).