Páirc Tailteann, Navan. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Meath SHC Final
Ratoath 2-15 Trim 1-16
By Paul Keane at Páirc Tailteann
A full 61 years since they were last crowned kings of the Royal County, Ratoath are finally Meath senior hurling champions again.
And typical enough of a club that has endured more than its fair share of heartbreak since 1963, this was a breakthrough win that came the hard way.
Leading by two points in Navan with the three allotted minutes of stoppage time already up, old rivals Trim, who'd beaten Ratoath in the 2020 and 2022 finals, were thrown a lifeline as a free was awarded by referee Conor Ferguson, following consultation with his match officials.
Placed ball expert James Murray still had the opportunity to hit a match winning goal for Trim, but his shot was blocked and the follow up strike flew wide.
It was the last action of the game and Ratoath finally celebrated a win that has been decades in the making.
They had four McGowan brothers in their lineup and three of them, goalscorers Jack and Daithi, along with Gavin, combined for 2-4 between them.
County man and free-taker Padraig O'Hanrahan hit 0-8 though endured a couple of nervous moments in the closing stages as two of his efforts flew wide, keeping Trim just about in it.
A number of Ratoath players, including former football All-Star nominee Conor McGill, have now won senior football and hurling medals.
All of those in blue and yellow will be back in action on November 16 for a Leinster club IHC quarter-final clash with John Henderson's Bray Emmets.
Ratoath, with the highly regarded Donal Franks in their corner as coach, will hope for a brighter start on that occasion as they trailed by two points after the opening quarter here.
Trim led 0-5 to 0-3 at that stage and with former Meath footballer Alan Douglas a late addition to the lineup wearing number 21, they were creating more of the opportunities.
But nine first-half wides undermined Trim's bid to match Kilmessan as the most successful senior club in Meath with 29 titles.
And when Ratoath eventually grabbed a foothold in the game, they were more economical with O'Hanrahan tying the game up at 0-6 apiece following his fourth point of the game in the 21st minute.
Jack McGowan struck Ratoath's only goal a minute later, capitalising on good work down the left by sibling Daithi and slotting home from the opposite side of goal.
Man of the Match Gavin McGowan then tapped over a point on the left before getting out in front of his man for another score shortly after.
It was all Ratoath and they deserved their 1-10 to 0-7 half-time lead having outscored Trim by an impressive eight points in that second quarter of the game.
Ratoath, managed by Mikey Cole, who had two nephews in the Trim starting lineup, surged seven clear at the end of the third quarter when Sean Corbett pointed, 1-14 to 0-10.
Douglas sniped a 49th minute goal for Trim though and the David McGuinness managed side refused to relent, getting the margin down to two points late on before that late goalmouth drama.
Scorers for Ratoath: Padraig O'Hanrahan 0-8 (4fs, 2 65s), Gavin McGowan 0-4, Daithi McGowan 1-0, Jack McGowan 1-0, Sean Corbett 0-2, Liam Kelly 0-1.
Scorers for Trim: James Murray 0-9 (6fs), Alan Douglas 1-1, David Murtagh 0-2, Conor Quigley 0-2, Dimmy Higgins 0-1, Joey Cole 0-1.
Ratoath: Colm O'Riordan; Domhnall Rogers, Conor McGill, Liam Kelly; Cormac Butler, Darragh Kelly, Ben McGowan; Cian Kelly, Ciaran O'Hanrahan; Jack McGowan, Cian Rogers, Padraig O'Hanrahan; Gavin McGowan, Daithi McGowan, Sean Corbett.
Subs: Gearoid Crowley for O'Riordan 17, Bryan McMahon for Corbett 53, Padraic Byrne for Murphy 60.
Trim: Charlie Ennis; Danny Coleman, Ben Holden, Gary Fleming; James Toher, Dimmy Higgins, Conor Quigley; Joey Cole, David Murtagh; James Murray, James Andrews, Pa Ryan; Mark Molloy, Mikey Cole, Alan Douglas.
Subs: Gerry Dwane for Fleming h/t, Eoghan Ryan for Coleman h/t, Ian Birmingham for Ryan 40.
Referee: Conor Ferguson (Gaeil Colmcille).
