Glen Emmets narrowly bow out of Leinster

Leinster Junior Club Football Championship

Glen Emmets 0-11 Meath Hill 0-14

Glen Emmets exited the Leinster Junior Football Championship to Meath Hill at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday afternoon.

The Meath outfit led the contest from start-to-finish, however, they had to withstand a strong second-half by Emmets who curtailed their advantage to the minimum entering the final minutes of play.

Though the sending-off of talisman James Butler - along with Meath Hill's Simon Martin - was a contributing factor to Kevin Barry's side coming up short.

The visitors began the brighter, racing into a 0-7 to 0-2 lead with Emmets' points coming in fine style through Butler and Damien Grimes.

But the Tullyallen men found their groove coming into half-time with Grimes, Ronan Grufferty and Butler hitting the target, reducing their interval deficit in the process; 0-8 to 0-5.

Butler hit two-points after the break as Emmets continued to nibble into Meath Hill's lead. Trailing 0-11 to 0-7, Grufferty and Andrew Mooney struck braces apiece as Emmets approached injury-time trailing by the mere minimum.

However, Meath Hill hit the concluding two-points to advance to the Leinster semi-final.

Glen Emmets: Fergus Barnett; Keith Boylan, Evan English, Niall Hackett; Andrew Mooney (0-2), Stephen Healy, Ronan Carr; Ronan Grufferty (0-3, two frees), Mark Garvey; David Bracken, Ian Cusack, James Butler (0-4, three frees); Damien Grimes (0-2), Seán Byrne, Keelan O'Neill

Subs: Jamie Farnan for Byrne (35), Joe Farrelly for Hackett (42), Derrick Johnson for Carr (47), Robert Byrne for Cusack (55)