Dreadnots Secure Senior Status with Hard-Fought Win Over Naomh Mairtin
Anchor Tours Senior Football Championship Relegation Playoff Semi-Final
At Integral GAA Grounds, Drogheda
Dreadnots 1-9 Naomh Mairtin 1-7
Dreadnots secured their place in the Senior Football Championship for 2027 with a hard-fought victory over 2025 Joe Ward cup champions Naomh Mairtin at the Integral GAA Grounds on Sunday afternoon.
Naomh Mairtin made the perfect start, with Dara McDonnell opening the scoring inside the first minute. The Monasterboice side then struck for a goal moments later when Adam Booth found the net after a long delivery from Darragh Dorian.
Dreadnots struggled to settle in the opening stages and both sides were guilty of wasting opportunities, with neither team adding to the scoreboard for the next twelve minutes.
The Dreadnots eventually found their way back into the contest in the 14th minute. Paraic Smith finished to the net after excellent work from Jay Hughes, bringing the Dreadnots right back into contention.
Anthony Williams levelled proceedings in the 19th minute before McDonnell converted a free to put Naomh Mairtin back in front.
Aerial Dual | Dara McDonnell (Naomh Mairtin) and Anthony Williams (Dreadnots)
Dreadnots, however, finished the half strongly and were rewarded just before the interval when Ciaran Finnegan split the posts with a fine score.
Half Time – Dreadnots 1-2 Naomh Mairtin 1-2
Dreadnots could consider themselves somewhat unfortunate not to be ahead at the break, having registered 10 wides during the opening half.
The second half initially followed a similar pattern, with both teams finding scores difficult to come by.
Naomh Mairtin were reduced to 14 players two minutes after the restart when John Clutterbuck received a black card, but Dreadnots were unable to immediately capitalise on the numerical advantage.
That changed in the 38th minute when Donnacha Skinnader produced one of the scores of the afternoon, firing over a superb two-pointer to put Dreadnots ahead.
James Califf then added another two-point free moments later to stretch the Dreadnots’ advantage to four points.
Naomh Mairtin refused to surrender, however, and a Darragh Dorian free followed by a point from Joe McGrane reduced the deficit to two.
Dreadnots responded through Jay Hughes, who converted a free, before Skinnader added another point to restore their four-point cushion.
Jay Hughes (Dreadnots) gets a shot off
McGrane then produced two quick scores to keep Naomh Mairtin within touching distance.
The pressure increased further when Val Leddy pointed for Naomh Mairtin after Dreadnots’ Jay Hughes was black carded, reducing the gap to just one score.
With the game entering its closing stages, Naomh Mairtin pushed forward in search of an equaliser and a potential winner.
But Dreadnots held their composure and had the final say when Callum Shevlin pointed in the 59th minute to restore their two-point advantage.
There was to be no late comeback from Naomh Mairtin, as Dreadnots saw out the remaining moments to secure a valuable victory.
The result means Dreadnots will compete in the Louth Senior Football Championship again in 2027, while Naomh Mairtin now face a crucial relegation play-off against Hunterstown Rovers in two weeks’ time, with their senior status on the line.
Full Time – Dreadnots 1-9 Naomh Mairtin 1-7
Man of the Match – Donnacha Skinnader (Dreadnots)
His second-half contribution proved decisive, with his outstanding two-pointer and subsequent score helping Dreadnots establish the advantage they ultimately protected until the final whistle.
Donnacha Skinnader (Dreadnots) evades the challenge of John Clutterbuck (Naomh Mairtin)
Dual between Anthony Williams (Dreadnots) and Adam Booth (Naomh Mairtin)
