St. Oliver Plunketts force replay after late drama

Outstanding is the word to describe the drama which took place in Cusack Park, Mullingar on Saturday evening last, when a last-gasp Sean O"Leary goal helped St. Oliver Plunketts deny Raharney in the first semi-final of this year"s senior hurling championship, forcing a tantalising replay that"s sure to draw the crowds.As stoppage time approached, Eddie Casey"s charges looked dead and buried, with Raharney enjoying the momentum and a four-point lead. But as the saying goes, a minute is a long time in hurling, and that"s all it took Plunketts to equalise in a stunning finale, leaving Raharney staring into the abyss.Under the cosh for much of the game, the Mullingar men sprung to life in the closing moments, and they deservedly earned another crack at the whip.A regrouped Raharney will be favourites to win next Saturday"s replay and take on holders Clonkill in this year"s decider.But if Plunketts - whose entire tally of 2-9 came from play - approach the second outing with the same vim and vigour as the first, then they could well qualify for their first final since their predecessors, Pearses, did so in 1967.Raharney boss Eamon Gallagher and his backroom team will be fuming that the Blues failed to consolidate their first half gains, with Brian Smyth and John Shaw on form as the Deelsiders built up a five-point lead.But a scrappy goal from Plunketts forward Cian O"Leary left the Blues shellshocked, and leading only 0-9 to 1-4 at the interval.Plunketts emerged with a new-look frontline after the restart, and this seemed to pay immediate dividends, but a Brendan McKeogh goal, as well as points from Shaw and Francis Boyle, left Raharney in pole position.But O"Leary"s late goal, as well as a point from star performer, Ciarán Curley, gave the Mullingar men a dramatic stay of execution late on.ClassCurley showed his class throughout the game, and was involved in Plunketts" earliest fortunes when he set up Cian O"Leary for a point in the first minute.Raharney looked edgy to begin with, with Tony Doyle picking up a booking after three minutes, but a neat move between Brendan McKeogh and Francis Boyle helped set up Brian Smyth for his first point of the game.Smyth had an outstanding first half, and notched up a second point from a tight angle on the left hand side to open up Raharney"s first lead. At the other end, St. Oliver Plunkett"s had what seemed to be a straightforward point disallowed, but the men in green and white chose to focus on the game rather than protesting too much.Smyth added a third point for Raharney, before Noel Gavin reduced the arrears to the minimum with a score on 11 minutes. Francis Boyle - an impressive dual player showing as much talent for hurling as football - finished a determined run with a point, but at the other end, Ciarán Curley kept Plunketts in touch with a terrific score under pressure.But there was no question that at the midway point of the opening moiety, Raharney had the upper hand, and they surged into a four-point lead with minors from the prolific Smyth and John Shaw (two frees).Alan Giles and Brendan McKeogh combined to set up Smyth for his fifth score, and on 25 minutes, Ciarán Curley kept the home fires burning with a superb shot from distance to make it 0-8 to 0-4.With half time looming, Francis Boyle shot over Raharney"s ninth, and you got the feeling that if the Deelsiders goaled, it would be game over for St. Oliver Plunketts.But the Mullingar men had the final say of the half. As Raharney defenders Peter Mullen and Conor Jordan collided while attempting to deal with a dangerous ball, Cian O"Leary stole in behind the Raharney rearguard to boot the loose sliothar to the back of Jimmy Greville"s net.InspiredThree Plunketts forwards - Stephen McManus, Michael Cleary and Mickey Harris - bit the dust at half time as Conaire Flanagan, Kieran Gavin and Eoin O"Meara entered the fray. One inspired substitution brought about immediate success for Eddie Casey and his selectors.Gavin - known more for his footballing exploits with Mullingar Shamrocks and Westmeath - fired the first salvo eight seconds after the restart. Two minutes later, he shot over the equaliser, with Ciarán Curley again in the thick of the action.In the 36th minute, the Plunketts defence maturely dealt with a goalmouth siege, Raharney"s Brian Smyth and Shane Leavy coming close to a major after John Shaw rifled a free into the full-forward line.With Plunketts attacking and defending well, they were in the driving seat for the first time, but Raharney were about to bring them back down to earth with a bang. On 38, Brendan McKeogh drove low to the net after benefiting from a goalmouth ricochet, and two minutes later John Shaw delivered an excellent long-range point to put four between the sides.Plunketts could have wilted at this stage, but they kept their heads down and worked hard to save their season. Govinda Geoghegan - who had heretofore been anonymous - pointed with a terrific angled shot on 42. But Raharney"s Brian Smyth pulled off a similar action to notch up his sixth point, making a wonderful catch from sub Brian Connaughton"s sideline cut.With ten minutes to go, Cian O"Leary fired over another sweet point to make the Deelsiders sweat. But once again, Raharney responded in kind, with Francis Boyle selling Sean O"Leary a dummy before finding his range from 30 metres.1-12 to 1-8 down with eight minutes to go, Plunketts looked like they were never going to catch a relentless Raharney, forcing Eddie Casey to make his final throw of the dice. In a risky switch, Sean O"Leary moved to the Plunketts attack, where he was joined by the tireless Ciarán Curley. These tactical moves paid dividends, though not immediately.With six minutes to go, Curley embarked on a run at the Raharney defence, before being unceremoniously pulled down about twenty metres from the posts. Predictably, Noel Gavin went for goal with the resulting free, but his shot was poor and Raharney easily cleared their lines.The dying minutes of normal time died without a score from either side, although Raharney will have rued this dry spell more, clocking up a handful of wides. But with a four-point lead, surely they were comfortable?Enter Ciarán Curley. As stoppage time began, Aidan Lyons and Cian O"Leary linked up with the midfielder, who went for glory with a high-velocity shot on goal. Admirably, Raharney netminder Jimmy Greville connected with the effort, and sent it over the bar.But after the puckout, Plunketts regained possession. With a minute of time-added-on elapsed, Greville and the Mullingar side"s emergency forward, Sean O"Leary, both moved to intercept a pass from Noel Gavin.O"Leary came out on top, and connected with the sliothar to nudge it into the Raharney net. Cue wild celebrations from the Plunketts contingent, as they grabbed a remarkable equaliser.But the game was by no means over, and both sides had opportunities to win it. Raharney should have got the crucial score, but Brian Smyth - who shone above all players on the field with six points from play - shot wide at the crucial moment.At the other end, Plunketts seemed poised to win when Sean O"Leary was presented with a glorious chance shortly after a sideline cut from Noel Gavin. Alas, before the hero of the hour could puck for goal, referee James McGrath blew the whistle for full time - but the men in green and white won"t complain, as they live to fight another day.Scorers: Raharney - B. Smyth 0-6, B. McKeogh 1-0, F. Boyle and J. Shaw (2 frees) 0-3 each. St. Oliver Plunketts - C. O"Leary 1-2, S. O"Leary 1-0, C. Curley 0-3, K. Gavin 0-2, N. Gavin and G. Geoghegan 0-1 each.Raharney: Jimmy Greville; Peter Mullen, Paul Greville, John Greville; Tony Doyle, Conor Jordan, Alan Giles; Niall Flanagan, Christopher Flanagan; Shane Leavy, Francis Boyle; Brendan McKeogh, Brian Smyth, Stephen Morley. Subs used: Brian Connaughton for Morley (42), Daniel Riggs for N. Flanagan (48), David Flanagan for Leavy (50).St. Oliver Plunketts: Peter Collins; Damien Kiernan, Sean O"Leary, Oisín Clinton; Greg Gavin, Dermot Curley, Sean Maguire; Noel Gavin, Ciarán Curley; Stephen McManus, Cian O"Leary, Mickey Harris; Kevin Baker, Govinda Geoghegan, Michael Cleary. Subs used: Clive Kenny for Maguire (19), Conaire Flanagan for McManus (h/time), Kieran Gavin for Cleary (h/time), Eoin O"Meara for Harris (h/time), Aidan Lyons for Baker (48).Referee: James McGrath (Turin).