Three opportunist goals propel Ballynacargy to county final

Never was the cliché that "goals win games" more apt than in rain-drenched Lakepoint Park in Mullingar last Saturday evening, when Ballynacargy advanced to meet Maryland in this year"s Westmeath intermediate football final.Conditions could hardly have been more miserable for football at St. Loman"s resplendent grounds but this did not deter two very committed sides from serving up an enthralling encounter. Despite the losers" best efforts, Ballynacargy were never headed and generally looked the more likely to qualify for the final and they are now very genuine contenders to play senior football in 2009.Ballynacargy were straight out of the traps and a wonderful point by star corner forward, Dwayne Maher had them in front with less than 50 seconds elapsed. Referee, Pat Fox then laid down an early marker with the yellow-carding of CFCW"s Shane Egan. Kevin Brazil equalised in the third minute from a 25-metre free but Ballynacargy soon regained the lead when Willie Murtagh rounded off a flowing move with a neat point. Between the seventh and the 13th minutes, Dwayne Maher"s excellent freetaking led to three invaluable points for the gold and blue-clad brigade, leaving them 0-5 to 0-1 ahead. Indeed, the same player was unlucky not to increase this advantage when his shot from play from an acute angle came back off the upright.CFCW then had a period of dominance which yielded three unanswered points in a six-minute spell, the scores coming from a converted free from Niall Kilcoyne, and a brace from Ryan Plunkett, the first from a left-footed free and the second a fine score at the end of an eye-catching move. After Dwayne Maher was off target from a long-range free, Ballynacargy struck for their first goal in the 27th minute, Liam Reilly availing of slackness in the losers" defence to pick up a long through ball and set up Willie Murtagh, who flicked the ball to the net from close range. CFCW tried to reduce the gap in the closing exchanges, but Michael Moran was bundled up close to goal and unable to manufacture a penalty, before a surging run from full back, Eanna Doolin ultimately came to nothing. At the break, Ballynacargy led by 1-5 to 0-4 and, despite the first moiety being devoid of rancour, an unseemly scuffle broke out as the teams headed for the sanctuary of the dressingrooms.Order was restored for the resumption of play and it was CFCW who had the opening scoring chances, but they were unable to trouble the scoreboard operator. At the other end, Dwayne Maher kicked another great point from a tricky free to put his side five points to the good but it was to be another 16 minutes before they added to their total. During that period, CFCW were largely in control and, sandwiched between inspirational points from Colin Farrell and Daniel McDermott, Niall Kilcoyne found the range from a 30-metre free and Darren McCormack was unlucky with a terrific effort from a tight angle. Both sides then missed chances, with Ballynacargy fans prematurely celebrating a Dwayne Maher "goal" but the ball had hit the side netting. Despite the incessant rain, the atmosphere was electric in the crowd and when Niall Kilcoyne kicked a fine free, following a foul on Kevin Brazil, a mere point separated the sides, with a full quarter of the game to play.However, Ballynacargy raised a second green flag in the 19th minute, substitute Michael Loran celebrating his arrival on the pitch a matter of seconds earlier with an opportunist goal, sidefooting the ball home from close range with the CFCW defence again somewhat loose. A soft free awarded for a foul on CFCW replacement, Glen Plunkett gave Kevin Brazil a straightforward chance from a free which he duly availed of. Ballynacargy netminder, Richard Price then had to advance smartly from his line to hack Ronan Doolin"s through ball to safety. The winners struck the decisive blow in the 27th minute when Danny Scally, Dwayne Maher and Willie Murtagh combined and, even though Gary Sullivan did well to block the latter"s goalbound effort, the ball fell kindly for Liam Reilly who flashed it first-time to the gaping net. That concluded the scoring and Ballynacargy held on to emerge as worthy winners. A brief skirmish followed the final whistle before two saturated sets of players left the field to warm and deserved applause.Ballynacargy are now just an hour away from a return to the top flight of Westmeath football. While awful weather meant that they were never going to replicate their huge scoring feats of recent games, again they poached three goals, a figure which will usually be enough to ensure victory, given even a reasonable haul of points. They had tenacious defenders in Kieran Sheridan and Andrew Heduvan, while Mark Wallace worked very hard at midfield. Willie Murtagh and Dwayne Maher were the pick of a forward line, who will probably be hoping for an all-too-rare dry day, come the final showdown with Maryland, a club hoping to round off an already-memorable year in style.Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall will look back on this game and regret a few moments of indecision in defence and some wasted opportunities in attack, which could have made for a much tighter contest. Eanna Doolin was an imposing full back, ably assisted by Willie Coyne and Colin Farrell. Midfielder, Darren McCormack is far better known as a hurler but he can certainly play the big ball game also. Daniel McDermott mopped up a lot of loose ball, while Niall Kilcoyne and Ryan Plunkett were the losers" most dangerous attackers.Ballynacargy: Richard Price; Bernard Nally, Timmy Mescall, Kieran Sheridan; Aidan Scally, Andrew Heduvan, John Keena; Aidan Lyons, Mark Wallace; Declan McGuinness, Willie Murtagh (1-1), Danny Scally; Mark Murphy, Liam Reilly (1-0), Dwayne Maher (0-5, 0-4 from frees). Sub: Michael Loran (1-0) (for Murtagh, 49 mins).Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall: Gary Sullivan; Ray Sheridan, Eanna Doolin, Willie Coyne; Dermot Cafferty, Colin Farrell (0-1), Shane Egan; Darren McCormack, Ronan Doolin; Daniel McDermott (0-1), Niall Kilcoyne (0-3, all from frees), Michael Moran; Ryan Plunkett (0-2, 0-1 from a free), Barry Kennedy, Kevin Brazil (0-2, both from frees). Subs: Darren Kilcoyne (for Kennedy, 35 mins), Eric Sullivan (for Plunkett, 46 mins), Glen Plunkett (for Moran, 49 mins).Referee: Pat Fox (Rosemount)