Wasteful Westmeath pay the penalty in dramatic contest
EirGrid Leinster U20 Football Championship Quarter-Final
Laois 0-13 Westmeath 1-10 (after extra-time)
(Laois won 4-3 on penalties)
Gerry Buckley
Westmeath and Laois have a great history of tight games in all grades of football over the past quarter of a century, but the rivalry took on a new twist on a heavy – but entirely playable – pitch in MW Hire O’Moore Park yesterday, Monday evening (February 17) when the home team edged through to the Leinster U20 semi-final by winning a penalty shootout.
Whatever this titanic contest may have lacked in quality, it certainly did not lack in wholehearted endeavour from both sides. Gaels will have mixed views on the merits - or otherwise - of deciding a championship match by a shootout, but heart-broken losing manager, Damien Gavin – who famously led the Lake County minors to provincial (and later All-Ireland) success by knocking out Laois in a three-game thriller in 1995 – accepted after the game that his team had “signed up” for this relatively new concept in Gaelic games.
When the referee slipped in the opening minute, it already demonstrated how tricky the surface was in Portlaoise. The sides were tied at two points apiece after nine minutes – scores from Jack Murtagh and TJ Cox (a tricky free) being cancelled out by Ronan Coffey and Daragh Galvin (a mark). Wind-assisted Laois became to dominate at this juncture, and unanswered points from Coffey (two frees, both awarded after fouls on the influential Galvin), and Jack Owens (from play, moments after an unnecessary Westmeath foul) had Eddie Kinsella’s charges 0-5 to 0-2 up with 20 minutes on the clock.
Jason Nugent (a gifted score) and Owens (after an underhit shot by Cox at the other end) traded points, before Eoghan Bracken kicked a great team point for the men in maroon and white. Laois then spurned two goal chances in quick succession via Coffey (whose sliding effort was narrowly wide) and Galvin (who was thwarted by Trevor Martin). Coffey was black-carded in the 26th minute, and Adam Flanagan rounded off first half scoring with a great point at the end of a patient move. Laois led by 0-6 to 0-5 at the break.
In the 33rd minute, Dean Brophy entered the ‘sin bin’ just as Coffey was leaving it. Nugent equalised some two minutes later, but the losers were profligate in the second moiety – no less than six efforts from play and frees dropped into Matthew Byron’s grateful arms. However, Lady Luck smiled Westmeath’s way in the 45th minute when a long-range free from the ground by sub Kieran Colclough squirmed its way into the Laois net to put the Lake County ahead by 1-6 to 0-6.
The blue and white-clad side wiped out this deficit by the 57th minute with points from very influential sub Mark Barry (two – a ‘mark’ and a great free), either side of Jack Lacey finding the range despite stumbling as he shot. A fine mark by sub Tommy Ryan with two minutes of normal time remaining looked like it might win the day for Westmeath, but Byron made the long trek forward to equalise from a 35-metre free deep into added-time. Sam McCartan’s ambitious last-gasp effort was well wide and extra-time was required with the sides tied at 0-10 to 1-7.
In the first minute of extra-time, Laois sub Sean O’Neill pointed, moments after Charlie Drumm’s goal-line save from Barry’s shot. Six minutes later, Westmeath’s Ciaran Daly was black-carded. Ryan equalised from a free in the 68th minute, leaving the scoreboard at half-time in extra-time reading: Laois 0-11 Westmeath 1-8.
Barry (a free) and sub Jonathan Lynam (a team score) exchanged points, as did Coffey (a free) and Maxwell (a delightful score from open play), all of which led to a dreaded penalty shootout for tired bodies on both sides.
Westmeath looked favourites to go through when Byron missed Laois’ fourth spot-kick, but they eventually prevailed 4-3 (full details below).
Scorers -
Laois: R Coffey 0-4 (3f), M Barry 0-3 (2f, 1m), J Owens 0-2, M Byron (f), S O’Neill, Jack Lacey and D Galvin (m) 0-1 each.
Westmeath: K Colclough 1-0 (f), T Ryan (1f, 1m) and J Nugent 0-2 each, E Bracken, A Flanagan, J Murtagh, S Maxwell, TJ Cox (f) and J Lynam 0-1 each.
Laois
Matthew Byron; Michael Dowling, Alex Mohan, Neil Keane; Dean Brophy, Gary Saunders, Jack Lacey; PJ Daly, Barry Howlin; Ronan Coffey, Jack Owens, Damon Larkin; Sean Michael Corcoran, Daragh Galvin, Josh Lacey. Subs used: Mark Barry for Josh Lacey (34), Sean O’Neill for Corcoran (38), Sean Michael Corcoran for Howlin (e-t, 8), Ross Bolger for Brophy (e-t, h-t).
Westmeath
Trevor Martin; Ciaran Daly, Charlie Drumm, Stephen McGonagle; Eoghan Bracken, Eoin Mulvihill, Darragh Seery; Adam Flanagan, John Tumelty; Jack Murtagh, Shane Allen, Sam McCartan; Sam Maxwell, TJ Cox, Jason Nugent. Subs used: Jonathan Lynam for Murtagh (h-t), Kieran Colclough for Allen (42), Tommy Ryan for Tumelty (43), Jenson Nagle for McGonagle (inj., 48), Jack Torpey for Nugent (54), Shane Fleming for Flanagan (inj., e-t, 4), Tristan Graham for Seery (e-t, 11), Sean Fox for McCartan (inj., e-t, 16).
Ref
Cormac Reilly (Meath).
MATCH MATTERS
Man of the match: Mark Barry (Laois). The senior panellist would not have played had last Saturday’s game gone ahead. He was a pivotal figure in the rescheduled contest.
Key moment: Barry’s introduction from the bench in the 34th minute was a huge boost to the home team.
Stats:
Wides
Laois 11 (first half 6, second half 3, extra-time 2)
Westmeath 7 (2, 3, 2)
‘45’s
None
Yellow cards
Laois 0
Westmeath 2 – S Maxwell, TJ Cox
Black cards
Laois 2 – R Coffey, D Brophy
Westmeath 1 – C Daly
Red cards
None
Penalties’ sequence:
M Barry (LS) scored 1-0
S Maxwell (WH) scored 1-1
R Coffey (LS) scored 2-1
J Torpey (WH) scored 2-2
J Owens (LS) scored 3-2
K Colclough (WH) scored 3-3
M Byron (LS) missed 3-3
TJ Cox (WH) missed 3-3
D Larkin (LS) scored 4-4
T Ryan (WH) missed 4-3