Shan edge it with brace of late goals

Shandonagh 2-10 Moate All Whites 1-11

Shandonagh kept their SFC campaign alive and left struggling Garrycastle under increased pressure with a hard won but, on the whole, deserved victory against Moate All Whites in TEG Cusack Park on Saturday evening.

Despite long spells of possession and a host of chances, the Ballinea side looked to have left it behind until a stoppage time goal from midfielder Caelum Faughnan clinched victory from the jaws of defeat in a thrilling finish.

Moate – heavily reliant on Robbie Forde – were fortunate to trail by only a point at the break, with Shandonagh streets ahead of their opponents in every respect, apart from where it counted.

The All Whites improved after the restart, and outscored Shandonagh 0-7 to 0-2 to lead by four with just minutes to go. However, the Mullingar outfit hit the net twice in the denouement to tear off the underdog tag and record a memorable and crucial win.

Shandonagh got off to a tremendous start, with points from Brian Kavanagh (2), Luke Tynan, Ryan Donnelly and the excellent Gareth Carr following an early free from Moate’s Robbie Forde, making it 0-5 to 0-1 after eight minutes.

Two minutes later, Moate had the ball in the net after a perfectly-flighted free from Forde missed a number of Shandonagh and Moate heads before landing in Conor Craig’s net.

Shandonagh’s Cormac Coyne and Daniel Scahill picked up yellow cards in the first quarter, and the men in blue will undoubtedly have felt aggrieved at coming down on the wrong side of some of the early decisions. However, they only had themselves to blame for not being further ahead at the short whistle.

Just before the quarter-hour mark, a gilt-edged goal chance went a-begging when Gareth Carr claimed a mark, and after a one-two with Jake Costello, shipped to Luke Tynan, who lost his footing and forced the ball wide.

Moments later, Darren McWade edged Shandonagh two points ahead with a score at the tail-end of a fine passing move started by Carr, but Robbie Forde then converted a free for Moate to leave the minimum between the sides again.

A full 13 minutes passed before there was another score, in which time Shandonagh had ample possession without any end product. On 27 minutes, Costello had a sniff at goal, but Moate stood firm on the goal line.

Two minutes later, the All Whites almost took the lead when Forde teed up Eoin Bracken for a shot at goal. Although his effort was blocked, Billy Berry got a toe to the rebound and it crept agonisingly wide.

On the stroke of half-time, Jake Costello once again extended Shandonagh’s lead to two points with a great score off his left boot, but moments later Forde tacked on Moate’s first point from play. Trailing by only a point, Liam McNeill’s charges were by the far the happier at the interval.

Shandonagh re-emerged in lively fashion, and a long ball from Daire Conway connected with Cormac Coyne, who stole in ahead of Moate ‘keeper Richie Price to fist over the bar with his back to goal. For the ensuing 25 minutes, however, it was the south Westmeath side who reigned.

Robbie Forde led the way, hitting four consecutive points – three of them from play, and all superbly taken – before Shandonagh could muster a 48th minute reply from Brian Kavanagh. At that stage, Moate led 1-7 to 0-9, and in the intervening time, Luke Tynan, Ryan Donnelly and Jake Costello (wide from a goal attempt) all missed opportunities for Shandonagh.

Moate’s Ronan Murray also had a shot at goal saved, but Forde, flying wing-back Daragh Lowry and Eoin Bracken added further scores, as the Southerners opened up a four-point lead. Bracken’s point came on the counter, after Shandonagh scotched another goal opportunity at the Dunnes Stores end.

However, when it counted, the Ballinea men finally took their chances, and on 57 minutes a long ball from sub Ben Treanor eventually pinged its way to the left boot of Ryan Donnelly, who netted a low drive.

Despite this goal, Shandonagh still trailed by a point in stoppage time, and a Moate win looked increasingly likely when Ronan Murray found his range to double that advantage.

Barely a minute later however, Shandonagh won a free at the other end. Brian Kavanagh picked out Gareth Carr, whose attempt at a point dropped short and was fisted to the net by Caelum Faughnan. The men in blue now enjoyed a sensational one-point lead (2-9 to 1-11).

Moate continued to struggle under the high ball and with 63 on the clock, one such lofty pass found its way to Luke Tynan, who kicked his second point.

With six minutes of stoppage time called, there was still time for more drama. Shandonagh’s Cormac Coyne was black-carded, while Moate had wing-back Sam Fannin sent to the line with a straight red for a high tackle on Shandonagh sub Simon Carr.

Despite losing their numerical advantage, Moate hunted a late winner. Ronan Murray shot wide, and at the death, a searching ball from sub John Corbally was fumbled by Shandonagh ‘keeper Conor Craig.

Fortunately for the Ballinea boys, Craig and his defenders composed themselves before a white jersey could sneak in for a winner, and at the long whistle, they were deserving winners.

Scorers - Shandonagh: R Donnelly 1-1, B Kavanagh 0-3, C Faughnan 1-0, L Tynan 0-2, G Carr, D McWade, J Costello and C Coyne 0-1 each. Moate: R Forde 1-8 (1-3f), D Lowry, E Bracken and R Murray 0-1 each.

Shandonagh: Conor Craig; Maitiú Scully, Daire Conway, Jack O’Brien; Gareth Carr, Daniel Scahill, Cathal Craig; Darren McWade, Caelum Faughnan; Cormac Coyne, Luke Tynan, Alan Hickey; Ryan Donnelly, Brian Kavanagh, Jake Costello. Subs used: Ben Treanor for O’Brien (47), Simon Carr for Costello (52).

Moate All Whites: Richie Price; Tom Gorman, Andrew Gorman, Philip King; Sam Fannin, James Bracken, Daragh Lowry; Cathal O’Brien, Eoin Bracken; Conor Bracken, Ruairí Cunningham, Tobby Conteh; Billy Berry, Robbie Forde, Ronan Murray. Subs used: Harry Niall for Conteh (33), Ronan Conway for Berry (58), John Corbally for C Bracken (60).

Ref: Niall Ward (Garrycastle).