Mullingar Town held despite Finnane goal

Willow Park 1 Mullingar Town 1

Despite playing with an extra man for much of the second half, Willow Park were not able to take advantage as this Westmeath derby ended in a draw.

Mullingar Town had taken the lead at DPD Park last Sunday afternoon but a penalty kick saw the Athlone team back on level terms at half-time.

Mullingar were reduced to ten men after 54 minutes but held on to share the spoils as a fantastic double save from Adrian Rapacki in the final minute proved crucial.

Both teams had identical records heading into the game with a win and a draw from their two games played. Willow’s recent spell without any action showed in the early stages as a sharper Town team settled quickly.

Jacko McNamee’s men earned the first corner kick as Willow's first chance saw Israel Kimazo fire over from Neil Kenny’s pass on the right. It was one of the few home highlights in the early stages though as Mullingar took control. Sam Watkin's left wing cross was collected by the Willow goalkeeper as two more corners kept up the pressure on the home team.

The visitors took the lead on the quarter hour mark. David Dyer sent in a cross from the left which was rifled to the roof of the net by Tristan Finnane.

The number nine then shot over as he looked to grab a quick-fire second score. As the bright opening faded a little, a Kimazo shot was put behind for a corner and two attempts on target from Finnane and Watkin were blocked.

Colin Fortune's men were handed a lifeline five minutes before half-time break. A shot from Tommy Hurley was handled by Paul Reid and Willow were awarded a contentious penalty kick. Daragh Concannon stepped up and, although Rapacki dived the right way, the ball ended up in the net.

Surprisingly it completed the scoring in the game and especially so with what unfolded after the break. Reid ended the action in the opening half when firing over for Mullingar in stoppage time.

The first chance following the resumption of play saw Daragh Kiernan drill a free kick over the bar for the visitors. Tommy Hurley had an opportunity at the other end but was denied by Rapacki.

The game looked to have turned Willow’s way with nine minutes gone in the half. A ball from Kenny set Drew Hiag on his way past a stretched away defence. As Rapacki advanced, Mullingar defender Enda Morris was adjudged to have fouled the Willow number nine as he prepared to shoot towards an unguarded net. The red card was produced and Mullingar were down to ten men for the remainder.

Willow, however, did not take advantage of their numerical superiority with the visitors holding out for a point. It was not all a defensive showing though for the visitors and Cian Hayden had to be at his best to deny Dyer with a good tackle as Mullingar looked for the lead after 65 minutes.

The last quarter of an hour was action packed as both teams had decent chances to claim all three points. On 76 minutes, Hiag passed to Raffa Shakinaz on the right but the Willow substitute’s shot was pushed over. The action continued with Hayden out of luck after 79 minutes when his strike from outside the penalty area crashed off the bar.

Mullingar almost punished slackness on the part of the hosts as full-time approached. Willow were caught in possession by Finnane but Shane McEnery came to the rescue with a good save. Mullingar’s last chance of stealing the three points fell to Dyer but, after rounding the keeper, he saw his shot across the goalmouth from the left drift wide of the far post.

The visitors would have been reasonably happy to return home with a share of the spoils but could easily have been left empty handed as Willow tried to pounce on the stroke of full-time. Bryan Hughes looked set to be the home hero but was denied from close range by Rapacki who doubled up with an even better stop to push away a follow-up attempt from the Willow number ten.

It almost brought an exciting second half to a conclusion but Willow had one more chance in stoppage time to claim victory but failed to take advantage of a corner.

Both teams maintain their unbeaten start to the league season but will look upon the result with some regret after news followed that previously unbeaten league leaders Monksland United had surprisingly lost to bottom club Abbeyleix.

Willow Park: Shane McEnery, James Fortune, Cian Hayden, Declan Fallon, Kevin Dunne, Israel Kimazo, Neil Kenny, Daragh Concannon, Drew Hiag, Bryan Hughes, Tommy Hurley. Subs: Brian Fogarty and Raffa Shakinaz for Dunne and Kenny (74 mins).Mullingar Town: Adrian Rapacki, Alan Cashman, Paul Reid, Enda Morris, Greg Kozicki, David Dyer, Jason Charles, Tristan Finnane, Sam Watkin, Dan Beyo, Daragh Kiernan. Subs: Sean Reid for Beyo (60 mins); Nathan McCullagh for Dyer (87).

Referee: Piotr Szczerbowski (Longford).