Shamrocks gain crucial victory over Killucan

Mullingar Shamrocks 2-9, Killucan 2-7

By Gerry Buckley

Mullingar Shamrocks took a giant step in their pursuit of a quarter-final slot in the race for the Flanagan Cup with a hard-earned win over Killucan in a gripping third round robin tie, played in ideal conditions for football at TEG Cusack Park last Saturday evening.

While there were scrappy periods in the game and errors aplenty, the closeness of the scoring kept the crowd entertained throughout what was a clash between two of the three hitherto-undefeated teams in Section B of the Westmeath senior football championship.

The men in saffron and white got off to the best possible start when Sami Clarke used his soccer skills to great effect to find the net in the fourth minute, after fine approach work by Eoghan Ahearn and Rory Keyes. Jordan Warde almost equalised within a minute, but he shot straight at David Bryan after a fine run goalward. A good free from Devin Hill soon increased Killucan’s lead.

Enda Monaghan’s wind-assisted charges rallied and a quickfire brace of points from Denis Corroon (a free) and Warde (directly from the kick-out) opened their account. Eight scoreless and often-scrappy minutes ensued before Conn O’Hanlon found the net with aplomb from close range, moments after a Brendan O’Reilly shot had dropped short. Eamonn Cunneen levelled the contest at 1-2 apiece from a converted free.

In the 22nd minute, a great move from Conn Cleary’s troops ended with Robbie Greville teeing up Hill for a very well-taken goal. Within a minute, Killucan looked sure to raise a third green flag after a great pass by Ahearn had picked out Sean Leech, but Eoin Doran was up to the task to keep out the full forward’s close-range shot. The ‘keeper then had to make an easy save from a slapped effort by Hill.

Paddy Fagan reduced the deficit with a great point via the outside of his right boot, before the lively Dean Moore and Keyes were narrowly wide at either end. Clarke kicked a great free from the ground to restore the losers’ one-goal lead, but on the half-hour mark Shamrocks engineered a great move after a turnover and Brendan O’Reilly teed up Shane Ormsby who buried the ball low past David Bryan. The sides were tied at 2-3 each at the interval.

Corroon doubled his tally from frees from an acute angle within a minute of the resumption of play, following a great run by newcomer Brian Guerin. Cunneen soon equalised with a delightful point from play. Moore pointed when his goalbound shot was deflected over the crossbar, and the men in green and white proceeded to dominate what had been previously been a tit-for-tat game. Points followed from Moore, and a brace of frees by Corroon (the first one coming shortly after Ormsby had produced a great catch from a Clarke ‘45’).

Killucan bridged a 20-minute gap when sub Darren Finn kicked a quality point in the 54th minute to reduce the deficit to three points (2-8 to 2-5). Moore responded immediately with a crucial point to complete his hat-trick. Clarke converted a free from his hands, prompting his side to go all-out in search of an equalising goal. However, the local team’s defence held firm, and all that their opponents could muster was a last-gasp consolation point when Hill’s lob went narrowly over the bar.

Scorers – Mullingar Shamrocks: D Corroon 0-4 (4f), C O’Hanlon, S Ormsby 1-0 each, D Moore 0-3, P Fagan, J Warde 0-1 each. Killucan: S Clarke (0-2f), D Hill (0-1f) 1-2 each, E Cunneen 0-2 (1f), D Finn 0-1.

Mullingar Shamrocks: Eoin Doran; Marc Eivers, Davy Gavin, Dillon Matthews; Conn O’Hanlon, Matt O’Shea, Brendan O’Reilly; Conor O’Brien, Shane Ormsby; Brian Guerin, Paddy Fagan, John O’Reilly; Dean Moore, Denis Corroon, Jordan Warde. Subs used: Killian Daly for O’Hanlon (40), Lorcan Smyth for J O’Reilly (48).

Killucan: David Bryan; Gary Greville, Sam Smyth, Luke Darby; Jamie Mulkearns, Robbie Greville, Michael Doherty; Conor McKeogh, Eoin Keyes; Sami Clarke, Rory Keyes, Eamonn Cunneen; Devin Hill, Sean Leech, Eoghan Ahearn. Subs used: Darren Finn for McKeogh (41), Jason Gorman for Ahearn (45), Ciaran Doyle for Cunneen (49).

Ref: Niall Ward (Garrycastle).