Flanagan goal decisive as saints march on to last four

St Loman's, Mullingar 2-19, Tyrrellspass 1-18

St Loman’s Mullingar claimed a hard-fought victory over Tyrrellspass, in a thrilling Westmeath SFC final round clash at The Downs on Saturday afternoon.

Already assured of a semi-final place beforehand, the defending champions displayed their class, particularly in the second half, to see off a determined Tyrrellspass side in a match played under splendid sunshine.

The telling statistic from this encounter was St Loman’s superior second-half performance, during which they outscored Tyrrellspass by 1-10 to 0-8, even playing the final 12 minutes with 14 men after Eoghan Hogan received a second yellow card.

This resilience and scoring power underlined their credentials as Flanagan Cup holders, despite the fact that they trailed by a point after a gripping first half in which an unanswered 1-3 in the final three minutes gave Tyrrellspass control.

St Loman's eventually got to grips with David Hanlon and David Lynam up front and conceded a lot less in the second half, but Hanlon missed a decent goal chance for the Tyrrellspass men moments after the restart when his effort was cleared off the line.

The game began at a blistering pace, with Tyrrellspass racing into a three-point lead within two minutes, thanks to scores from David Hanlon, Cathal Dunne, and Kieran Geraghty.

However, St Loman’s, who were minus the injured John Heslin, quickly found their rhythm. Danny McCartan opened their account with a fisted point following a clever ball from Ronan O’Toole. This was followed by a quick exchange between O’Toole and Shane Dempsey, with the former finishing the move to bring St Loman’s within a point.

The Mullingar side took the lead for the first time after eight minutes when Fola Ayorinde earned a free, which Dempsey duly converted. Dempsey was again involved moments later, setting up McCartan to edge St Loman’s ahead, and when Sam McCartan pointed in the 11th minute, they led by 0-5 to 0-3. A goal followed in the 13th minute, with Ayorinde’s aerial prowess seeing him claim Jack Geoghegan’s long delivery before slotting into the net. St Loman’s led by 1-6 to 0-4 after 15 minutes, before Geraghty reduced the deficit with two quick points for Tyrrellspass.

Despite the setback of conceding a goal, Tyrrellspass remained competitive, even in the absence of Ger Egan, Tommy Ryan and Peter Clarke. After Dempsey pointed twice, Geraghty notched two frees and Hanlon pointed from play.

A sweeping move in the 29th minute saw Geraghty finish a slick one-two with Hanlon to raise a green flag, bringing them level and at half-time they led by 1-10 to 1-9 courtesy of Adam Flanagan’s late point.

The second half continued at the same frenetic pace, with Hanlon coming close to a second goal for Tyrrellspass in the opening moments. However, it was St Loman’s who struck next, with Dempsey pointing a free before O’Toole added another from play. Tyrrellspass kept in touch with two frees from Geraghty, but St Loman’s soon pulled away again when Danny McCartan pointed after a well-worked move involving Conor O’Donoghue.

The game’s critical moment came in the 45th minute when a quickly taken free by Seán Flanagan found O’Donoghue, who returned the ball to Flanagan for a decisive goal, pushing St Loman’s into a 2-13 to 1-12 lead. Although Nigel Harte and Geraghty continued to chip away at the lead for Tyrrellspass, St Loman’s held firm, with Dempsey’s accuracy from frees ensuring they maintained a cushion on the scoreboard.

Even after Hogan’s dismissal in the 50th minute, St Loman’s showed no signs of panic, controlling possession and taking their chances when they arose. O’Toole, McCartan, and substitute Peter Foy all added to their tally, while Tyrrellspass could only muster late points from Geraghty and Harte. Their late aerial assault didn’t unnerve the St Loman’s rearguard.

In the end Paddy Dowdall’s men had five points to spare, a margin that reflected their composure and class at different stages. The match was thoroughly entertaining, full of skill, resilience, and tactical nous, with both teams contributing to a compelling contest,

Having finished fourth in Section ‘A’, Tyrrellspass, will have to face Mullingar Shamrocks in the quarter-finals, with the winners to meet St Loman’s in the semi-finals.

Scorers - St Loman’s Mullingar: S Dempsey 0-9 (7 frees), D McCartan 0-4, F Ayorinde and S Flanagan 1-0 each, R O’Toole 0-3, S McCartan 0-2, P Foy 0-1. Tyrrellspass: K Geraghty 1-8 (0-6 frees), N Harte 0-4, D Hanlon 0-2, J Gonoud 0-2, C Dunne and A Flanagan 0-1 each.

St Loman’s: Jason Daly; Eoghan Hogan, Darragh O’Keeffe, Nathan Lally; Sam McCartan, David Whelan, Conor O’Donoghue; Jack Geoghegan, Seán Flanagan; Rory Sheahan, Ronan O’Toole, Kevin Regan; Danny McCartan, Fola Ayorinde, Shane Dempsey. Subs: Peter Foy for Regan and Oisin Hogan for Lally (45), Enda Gaffney for R Sheahan (58).

Tyrrellspass: Joe Hyland; Jamie Gonoud, Kai Harte, Jamie Corcoran; Cormac Monaghan, Nigel Harte, Conor Slevin; David Hanlon, Adam Flanagan; Val Sizychas, Kieran Geraghty, David Lynam; James McGivern, Cathal Dunne, Evan Connell. Subs: Sean Deegan for Harte (46), Brian Slevin for Connell (51), Chris Daly for McGivern (58).

Referee: Declan Nugent (Maryland).