Survival at stake as Shandonagh and Moate must meet again
Shandonagh 1-10, Moate All Whites 1-7
By Connla McCarthy
The second match of the double header in a cloudy and cold Rochfortbridge on Sunday evening was an eagerly awaited Westmeath senior football championship encounter with relegation on the line for Shandonagh, who did enough to fend off Moate All Whites and force a play-off.
In reality, it was a game that was hard to watch for long periods, bar the final ten minutes when Moate All Whites pounced on a lifeline that simultaneously nearly saw Shandonagh’s lead and senior status slip from their grasp.
The closing stages were tense but Shandonagh prevailed in the end, and the two teams must meet again to determine who will hold on to their senior status next year. There was pressure on both sides and that showed as a patient attacking style came to the fore.
It was Shandonagh who enjoyed a three-point advantage at the interval, but this was a game in which both teams prioritised slow, long periods of possession, with handling mistakes becoming a common sight, due in part to the early rain and wet conditions in the opening moments of the contest. Furthermore, Moate will not be pleased with their six first half wides, while their opponents mustered a tally of four wides in the opening 30 and six by the final whistle.
Shandonagh’s first score came from Caelum Flanagan, who was assisted by Cormac Coyne in the opening minute, Brian Kavanagh converted a free six minutes later while Daniel Scahill fed Kevin Boyle who found the target after 12 minutes.
Two minutes later and after several misses by his team, Robert Forde converted a free to get Moate finally up and running. After a high dropping ball caused carnage in the Moate full-back line, Kevin Boyle picked up the rebound to score in the 25th minute. Harry Niall was assisted by Forde to cut the gap down once more for Moate seven minutes later, while Adam Treanor’s shot fell short to teammate Kevin Boyle who pointed to leave Shandonagh 0-5 to 0-2 ahead at the break.
Two minutes had gone in the second half when Cormac Coyne’s rasper of a shot flew past Richard Price in the Moate goal and into the net, the goalkeeper left planted to the ground.
Shandonagh built on this with points from Luke Tynan and Kevin Boyle, while Robert Forde and Ronan Murray sent over points for Moate to keep them in the hunt.
Then, a minute into added time, Tobby Conteh showed his strength to find Sam Fannin who forced the ball over the Shandonagh line. Daragh Lowry pointed five minutes later before Ryan Donnelly’s free six minutes into injury time put an end to a dramatic contest.
Key moment: There were multiple shouts for this one, but one of Moate’s goal chances towards the end of the match is the pick of the bunch. With a minute to go, Billy Berry’s high-dropping ball into an awaiting Harry Niall in the box managed to find its mark. The big midfielder managed to get his fist to the ball, only for his effort to hit the post rather than the Shandonagh net. Had the shot found its intended target, it would be safe to say that Moate would have gotten a result from this game, and Shandonagh would be relegated.
Scorers - Shandonagh: Kevin Boyle 0-5, Cormac Coyne 1-0, Brian Kavanagh 0-2 (0-1f), Caelum Flanagan, Luke Tynan and Ryan Donnelly (0-1f) 0-1 each. Moate: Robert Forde 0-4 (0-4f), Sam Fannin 1-0, Daragh Lowry, Harry Niall and Ronan Murray 0-1 each.
Shandonagh: Conor Craig; Cathal Craig, Jack O’Brien, Ben Treanor; Adam Treanor, Daniel Scahill, Gareth Carr; Darren McWade, Caelum Flanagan; Luke Tynan, Kevin Boyle, Daire Conway; Jake Costello, Cormac Coyne, Brian Kavanagh. Subs: Brendan Killian for Cathal Craig (half-time), Cormac Gordon for Caelum Flanagan (44), Tom Molloy for Luke Tynan (45), Ryan Donnelly for Kevin Boyle (59).
Moate All Whites: Richard Price; Tom Gorman, Andrew Gorman, Luke Whitney; Daragh Lowry, James Bracken, Dylan Nulty; Cathal O’Brien, Harry Niall; Sam Fannin, Conor Bracken, Eoin Bracken; Tobby Conteh, Robert Forde, Ronan Murray. Subs: Billy Berry for Dylan Nulty and Rob Gorman for Conor Bracken (40), Paul Gorman for Cathal O’Brien (45).
Referee: Barry Kelly (Mullingar Shamrocks).