Martin the master as Dalton’s use conditions to better effect

Fr Dalton's 2-14 Southern Gaels 2-8

Fr Dalton’s used the strong wind much better and that was the difference as they defeated Southern Gaels in the Westmeath Division 2 minor (U18) hurling championship final at Drumraney last Saturday evening.

The weather turned for the worst on Saturday afternoon and it ruined this final at the Maryland GAA grounds. How this game would actually have panned out if the weather was calm, we don’t know, but it was spoiled by a blustery wind blowing straight down the field.

Fr Dalton’s had it in the first half and they made full use of it. They were in the ascendancy by 2-9 to 0-4 at half-time. They had laid the platform for the win but Southern Gaels would have the gale for the second half.

The Ballymore side got the scoring up and running in the first seconds of the game. Joint captain and the best hurler on the park Conaire Martin let fly, wind assisted, and the ball floated between the posts from some 80 metres. That score showed everyone how strong the wind actually was.

Dalton’s then got a free some 20 metres from goal and though it seemed that the Gaels players knew Martin would go for goal, they couldn’t stop his rasper from finding the net.

Their second goal was very fortuitous, as centre half-back and joint captain Patrick Kiernan’s strike from distance ended up in the Gaels net, deceiving all on the way. They had laid the platform early for the win, having both the elements and some luck in their favour.

Southern Gaels kept themselves alive by the interval. Cillian Geary drilled a couple of frees accurately into the wind and Kyle Mahon added a score. But even a swashbuckling, inspirational score from full-back Oisin O’Donoghue wasn’t enough to galvanise the Gaels into more action before half-time. O’Donoghue carried the ball some 60m, evading a number of challenges, before drilling the ball between the posts off his weaker left side.

After the turnaround, Southern Gaels didn’t use the wind to their advantage. Shooting from every angle and distance, they had 11 second half wides and just couldn’t find the accuracy needed. Time crept away on them and, by the 50th minute, they had just a measly 0-8 on the scoreboard. Fr Dalton’s had 2-14 on the board at that stage.

Martin somehow forced his frees over the bar against the gusts, adding to their half-time total.

They had actually scored more against the wind than the Gaels had with it by the start of the fourth quarter. The Athlone outfit lost this game in the third quarter, not using the wind advantage effectively as they failed to really get themselves back in the contest.

The Gaels then started to drop possession into the Fr Dalton’s square in the hope of getting badly needed goals. They did get two goals but they were too little, too late. The first goal was fortunate as Geary’s attempt for a point from distance ended up in the Dalton’s net.

Geary also scored their second goal, this time it was an individual effort and well taken. They also had Tom Bourke sent off for a second yellow as things went from bad to worse for the Athlone based side. They did all they could in the first half; they took any opportunity that arose and Geary was successful with his frees. But the third quarter was the Gaels' downfall; they seemed to be forcing things with every attempt from distance.

Fr Dalton’s were the more economical team, they used the wind advantage and Martin’s ability to score from distance, from both play and frees, was crucial in their first-half dominance.

Both clubs will benefit from the experience of a county final and how to deal with whatever throws up on the day. Both sets of players should strengthen their clubs' adult teams into the future.

Scorers - Fr Dalton’s: C Martin 1-7 (6f), P Kiernan 1-1, N Smyth 0-2, W Geraghty 0-2, H Duncan and R Loran 0-1 each. Southern Gaels: C Geary 2-4 (0-3f), K Mahon 0-2, O O’Donoghue and R O’Duibhir 0-1 each.

Fr Dalton’s: Ben Martin; Adam Smyth, Jack Whyte, Charlie Carey; Jack Gunning, Patrick Kiernan, Owen Blom; Conaire Martin, Henry Duncan; Noah Smyth, Darragh Madden, Martin Murray; Mark Seery, Nathan Downes, William Geraghty. Sub used: Ricky Loran for Seery (43).

Southern Gaels: Dara Geary; Matthew Turner, Oisin O’Donoghue, Liam O’Flaherty; Rory Hatton, Anthony Mannion, Dara Shortall; Dean Burns, Aaron Murphy; Aaron Power, Seán O’Donoghue, Tom Bourke; Cillian Geary, Kyle Mahon, Ruairi O’Duibhir. Subs used: Seán O’Neill for Power (46), Ciaran Morgan for Burns (57), Ryan Barkey for Hatton (60).

Referee: Rob Cornally.