Dowdall proud as St Loman’s survive late drama to earn replay

St Loman’s, Mullingar manager Paddy Dowdall expressed his relief and pride after his side earned a dramatic 1-13 to 1-13 draw with The Downs in the Westmeath Senior Football Final at TEG Cusack Park on Sunday. A last-minute point from Eoghan Hogan ensured the defending champions lived to fight another day.

"Look, that's the character in that team," Dowdall said. "You had three minutes added time there and at end en, to get a kick-out, when they're pressing, and to move it up the field was difficult. In fairness to Eoghan, he stuck it over the bar. It was a great last-minute point, especially, but look, we're just happy that we're still in it."

St Loman’s got off to a dream start, racing to an early 1-1 to no score lead. "We wanted to start fast, we wanted to take control of the game as soon as possible," Dowdall remarked. "In fairness to The Downs, they’re a really good team, and they came back into it with a great goal by Luke (Loughlin). It was a fantastic game, overall."

Despite leading by a point at half-time and stretching the gap to three points in the second half, St Loman’s were hauled back repeatedly. "We knew they’d keep going and keep going because they've done that nearly in every game this year," Dowdall explained. "Against Killucan, Kinnegad, Athlone - they’ve been fighting to the end, and that’s the sort of team they are. We expected that."

Dowdall admitted to some frustration with certain decisions that didn’t go his team’s way, particularly referencing an incident involving Nathan Lally in the final minute when the St Loman's substitute was clear on goal but went down under a challenge from behind. "I'd be disappointed if I was with The Downs as well (and that wasn't given); for us, it should have been a free in all day long," he declared.

Indeed, coach, Philly Wolfe blasted the decision to wave away claims for a foul on Lally and claimed the two key decisions in the second half went against St Loman’s.

John Heslin once again played a key role for the reigning champions, scoring two crucial points in the second half. "John has that in his locker all day long," Dowdall said when asked about the impact of his captain.

"He was fantastic as a leader and a captain today. He always brings it out on the big day."

St Loman’s were forced to make do without key forward Shane Dempsey, who picked up a knock, but Dowdall praised the impact of Peter Foy, who filled in admirably. "Shane was a big loss for us; he’s another leader for that team. Hopefully, he’ll be good to go next Saturday. But Peter (Foy) stepped in and did a great job when he came on."

Looking ahead to the replay, Dowdall acknowledged the challenge of preparing for a quick turnaround. "It’s very hard because you're expecting one thing and you're getting another. We were expecting to go back out there and put in a big performance for another 20 minutes," he said. "But look, we’ll regroup and go again next Saturday."

In the final minutes of normal time, St Loman’s found themselves under intense pressure, but Dowdall was full of praise for his team’s composure and character.

"You can’t be under any more pressure than we were with that last minute," he said. There were 45 seconds left when St Loman’s had that kick-out, but they showed great character and composure to work the ball down the field and take the point. Dowdall reflected on how this group of players has handled high-pressure situations.

“I’m pleased with that. It’s not the first time they have done that; John Heslin did the same against Tyrrellspass a few years ago, when people were roaring and shouting, he held his composure to slot over a difficult free,” he remarked.

"We've talked about these big moments, the character and the athleticism to keep going until the last minute," he said. "I’d expect nothing less from them." St Loman's are now preparing for a replay, with Dowdall hopeful that they can improve on Sunday’s performance and retain their title. "We’re still in it, and we have a week to work on a few little things," he remarked. "It’s a short period of time to recover and prepare, but we’ll be ready." St Loman's somehow survived the maelstrom of a titanic finish and they will go again next weekend. It's their second replay in a final in three years - back in 2021 they survived against Garrycastle the first day before winning the replay and they will now bid to emulate that.