Dowdall lauds ‘brilliant performance’ as Heslin criticises Tuesday fixture

“I’m really happy as the lads put in a brilliant performance from start to finish.”

Nobody – friend or foe – in Páirc Tailteann last Sunday afternoon would quibble with Paddy Dowdall’s initial post-match reaction to the display of his St Loman’s charges, the Mullingar blues having totally outclassed Dunshaughlin on a pristine surface in perfect conditions for football.

Following Sunday’s victory, St Loman’s now move on to a quarter-final clash against Wexford’s Castletown on Tuesday November 12 (7.30pm) at Lakepoint Park.

The winning bainisteoir continued: “We had our analysis done on Dunshaughlin, and the lads brought intensity and fight to the game from the very start. We had 15 or 16 turnovers on their kick outs, which is brilliant. We had a few early misses, but then we switched on, and when we got into the scoring area, we made sure we scored. There were a few great performances from our lads. Fola (Ayorinde), Sam (McCartan), John (Heslin), and Ronan (O’Toole), they all had great games. When Fola is on his game, he is very hard to mark. He came here really focused today and his athleticism and football ability showed. We have exceptional footballers and, on their day, they are a match for anybody in the country.”

However, St Loman's, Mullingar captain John Heslin took issue with the scheduling of the Leinster quarter-final. The switch is necessary due to Castletown’s dual commitments, with their hurlers facing Moorefield away in a Leinster club JHC opener this Saturday.

“You know, people work. And not everyone just works down the road, in the post office or as a teacher," he remarked. "There’s loads of different jobs, and people are asked to play a very important game on a Tuesday night that means so much to the club and the whole country … would you play on a Tuesday night?”

Heslin’s club and county team-mate, Ronan O’Toole, was less animated about the midweek move. “We’re used to training at that time on Tuesday so we’ll take everything as it comes. We’re just looking forward to it,” O’Toole reasoned.

Dowdall, meanwhile, felt his defence performed well against the Meath champions.

Of course, a team need a strong defence also, and Dowdall was keen to praise his backs, who kept a range of highly-rated players in red and black quiet. “Darragh O’Keeffe is a great leader in defence, and he and Kelvin (Reilly) and others were very good under the high ball. Our bench are strong too. We took Shane (Dempsey) off as a precaution at half-time, but he’s okay there now,” he said.

St Loman’s invariably responded with aplomb to any tiny lift their opponents got. In this regard, the former St Loman’s and Clonkill star said: “Their first goal was a bit of a sucker punch, but we answered that well by going straight back down the pitch and sticking a point over the bar (via Danny McCartan). It’s all about creating that momentum. Our guys had that today. We were disappointed to have conceded two goals and, obviously, the further you go down the line in Leinster, every score and turnover matters. We’ll talk about that and hopefully fix it. We’re very happy with the performance and long may that continue,” he concluded.