Dropped point puts Saints at real risk of relegation

Last year's defeated finalists in the Westmeath senior football championship, St. Loman's, Mullingar are now facing a relegation dogfight after failing to secure an elusive first win in this year's campaign, following a draw against 2010 surprise-packets Tubberclair, in a fourth-round game in Ballymore last Saturday evening.In the end, a share of the points was probably a fair result, even if the men in blue and white were less-than-pleased, as they looked more likely to score a winner when Pat Fox blew up very slightly under the stipulated hour mark. Walter Burke's charges now need to defeat Coralstown/Kinnegad in their last fixture to avoid the ignominy of a relegation play-off while, for their part, the green and golds are firmly in contention for a knockout place which few neutrals would have predicted prior to the championship.The Mullingar men had a slight wind advantage in the first moiety and, after surviving an early scare when David Fagan's fisted effort came back off the upright, St. Loman's took the lead in the sixth minute courtesy of a classy left-footed point from John Heslin, following great approach play by Conor Lynam. Heslin was soon thwarted by Gary Connaughton's punched clearance, but made amends with his second point, this time with his right foot, after producing a trademark catch. Just before the midpoint of the half, Paul Sharry rifled over a wonderful individual point, after soloing all the way from inside his own half. Conor Lynam then teed up his brother Kieran to make it 0-4 to 0-0.Tommy Lennon's troops eventually got on the scoresheet in the 17th minute, a rasping drive from Conor Fitzgibbon being tipped over his own crossbar by St. Loman's netminder Jason Daly.A foul on Francis Spollen enabled Ian Coffey to open his account from a well-judged 35-metre free, taken from the ground. It got even better for the South Westmeath outfit when David Fagan was fouled in the large parallelogram, after Jason Daly failed to clear his lines and James Martin came forward from his centre half back slot to fire a penalty low to the back of the net. Kelvin Reilly was unlucky to see his effort go wide via the woodwork before Ian Coffey doubled Tubberclair's advantage with another delightful free from the ground. The closing minutes of the first half were action-packed. St. Loman's regained the lead when Conor Lynam's converted free from his hands from some 40 metres was quickly followed by a goal from Jonathan Plunkett, who palmed the ball from Kieran Lynam's excellent cross into the net. However, the losers' joy was short-lived as Michael 'Junior' Hopkins set up Jeffrey Farrell, who appeared to be shooting for a point, but his 20-metre shot dipped into the net. In the first minute of added-time, John Heslin made space in some style before firing over the equalising point. At the break, the Ballymore scoreboard (the clarity of which is one of many fine features in a splendid ground) read: Tubberclair 2-3 St. Loman's, Mullingar 1-6.The nip-and-tuck nature of the contest continued right through the second half-hour (or 29 minutes and 45 seconds, as it transpired). Ian Coffey edged Tubberclair ahead with a terrific solo point after a mere 30 seconds, but the Lynam brothers soon combined for Conor to fire over a neat point. The same player pointed a 25-metre free in the eighth minute, but another converted placed ball from slightly further out by Jeffrey Farrell tied up the scoring again. Conor Lynam was soon on target again from a very tricky free, as scores from play continued to be impossible to manufacture for both sides. Ian Coffey slotted over a 40-metre free, with seven minutes of normal time remaining. Paul Sharry struck a '45' for St. Loman's very poorly, poetic justice perhaps as a Tubberclair defender appeared to have been fouled moments before the award. With John Heslin now operating in and around the midfield area, the Mullingar side looked like they might produce a potentially match-winning score, but Rory Walshe prevented a possible goal for the blue and whites. With time running out, Jonathan Plunkett was dismissed on a second yellow card, before John Heslin came close to snatching a crucial win for St. Loman's. The referee allowed no added-time and the game came to a limp conclusion, with Tubberclair undoubtedly the happier side to have gained a share of the spoils.Tubberclair: Gary Connaughton; Niall Walker, Robbie Buckley, Rory Walshe; Bernard Cassells, James Martin (1-0, from a pen), Jack Byrne; Jeffrey Farrell (1-1, 0-1 from a free), Danny Keegan; David Fagan, Michael Hopkins, Conor Fitzgibbon (0-1); Daniel Sammon, Francis Spollen, Ian Coffey (0-4, 0-3 from frees). Sub: Conor Elliott (for Sammon, 50 mins).St. Loman's, Mullingar: Jason Daly; Sean Murphy, Gary Glennon, Stephen Gilmore; Emmet Cahill, David Rushe, Paddy Dowdall; Paul Sharry (0-1), Tommy Lambden; Kelvin Reilly, Conor Lynam (0-4, 0-3 from frees), Jonathan Plunkett (1-0); Kieran Lynam (0-1), John Heslin (0-3), Conor Cochrane. Subs: Stephen Gallagher (for Daly, half-time), Ciaran Kilmurray (for Reilly, half-time), James Davitt (for Cahill, 43 mins), Shane Flynn (for Cochrane, 48 mins).Referee: Pat Fox (Rosemount).