Second half goals the key to Shamrocks" win in poor game

A brace of well-taken goals in the opening five minutes of the second half ultimately proved to be the decisive scores as Mullingar Shamrocks maintained their drive for a place in the knockout stages of the Westmeath senior football championship at Cusack Park on Sunday evening last, with a deserved five-points win over Bunbrosna.Despite the monsoon-like weather throughout the country on the previous day, Cusack Park was in pristine condition for Sunday"s double-header. A torrential downpour shortly before the throw-in had the small crowd racing for shelter, but the hour"s football which followed did nothing to lift the spirits of the spectators. However, from a Shamrocks" viewpoint, a win was the target and they remain on course for the business end of the championship. Bunbosna lost their wholehearted defender-cum-attacker, Finian Newman to a recurrence of a shoulder injury in the 41st minute and they will now have to remain focused on retaining senior status in the weeks ahead.In the first moiety, Bunbrosna had the advantage of a strong wind blowing towards the electronic scoreboard end of the ground. It was clear from the early exchanges that this would be worth a few scores to the blue and whites and a lead of just 0-2 to 0-0 at the end of the first quarter was ominously low. Both of the losers" points came from placed balls by Westmeath senior panellist, Peter Tormey, the first a superb effort from a lineball in the sixth minute (which was touched over the crossbar by a Mullingar defender) and the second from a 40-metre free, some seven minutes later. Sandwiched between these scores, Fintan Finnan"s effort came back off the stanchion, to the relief of the Shamrocks" defenders.After Peter Tormey missed a scoreable opportunity from open play, the winners drew level with two well-struck frees from the ground by Brian O"Sullivan, both from around the 30-metre mark and suitable for a left-footed kicker. While the wind was a definite benefit to Bunbrosna, it was difficult to gauge its strength and Peter Tormey"s right-footed effort from 30 metres drifted wide in the 21st minute. However, a minute later, Aidan Finnan tidied up matters after a bout of scrappy play in front of the Shamrocks" goal with a neat point from 30 metres. The Bun" men doubled their lead in the 24th minute when Fintan Finnan slotted over a terrific point from 45 metres, following a surging solo run by Andrew Whitney. At the other end, the wind pulled Shane Colleary"s effort wide of the target, before a wild kick from Fintan Finnan went well wide of the posts. A rarely-seen yellow ball was then briefly in play but the colour change did not help the participants, albeit Bunbrosna"s Noel Kiernan being unlucky to see his effort rebound from the woodwork. After Peter Tormey"s long-range shot curled well wide, the full forward turned provider when he picked out Finian Newman from a sideline kick and the wing forward fired over a fine point deep in added-time, leaving Bunbrosna ahead by 0-5 to 0-2 at the break.Shamrocks manager, Ned Moore made a number of changes, both personnel and positional, prior to the resumption of play and they soon paid dividends. Following a great catch by inter-county full back, Kieran Gavin, neat interplay between Simon Quinn and Ciaran Curley set up Fiachra Spellman, who duly rifled the ball past Enda Murphy from 15 metres. The Mullingar supporters were still in celebratory mood from the first goal when Lorcan Smyth picked out Cian O"Leary after a good solo run and the latter player, arguably the best goalpoacher in the county and now operating in his preferred forward role, blasted the ball spectacularly to the net, to put the green and whites three points ahead after five minutes" play.Brian O"Sullivan was wide from a "45" but soon made amends from a 25-metre free in the 11th minute. Both sides were encountering difficulty in judging the wind but Bunbrosna, already looking like they would need a goal to retrieve the tie, almost got a lifeline when Philip Shaw"s indecisiveness from an Aidan Finnan free presented substitute Ciaran Brennan with a half-chance, but his first-timed effort flew wide. However, the losers kept plugging away and a brace of points from Peter Tormey, the first from a free (after what appeared to be a soft award) and the second, a fine effort from play, reduced the gap to two points, with eight minutes of normal time remaining. However, the Mullingar men closed out the game in fine style. A lovely point from Cian O"Leary (remarkably, the winners" first from play after 55 minutes) was soon followed by an equally-good score by Brian O"Sullivan. The same player wrapped up the two points for the green and whites in the 30th minute with a converted free from the 45-metre line, before the game petered out to a tame conclusion.Mullingar Shamrocks were well served by Kieran Gavin, David Miller and substitute Paul Christie in defence and Donal O"Donoghue, particularly when switched to midfield. Brian O"Sullivan, Ciaran Curley and Cian O"Leary caught the eye in attack.Bunbrosna had solid defenders in Simon Moorhead and Andrew Whitney. Padraig Walsh grafted hard at centrefield but, further forward, there was an over-reliance both for inspiration and scores on Peter Tormey, who got most assistance from Aidan Finnan and, prior to his unfortunate injury, Finian Newman.Mullingar Shamrocks: Philip Shaw; Aaron Purcell, Kieran Gavin, Eoin O"Meara; Denis Corroon, Donal O"Donoghue, David Miller; Shane Colleary, Cian O"Leary (1-1); Brian O"Sullivan (0-5, 0-4 from frees), Simon Quinn, Lorcan Smyth; Fiachra Spellman (1-0), Brian Melody, Ciaran Curley. Subs: Paul Christie (for Melody, half-time), Sean Maguire (for Colleary, 52 mins).Bunbrosna: Enda Murphy; Conor Newman, Noel Kiernan, Ger Brennan; Simon Moorhead, Andrew Whitney, Liam Mitchell; Padraig Walsh, Niall Harte; Finian Newman (0-1), Aidan Finnan (0-1), Fintan Finnan (0-1); Kenny Conroy, Peter Tormey (0-4, 0-1 from a lineball, 0-2 from frees), Kevin Mitchell. Subs: Ciaran Brennan (for Conroy, 13 mins), Cormac McCormack (for F.Newman, inj, 41 mins), Brian Maguire (for F.Finnan, 58 mins).Referee: Michael Mannion (Garrycastle)Footnote. Prior to the game, a minute"s silence was observed in memory of recently-deceased Gaels, Ignatius Fulham (Bunbrosna) and Ollie McLoughlin (Castledaly).