Solid Saints advance to semi-final with victory over The Downs

After a pretty decent championship campaign, Mullingar based, St. Lomans produced another workmanlike performance in Cusack Park on Saturday evening last, to ease past The Downs by the narrowest of margins and so book a place in the semi-finals.The defeat, while a setback for the men in black and amber, is not the end of the world and they will move on to a quarter final showdown with the Westmeath title still very much within their sights.It was The Downs who made the brighter start on Saturday and as the Saints struggled early on, a more focussed Downs side hit the ground running and within twelve minutes, they were a goal and a point to the good, Noel Molloy banging home the former after a bit of a goalmouth scramble.Midway through the half St. Lomans sprung to life and after Enda Matthews and Conor Lynam hauled them back into the game with minors, Conrad Reilly raced through a hesitant Downs defence to fire home a crucial goal before the break. It left the eventual winners with a one point lead and they were headed only briefly thereafter.In a low scoring second period, there was little to ignite the sparse attendance as the Mullingar based team managed to contain the threat of The Downs and keep themselves in pole position over the closing thirty minutes. As they sensed a semi-final berth slipping away, The Downs fought in vain for a match saving goal but at the end of the hour, it was the Blues who advanced to the last four with The Downs facing a quarter final date.As stated, there was little championship fervour attaching to this game and that seemed to affect St. Lomans in the opening quarter. On the other hand The Downs were more fluent and after Barry Conroy was impeded, Tommy Cleary opened their account with a point from 45 metres. On ten minutes, the Saints were presented with a great chance when Enda Matthews bore down on goal. The corner forward looked odds on to find the net but Ciaran McCormack, at full stretch, managed to get a finger tip to the ball to keep his citadel intact.That let off spurred The Downs to up the ante and moments later, the green flag was fluttering behind Stephen Gallagher. As the ball ping ponged around the Saints goal area, in stepped Noel Molloy and in a flash he had drilled the leather beyond a helpless Stephen Gallagher.St. Lomans finally got off the mark on 14 minutes when the dynamic John Smyth was adjudged to have fouled the ball and Enda Matthews popped over the resultant free.Nine minutes from the break, after some untidy defending by the Saints, Barry Conroy extended The Downs lead from play before a mini-revival by the town side, brought them right back into contention. When Ciaran Kilmurray was dragged down, Conor Lynam lofted the free over and a moment later he repeated the feat from another placed ball. Having incurred the wrath for match official, Damien Maher, the highly talented Lomans corner forward, accentuated the positives when firing over his third successive point.The boost the Saints needed was just around the corner and when Adrian Charles found Conradh Reilly in space, the dual star showed a clean pair of heels to two Downs defenders before rifling the ball beyond Ciaran McCormack. A minute into time added on, John Smyth was impeded and Tommy Cleary converted the award to leave St. Lomans with the minimal lead at the interval, 1-4 to 1-3.It didn"t take long for The Downs to restore parity on the change of ends as Oliver Plunkett conceded a free and Barry Conroy pointed. The town side introduced Senan Russell for Plunkett and Tommy Lambden for the injured John Ahearne but it was The Downs who moved back in front when Cleary added another minor after James Conroy had been impeded.A minute later Conor Lynam underlined his placekicking ability when converting a free and he pushed the Saints a point up on 10 minutes after Ciaran Kilmurray crashed against the upright. At the opposite end, Cleary also had the misfortune to cannon a ball off the woodwork before Adrian Charlestook a Conor Cochrane pass to fire over.Midway through the half, Cleary slipped a quick free to Luke Folen and he brought the Downs to within a point with an accurate finish. But for the vigilance of Ciaran McCormack, the game could have been decided twelve minutes from the end when Ciaran Kilmurray produced an outstanding fetch before firing the ball goalwards. An alert McCormack sprung to his left to effect a fine save.With seven minutes left on the clock, Barry Conroy fired over the equaliser after good work from John Smyth but, despite repeated efforts, it was to prove their final contribution to the tie.It was the youthful Conor Lynam who was to ultimately decide the outcome of the game, when he picked up a pinpoint Conradh Reilly pass to fire over the Blues could afford the luxury of three further missed opportunities as the clock wound down.All associated with St. Lomans will be thrilled to be back within striking distance of the Flanagan Cup but they will be well aware that a huge step up is needed when the semi-final comes around. They certainly have shown plenty of ability and with solid performers such as James Davitt, Paddy Dowdall, Ken McKinley, Conradh Reilly, Conor Lynam and Ciaran Kilmurray, they will pose a threat to any opposition.The Downs, for their part, must wonder where this one slipped away. They have a well balanced side but on Saturday, after early promise, they seemed to lose their way. Again, it was some of the more senior members of the panel, like Sean Loughlin, Brendan Murtagh, Noel Molloy, John Smyth, who was Dooher-esque in his efforts, and Barry Conroy who shouldered much of the responsibility. There will have to be a more even spread if major honours are to be garnered in the weeks ahead.Scorers - St. Lomans: C. Lynam 0-6 C. Reilly 1-0, E. Matthews and A. Charles 0-1 each.The Downs: N. Molloy 1-0, T. Cleary and B. Conroy 0-3 each, L. Folen 0-1.St. Loman"s, Mullingar: Stephen Gallagher; Oliver Plunkett, James Davitt, Adam Carroll; David Rushe, Ken McKinley, Paddy Dowdall; John Ahearne, Adrian Charles; Conradh Reilly, Paul Martin, Willie McGovern; Conor Lynam, Ciaran Kilmurray, Enda Matthews. Subs. Senan Russell for O. Plunkett, Tommy Lambden for J. Ahearne, C. Cochrane for P. Martin,The Downs: Ciaran McCormack; Niall Nolan, Mark Dalton, Stephen Cleary; Conor Carley, Jack Hogan, Sean Loughlin; Noel Molloy, Brendan Murtagh; Barry Conroy, John Smyth, Greg Crowley; Tommy Cleary, James Conroy, Luke Folen. Subs. Shane Power for G. Crowley, Paul Shanley for J. Conroy, Sean O"Leary for J. Hogan.Referee: Mr. Damien Maher, Ballynacargy.