St. Malachy"s retain senior status after thrilling derby

St. Malachy"s and Ballinagore served up a thrilling contest in the last round-robin game in the Westmeath senior football championship on Sunday evening last, at the end of which a one-point win saw the men in red and black guaranteed their place in next year"s premier competition.While the losers must now win a difficult play-off match against Bunbrosna if they are to avoid an immediate return to the intermediate ranks.Ironically, given the fact that the match was switched from Moate due to adverse weather in the days leading up to the game, last Sunday evening"s encounter was played in ideal conditions for football and the fare on offer was of a decent standard all through. Indeed, if the two sides on duty had performed with the same intensity in some of their earlier games, it is unlikely that there would have been as much at stage last weekend. In the end, a game which could have gone either way was eventually settled by a last-gasp free from Alan Mangan in the seventh minute of added-time, the seventh score from the Westmeath regular, which included an excellently-converted penalty in the fifth minute of the first half, after which the winners were never headed.The action came thick and fast right from the throw-in and James Durkan was wide after a mere 20 seconds, but the very promising Ballinagore forward made amends a minute later with a great point, following a flowing move. However, the three minutes which followed saw St. Malachy"s forge ahead with an unanswered 1-2. A fine Barry Whelan point was followed by a converted 35-metre free from Alan Mangan (the ball having been moved forward for dissent), before Shane Carey picked out Blaine Lehart with a quickly-taken free and when the midfielder was hauled to the ground, the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty to St. Malachy"s. Alan Mangan dispatched the resultant kick with aplomb to the top of Paddy Maloney"s net.In the seventh minute, Michael Ennis tapped over a routine free for the maroon and whites but his county colleague, Alan Mangan soon responded with a similar effort, also taken from his hands. With almost 12 minutes gone, a free from an acute angle by James Durkan came off the St. Malachy"s upright and Dan Gavin blazed the rebound wide. Alan Mangan increased St. Malachy"s lead from another free - again, dissent by the losers meant that the ball had been brought forward into a scoreable position - before Dan Gavin started and finished a move which led to Ballinagore"s third point of the evening. A crucial miss ensued for the losers when a tremendous run by Michael Ennis set up David Deegan for a gilt-edged goal chance, but the corner forward shot narrowly wide.Two points in as many minutes from Alan Mangan, the first from a straightforward free and the second a fabulous solo effort from play, put St. Malachy"s six points ahead with five minutes of normal time remaining, but Ballinagore finished the half strongly and slotted over three points without reply from Thomas McDaniel, Rory Tynan (with McDaniel the provider) and a glorious late effort from James Durkan. At the break, St. Malachy"s led by 1-6 to 0-6.In the opening exchanges of the second moiety, the sides exchanged points - Robbie Jackson"s neat effort being cancelled out by another terrific score from James Durkan for Ballinagore. Joe Clarke increased St. Malachy"s lead in the ninth minute (with the referee missing a push by Paddy Corcoran in the build-up) but a pointed 25-metre free from James Durkan again reduced the margin to a goal in the 11th minute. Nine scoreless minutes ensued, but almost half of this saw a stoppage in play for an injury to Kieran Carey. His team-mate, Michael Ennis then appeared to be impeded as he got set to gain possession near the St. Malachy"s goal.A tap-over free from James Durkan kept Ballinagore within touching distance but, with exactly 20 minutes on the clock, fine play by Ronan Corcoran set up Ronan Whelan for a well-taken point. The winners" one-goal lead was wiped out between the 23rd and 30th minutes, a neat point from Dan Gavin being followed by a brace from Michael Ennis, the first from a free and the second a superb effort with his weaker left foot from the versatile Westmeath star.The game now entered extra-time and the eight and a half minutes played (which certainly seemed a little excessive) brought drama galore, and the match was played out in a welter of excitement. Paddy Corcoran looked sure to put St. Malachy"s ahead in the 32nd minute but he was penalised for "steps" as he got set to pull the trigger. Some two minutes later, Ronan Whelan did well to find the target under pressure but Dan Gavin levelled the contest again in the 35th minute with a tidy finish. Only a victory would suffice for Ballinagore but it was their opponents who secured the win when Alan Mangan pointed a late late free, awarded after Paddy Maloney was dismissed on a second yellow card having dashed from his line and upended the inrushing Mangan.While St. Malachy"s are likely to be disappointed with many aspects of their 2008 campaign, they can still plan for an improved showing next year in the senior grade. Ronan Corcoran and Joe Clarke formed a strong defensive spine, while the seemingly-ageless Paddy Corcoran worked to great effect at midfield. While Alan Mangan"s form in the maroon and white county colours has been less than spectacular of late, he remains a top-class performer at club level and he got most support in attack from Ronan Whelan and Shane Carey.Ballinagore now face a very difficult one-off match against Bunbrosna to preserve their top-flight status. They will be hoping for another big effort from their better players last Sunday, such as Louis Ennis and Marty Linnane in defence, Eoin Miller at centrefield and forwards, Dan Gavin, Michael Ennis and James Durkan.St. Malachy"s: Gary Jackson; Johnny Tuite, Ronan Corcoran, Alan Bouabbse; Barry Whelan (0-1), Joe Clarke (0-1), Pat Clarke; Blaine Lehart, Paddy Corcoran; Robbie Jackson (0-1), Alan Mangan (1-6, 1-0 from a penalty, 0-5 from frees), Ronan Whelan (0-2); John Gallagher, Shane Carey, Sean Whelan. Subs: Eamonn Óg Clarke (for Bouabbse, 39 mins), Conor Daly (for B.Whelan, 48 mins).Ballinagore: Paddy Maloney; Louis Ennis, Enda McCann, Kieran Carey; Marty Linnane, Peter Heraty, Peter Deegan; Eoin Miller, Stuart Gavin; Rory Tynan (0-1), Dan Gavin (0-3), James Durkan (0-5, 0-3 from frees); David Deegan, Michael Ennis (0-3, 0-2 from frees), Thomas McDaniel (0-1). Subs: Shane Heraty (for D.Deegan, 25 mins, inj), Paul Robinson (for Carey, 44 mins, inj), Kieran Deegan (for P.Heraty, 53 mins).Referee: Michael Mannion (Garrycastle)