Loman's retain Flanagan Cup after another epic encounter

Shay Murtagh Precast Westmeath SFC final replay: St Loman's, Mullingar 1-16 Garrycastle 1-12 (AET)

St Loman's, Mullingar have retained the Paddy Flanagan Cup after beating Garrycastle in the Westmeath SFC final replay at TEG Cusack Park this afternoon.

For the second successive Sunday, the two sides ended all square at the end of 60 minutes after Garrycastle's keeper Sean Brennan pointed a '45' to level the scores at 1-10 each deep into time added on.

Garrycastle's top scorer Alex Gardiner gave his side a boost with the game's first goal, but Loman's, aided by the influential Ronan O'Toole, still led by 0-7 to 1-2 at half-time.

The umpires were unsure about two St Loman's white flags in that first half - both shots from the impressive Shane Dempsey - with referee Declan Nugent overruling his umpires to award the second, while the first one looked more doubtful.

A passing error in the Garrycastle defence allowed the lively TJ Cox to find the net for Loman's shortly after the restart.

Garrycastle missed several scoring chances in the third quarter but with Eoin Monaghan, John Gaffey and Justin Barrett to the fore, they refused to give up. And they were eventually rewarded, with Brennan the unlikely source of the equaliser, moments after Fola Ayorinde blasted wide from a gilt-edged chance to seal it.

After a relatively quiet first 60 minutes by his own high standards, St Loman's captain John Heslin came into his own in extra-time, scoring three points from play in the first period.

While Loman's let a five-point lead slip away in the last ten minutes of the second half of regulation time, they showed admirable resolve and impressive fitness levels to dominate extra-time and finish out worthy four-point winners on a final scoreline of 1-16 to 1-12.

SCORERS - St Loman's Mullingar: John Heslin 0-6 (1f); Shane Dempsey 0-5; TJ Cox 1-0; Ronan O'Toole, Kevin Regan, Sam McCartan, Peter Foy and Ken Casey 0-1 each. Garrycastle: Alex Gardiner 1-5 (0-4f, 1 mark); Eoin Monaghan 0-3; John Gaffey, Tom O'Halloran, Cathal Mannion and Sean Brennan ('45') 0-1 each.